Sand and Water Culture Methods Used in the Study of Plant Nutrition: By E. J. Hewitt. Farnham Royal, Bucks, England: The Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux. 241 pages (illus.). 1952. $6.25

Abstract

Since its appearanc e in 1952, Technical Communication no. 22 of the Commonwealt h Bureau of Horticulture and Plantation Crops has come to be recognized, at least in the English language, as the standar d reference for those interested in the developmen t of sand and water culture techniques used in plant nutrition research throughout the British Commonwealth , parts of Europe, and the United States. The Second Edition of this valuabl e work wil l strengthen even further the unique position it occupies. Most (395 of its 477 pages of text) of the book is devoted to a general review of the subject . A second part deal s in somewhat more detai l with the procedures used by the author at Long Ashton. The completenes s of treatment of the subject matter is best attested by the number of references . Their listing, with complet e titles and cross-indexing , requires 55 pages, which gives an estimated number of 1,800 references . The earliest reference date noted was 1699, the latest , 1964. They are primarily from Great Britain and the United States, but paper s from German, French, Russian, and Japanes e publications are also included. The section devoted to the historical developmen t of plant culture techniques is much longer than in the First Edition. The book represent s very much more than a historical account ing, however . It provides in great detail, and with numerous drawings where appropriate, information on every aspect of plant nutrition research . Likely problems that might be encountere d are presented , and the advantage s and disadvantage s of many of the procedures employed and material s used are discussed . A very useful feature of the book are the conclusions and summaries given after some of the topics are discusse d in detail. It wil l serve well the needs of both the researche r actively engaged in plant nutrition studies as well as the teacher seeking material for classroom presentation . With one important exception, the headings into which the subject matter is divided are identical to those of the earlier edition. However, many sections have been completel y revised, and the more recent findings have been added to practicall y all of them. A 30-page section on the "Assessmen t of contamination and the limitations of micronutrient deficiency studies" is a new and valuable addition to the Second Edition. Much of the material which was previousl y reviewed by R. E. Thiers and R. L. Mitchell is included in this section, but the results of some of the studies at Long Ashton are also presented . In the reviewer' s opinion two features of the book could be improved. I found that it took some time to get accustome d to the numbering system used for chapters , sections, and subsections , and the designation of topics in the index in this manner.Search iri g for topics in the text designate d by this numbering system is much slower than finding them by page number designation. A second shortcoming of the book is the kind of binding used. Unless the copy I received was not typical, the pages are not bound securel y and consequentl y wil l pull loose quite readily. I hope this is not generall y true as I believe that the book wil l be subject to heavy use in any laborator y where plant nutrition studies are being conducted.—V. V. Rendig, Dept, of Soils & Plant Nutrition, University of California, Dans.