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ART NOTES: BOOK REVIEWS
for us to make.      No more interesting
modern exhibition has been given in New
York this winter than the work of Leon
Bakst, the Russian painter, stage director
and designer. Leon Bakst has presented in
London and Paris the most remarkable
stage setting of the century, not accepting
Gordon Craig or Reinhardt.     It possibly
would be more just to link him with those
two men as brilliant innovators in the art
of bringing drama into the setting which
surrounds it. In a matter of color no one
had done more splendid work in the theater
mise en scene. The collection of work
shown at the Berlin Gallery gave one a
very vivid impression of the power ana
beauty and audacity of this man's imagina-
tion. It seems impossible for him to make
the smallest sketch without imbuing it with
a vigor and a dramatic quality that is rare
in even this day of melodrama in art.
   The second exhibition which was most
 noteworthy   consisted of Contemporary
 Graphic Art from Hungary, Bohemia and
 Austria.  It is impossible to realize what
 is going on in these countries in the
 way of artistic endeavor without having
 seen this collection; indeed it presented the
 history, political and social conditions as
 well, because these artists are essentially
 modernists and are telling you the story of
 their own national life in their national
 art. Mr. Birnbaum certainly is to be con-
 gratulated on this season's work at the Ber-
 lin Gallery. There seems to be no limit
 to his interest in art matters or his capacity
 to present the work of significant men
 from all over the world to his interested
 audiences in New York.
BOOK REVIEWS
THE BACKYARD FARMER: BY J.
WILLARD BOLTE
          HE Backyard     Farmer" strikes
          as its high notes practicability
     "Tand harmony in the treatment
           of all out-of-door problems,
 especially those which focus on the back-
 yard. In nearly all large cities there is an
 immense amount of waste ground, a state-
 ment which holds even in those that have
 reached the high water mark of property
 values. The backyards of such places are
 frequently given over to the drying of
 clothes, the storage of somewhat useless
 objects, and -the midnight prowling of cats,
 even though the time is one of very high
 cost of living.
   Taking these conditions into account the
 author has endeavored to accumulate im-
 portant facts concerning the possibilities of
 backyard gardens that the amateur farmer
 in such regions may be spared the study
 and research work necessary to crown his
 efforts with success.
   There is no ground that cannot be util-
 ized for some form of growth.   Grass is
 not the best crop for the backyard be-
 cause it pays no dividend. The better in-
 vestment in almost every case is to use the
 borders and shady places for perennials
 and other flowering plants and to plant the
 rest of the ground to vegetables, those se-
 lected with the idea of producing plentiful
 and healthful crops.
   The hotbed or cold frame set up closely
 to the house in a sunny place is recom-
 mended as greatly helping the city farmer
 to get his vegetables and flowers started
 early.
   This book is made up of 75 short and
 suggestive chapters. One entitled "Back-
 Yard Dividends," which arouses the en-
 thusiasm and teaches -that such small places
 can be made to give a yearly return: "A
 Succession of Garden Crops"; "Why Gar-
 dens Fail"; "A Cold Frame for Fall";
 "Vegetables in Flower Boxes"; "Gardens
 and Plant Pests"; "Better Lawns"; "Mak-
 ing the City Flock Pay"; "Laying Out
 Flower Beds"; and many others of like
 purpose giving an idea of the value of this
 book.
   The author himself, a practical gardener,
 is an authority on the subject of agricul-
 tu~re and has written in a clear and lucid
 style entirely free from technicalities. (Pub-
 lished by Forbes & Company, Chicago.
 238 pages. Price $I.oo.)
 BENDISH: A STUDY IN PRODIGAL-
 ITY: BY MAURICE HEWLETT
 "661 ENDISH," the book of Mr. Hewlett
 1J that follows "Lady Lancelot" in the
       romance period of the early nine-
teenth century, holds the interest inspired
by the former book and opens the mind of
the reader to an expectation of the one
that is to follow, completing the trilogy.
Perhaps for the very reason that "Bendish"
is a middle link, a calm after the climax of
"Lady Lancelot" and a forerunner of the
events which must necessarily occur in the
third volume, the story fails somewhat of
the high water mark set by many of this
author's romances.   It does not entirely
satisfy, except in that it is written in Mr.
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