12 2 •" The Scottish Naturalist. 



student who has already made some progress in the identifica- 

 tion of species, it has some advantages over even Wilson's 

 Bryologia. In fact we know of only one work of the kind 

 without any plates which is in every way superior to it, and 

 that is Dr. Milde's Bryologia Silesiaca. With many merits, it 

 has, however, not a few defects, and to both we would call 

 attention. 



The great merit of this Synopsis is the smallness of its size. 

 Though it describes about 560 species, it consists of only 196 

 pages ; and its lightness and general handiness allow the 

 collector to take it along with him to the field without the 

 least inconvenience, and to appeal to it in cases of perplexity. 

 This can be done with no other book on British Mosses worth 

 carrying. Even were this Synopsis twice its size it could still be 

 carried about without any trouble. In fact its great excellence 

 lies in its being a field-book, and we have no doubt but that 

 many will do with it as we are doing, viz., have it inter- 

 leaved, so that descriptions of omitted European and North 

 American species may be inserted. In this way, when one goes 

 away on an excursion, he can have along with him, in our most 

 unaccessible wilds, descriptions of almost every species likely 

 to be met with. 



This most desirable result is attained by a severe economy 

 of space. In such works as Bridel's Bryologia Universa, 

 Schimper's Bryologia Europea, and Wilson's Bryologia Brit- 

 tanica, the same plant is almost invariably described twice ; 

 first the more important characters are given, aud after- 

 wards, — and usually in smaller type, — these are again de- 

 scribed, intermixed with a considerable amount of detail. Mr. 

 Hobkirk takes the rational way of at once saying all he has got 

 to. say in the way of description, and he thus avoids a good 

 deal of the repetition which has made the works of so many of 

 our earlier botanists unnecessarily cumbersome. Not only is 

 space saved by this common-sense course, but one escapes the 

 studying of two descriptions of the same plant, and thus time is 

 saved as well as space. Again, the synonymy of species, which 

 takes up about a third of the Bryologia Universa, and almost a 

 fourth of the Bryologia Brittanica, is here entirely discarded; 

 and, as a rule, only one name is mentioned in connection with 

 one species. And this we consider to be quite right. To an 



