392 NOTICES OF BOOKS. 
Mr. Gambel appears to have made an extensive journey asa 
naturalist in Upper California, where he amassed a considerable 
collection of plants. “The best part of the collections," how- 
ever, we learn from a private communication of Mr. Nuttall (no 
particulars of the journey being given in the work), “ were lost on 
the route between Missouri and Santa Fè, having been committed 
to the charge of a person who never delivered them. What re- 
main (about 350 species) were gathered on the journey from 
Santa Fè to Upper California. Among them are plants of consi- 
derable interest, particularly two new genera, as they appear to be, 
discovered on the island of Catalina, off the coast of St. Pedro, 
in the Pacific. One is Gambelia (Nutt.), of the Nat. Ord. Sero- 
phularinee, Sect. Antirrhinee: a very handsome shrub, three or 
four feet high, with rather large tubular bright scarlet flowers, 
of which I have not seen the perfect seed. It appears somewhat 
allied to Ga/vesia. The second, without any natural affinity what- 
ever to Paonia, has flowers resembling a small kind of that genus, 
and is also a shrub four to five feet high, with cuneate small 
alternate leaves and white flowers, about the size of large apple 
blossoms; but its striking character lies in the seed, which is 
nearly surrounded by a circular arillus, torn into so copious à 
fringe, that on opening the capsule, the seeds seem to be wrapped 
in tow." This plant constitutes a new genus in the present work, 
and has the name of Crossocoma, Nutt. Many new genera and a 
great number of new species are here given, including many of 
Mr. Nuttall’s own discoveries (particularly among the Coro/ifore) ; 
and a continuation of this paper may be looked for in the suc- 
ceeding number of the Proceedings of the Academy. 
The Bmrrsu Dusmipiex; by Joux Rates: the Drawings ly 
Epwarp Jenner. London: Reeve, Benham, & Reeve. 1848. 
| A work of first-rate merit; whether we look to the descriptive 
matter, or to the beauty and execution of the plates. It does 
honour to the authors, and to the age and country in which it has 
