`The kindly fruits'

F. BIANCHINI and F. CORBETTA, 'The kindly fruits', English adaptation by M. A. Dejey, illustrations by M. Pistoia, London, Cassell, 1977, fo., pp. 241, illus., £12.50. Le piante della salute appeared in 1975 and has now been adapted into English. It deals with eighty-two herbs and plants that have been used for centuries in the kitchen and, or, in medicine. Each is described and its location and uses, together with historical references, are given. One of the outstanding features of the book is the quality of the exquisite coloured illustrations for each plant. The entries contain a good deal of information, but there is no documentation of it, A large 'Appendix', revised by Professor G. E. Trease, the distinguished historian of pharmacy, provides for the reader who seeks additional technical data, but again there is no literature cited. Here the plants are arranged in groups determined by the human system upon which their principal pharmacological action prevails, with cross references to the main part of the book. There is a bibliography of fourteen items, and glossaries, botanical and pharmacological, following the 'Appendix'. This is a most attractive work which will be useful mainly to those who seek information on herbal and medicinal plants, but who do not require scholarly detail. The latter can, of course, be found in the many source-books of the nineteenth century.