THIS is an English edition of a book which under its original title of “Les Plantes Potageres” has been received with encomiums alike by gardeners and by men of science. Professedly addressed solely to practical gardeners, it is so conscientiously elaborated that it has become, and will remain, a standard book of reference for the naturalist. This is a great triumph for the author, M. Henry Vilmorin. The botanist would at first glance naturally be disposed to consider such a book as at best merely a descriptive trade catalogue of an eminent seed firm, and the biologist might perhaps look askance at the notion of deriving any information of value for purposes of pure science from its pages. But on further examination, it will be found that the merely trade element is ignored, and that the descriptions of the several plants treated of are so carefully drawn up that they will as far as they go meet the requirements of the naturalist. The Vegetable Garden. Illustrations, Descriptions, and Culture of the Garden Vegetables of Cold and Temperate Climates. By M. M. Vilmorin-Andrieux, of Paris. English Edition. Published under the direction of W. Robinson, Editor of the Garden. 8vo, pp. 601. (London: Murray, 1886.)