NOTICES OP BOOKS. 87 



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tions of living as well as dried specimens, and for full notes taken on the 

 spot. About the same time, Mr. A. Trecul, of France, and, after him, 

 Dr. H. Poselger, of Prussia, traversed Southern Texas and Northern 

 Mexico, collecting many Cactacece and increasing our knowledge of this 

 interesting branch of botanical science." 



"The Pacific Railroad Expedition since 1853 has opened fields 

 not before explored ; and Dr. Bigelow, the botanist and physician of 

 Captain A. Whipple's expedition along the 35th parallel, availed 

 himself of these opportunities in a most successful manner ; while Dr. 

 F. V. Hayden, almost unaided in his adventurous expedition, has ex- 

 tended our knowledge of the northernmost Cactacece in the regions of 

 the Upper Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers. The last — but by no 

 means the least — addition was made in 1854 and 1855 by Mr. Arthur 

 Schott, during the exploration under Major Emory, of the country 

 south of the Gila River, known as the Gadsden Purchase. 



Such are the resources whence have been derived the materials of the 

 present brochure of sixty pages. These came into the hands of one who 

 has made a good use of them ; but few of the discoveries had been yet 

 given to the public, — " partly," says Dr. Engelmann, " because the mate- 

 rial on hand was often incomplete ; partly because it seemed desirable to 

 publish the whole in an elaborate form, with the reports of the Boun- 

 dary Commission and those of the Pacific Railway surveys. These 

 reports are now in preparation, but the splendid plates which are to 

 illustrate the Natural History of these plants cannot be furnished for 

 some time. It is therefore deemed advisable now to publish short de- 

 scriptions of the new species, and systematically to arrange them with 



those before known. 



On this plan 99 species are given, the greater part of them entirely 

 new. Of Mamillaria there are 30 species; of Echinocadus, 19; 

 Cereus, 31 ; and of Opuntia no less than 50 species. 



Among the most remarkable of these must certainly be reckoned 

 the Cereus giganteus of Engelmann,— already described and well figured 

 in Emory's Report, 1848,— a plant of the Lower Gila, and between it 

 and Sonora. Its stems are from 30 to 50 feet high, and from 1 to 2 feet 

 in diameter ; its habit, judging from the figures in Emory, is quite 

 that of our well-known Cereus (or Pilocereus) senilis. We have raised 

 plants at Kew from seeds kindly sent to us by Dr. Engelmann. Cereus 



Thurhori Kae afprna 10 in 15 fcfit hlffh I OettW SckottU (8 to 10 feet 



