Book Reviews-The Handbook of British Mammals; King Todd; The Tradescants

BOOK

THE HANDBOOK edited by

REVIEWS

OF BRITISH H. N.

(.Published by Blackwell,

MAMMALS

SOUTHERN

Oxford,

1964, at 37j6d.)

" BIRDS, butterflies and plants, the principal preoccupations of amateur naturalists, need little seeking. T h e mammals that are left in the British Isles, on the other hand, are secretive and require time and trouble to observe. There are, however, some methods—tricks, if you like—which make Observation simpler and this chapter will consider them." T h e title and this quotation from the chapter on field work describe this book in a nutshell, for it is divided into two parts. The systematic account of our British Mammals contains practically everything that is now known of them but one of the things which will surprise the general naturalist is the discovery that so much remains to be learned about even the commonest of them.

The other part gives an introduction, both theoretical and practical, to the study of mammals with füll accounts of the best methods of Observation and research. In short for any naturalist this book provides both spur and corn—a summary of all that is now known and what remains to be discovered and the best methods to use to fill those gaps in our knowledge. The drawings

by Robert Gillmor and the photographs are excellent and those naturalists who do not feel the spur of curiosity will be more than satisfied by the corn of information. This is a book designed for the specialist and general naturalist alike and to show those whose interest has been aroused by wireless or television how they can take the next step of learning how to watch and study the animals which are all around us.

C.

KING by

TODD

NORAH

BURKE

(.Published by Putnam at 21 /-) It is no small honour to our Society that one of our Council should have published a book on her own observations on the life of a badger. Miss Norah Burke has described his life with detailed understanding and at the same time has succeeded in avoiding the trap of anthromorphism into which the life of an individual animal can so easily fall. It would be hard for anyone

456 Transactions of the Suffolk Naturalist*', Vol. 12, Part 6 to add much in the way of fresh Information after Ernest Neal's monograph, but she has succeeded in giving an account of her patient watching that cannot fail to hold our enthusiasm.

She has also, quite delightfully, told us of the problems of the badger watcher in her own home—a new aspect of the problem.

All through one feels the accuracy of the sub-title that it is indeed " the true storv of a badger ".

D.J.M.

THE TRADESCANTS THEIR PLANTS, GARDENS AND MUSEUM, by

MEA

1570-1662

ALLAN

(.Published by Michael Joseph) I can safely predict the publication of this book in July will be an event for botanists and for those who can enjoy side-lights on history.

The Floras will have to add or revise dates of introduction of many of our now common trees (e.g., the Larch) and shrubs and herbaceous garden plants and correct the country of origin of a great many of them.

I am sorry for the innocent keepers of the Great Tradescant Collections now wrongly called the Ashmolean Collection when the füll story of the rascally duplicity of Elias Ashmole is revealed, when he carried off the whole Tradescant Collection from their own Museum—the Ark, at South Lambeth in twelve bärge loads.

This story takes nearly forty pages of the book. Perhaps the bare fact is already known.

Miss Allan has spent years, I imagine, in following up every clue she could get to trace the Tradescant history. From parish registers she learnt that their ancestors lived at Wenhaston in SufFolk and that they were not Dutch as has been commonly supposed. Beccles Public Records Office, the Bodleian Library, the British Museum and other well-known sources of information, dozens of County Librarians and Archivists (I notice the Chief Librarian, Miss White of Ipswich Central Library and the EastSuffolk County Archivist among them) have hunted up information for her. When they see this book, they will be proud to have helped her, for it is a great and scholarly piece of work. She was delighted to find Mary, daughter of Roger Tradescant in the Walberswick parish register and to know why the Tradescant " great rose daffodil (from Virginia) blooms in such lakes of gold in her own Walberswick garden ".

BOOK REVIEWS

457

She has sought information from authorities on the derivation of names with all the different spellings and variations of the name which she found, but " Tradescant " remains a puzzle.

These two men, father and son, were the greatest gardeners and naturalists of any age. Miss Allan teils of their planning and planting the famous earliest English gardens and parks ; how John the eider travelled back and forth from the Jardin Royale des Plantes of Louis X I I I in Paris to buy for his employer hundreds of sapling trees and shrubs, packed in tubs or damp canvas for the great avenues and loads of herbaceous plants for the borders.

T h e Earl of Salisbury (Cecil) employed him at Hatfield and Cobham, the Duke of Buckingham at Newhall (a former palace of Henry V I I I ) and Queen Henrietta at Oatlands. He planted the garden of Sir John Cope at Kensington, now Holland Park. It is sad to read that Cromwell banning all frivolity and gaiety ordered these lovely flower borders to be rooted out and planted afresh with cabbages and turnips.

Then he accompanied an English Embassy to Russia by way of Archangel (Tradescant gives a very seaman-like account of the dangers of the voyage). He noted and brought back many plants of these arctic regions.

Later he volunteered for Buckingham's expedition against Algiers in order to get plants there. After that fiasco he stayed behind to travel down the Mediterranean to Turkey.

His son took over the travelling and went more than once to Virginia and brought back new plants from there and Mexico.

From everywhere they went they returned not only with plants but curiosities ( " rarities " they called them). These became the great Tradescant Collection at the Ark in South Lambeth.

Miss Allan in two long Appendices reproduces the Tradescants' own catalogues of these rarities (1656) fortunately preserved and of the plants (1634) in their garden at the Ark with eggs, birds (even a dodo), horns and skins of beasts, insects, clothes, artefacts, weapons, Utensils, coins, in their museum Miss Allan writes well and is never dull. How could she be, with so many exciting things and events to write about ? I have perhaps quoted more than I should before the book is actually published. Miss Allan lent me her uncorrected page-proofs to do this. Her digressions into history are always lively. Her very long bibliography from Carl Bauhin, Tournefort and Linnaeus comes down to present day biographers and historians.

J.C.N.W.