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295 REVIEWS. 295 oral trust where there is no transfer of the legal title. Pitman v. Pitman, 12 S. E. Rep. 6r (N. C). This case follows the rule laid down by Lord Chief Baron Gilbert, Gilbert on Uses, 270, and is a qualification of the broad statement that, in the absence of the Statute of Frauds, trusts in land may be created by parol. See Dean v. Dean, 6 Conn. 287, contra. Usury — Compound Interest, — An agreement to make interest as it matures become principal so as to bear interest, where the rate of interest charged is the highest legal rate, is usury. It amounts to compound interest. This rule does not forbid interest-bearing coupons. Drury v. Wolfe, 25 N. E. Rep. 626 (111.). Writs — Failure to Attach a Seal to an Execution. — The failure to attach the seal of the court to an execution does not render it void, but voidable merely. Warmoth v. Dry den, 25 N. E. Rep. 433 (Ind.). REVIEWS. The Doctrine of Equity. A Commentary on the Law as Ad- ministered BY THE Court of Chancery. By John Adams. Eighth edition, by Robert Ralston, of the Philadelphia Bar. Philadelphia, T. & J. VV. Johnson & Co., 1890. 8vo. Pages 839. We are glad to see that this valuable work is not to be allowed to become out of date. It has been so long and so well known by lawyers as one of the very best works on the subject of equity that any extended criticism is unnecessary. The fact that it has passed through so many editions is sufficient to show the estimation in which it is held, and its popularity deserves to be long continued. The present edition is by Robert Ralston, of the Philadelphia Bar. The body of the work is unaltered, but the foot-notes have been carefully revised and re-arranged. They are very full, and contain the very latest authorities. Some idea of the number of the citations may be obtained from the fact that the table of cases occupies nearly one hundred pages. The work of the publishers has been done in their usual thorough manner, and leaves nothing to be desired. G. C. The Law of Collateral Inheritance, Legacy, and Succession Taxes. By Benj. F. Dos Passos, Assistant District Attorney, New York County. L. K. Strouse & Co., New York, 1890. 8vo. Pages xxii and 328. The method of taxation known as the "collateral inheritance tax" is not general in this country, having been adopted as yet by but nine States, and in five of these only since 1864. The tendency of legisla- tion, however, seems to be distinctly in favor of this means of raising money, and we may expect to see it adopted in additional jurisdictions in the near future. VV^herever it now exists it is a large and increasing source of revenue, and by a natural consequence the cause of much liti- gation. Mr. Dos Passos' book, which is the first on this subject, is therefore timely, both because of the probability that statutes similar to those of which it treats will soon be common in the different States, and because the meaning and effect of the existing statutes is already a matter of considerable importance. It is for this latter reason that the book is