Natural History in Foreign Countries* 4? 75 



and to the subscribers to the literary undertaking relative to his voyage to 

 the Brazil with the deceased, that the description of that voyage will be 

 continued, the King having communicated to him the papers of the late Dr. 

 Spix, The greater part of the second volume, and of the atlas, is already 

 printed. It being impossible to comprise every thing in this second volume, 

 a third, without an atlas, will by necessity be published, which will contain 

 the voyage on the river Amazon, and some geographical, statistical, and 

 physical details. Dr. Martius will study to keep the work within mode- 

 rate limits, so that it may be sold at a reasonable price ; the atlas will c6n- 

 tain twenty sheets, instead of fifteen, as originally announced, with views, 

 portraits, &c., a second sheet of the general map of South America, and 

 several subordinate maps. 



. " The botanical works will also be continued on same principle. The 

 genera and species of palms will be finished with the delivery of the fifth 

 part, and the Nova Genera Plantarum will be completed by a third volume, 

 which will contain a very curious monograph of Cryptogamia, half of 

 which, on twenty-five plates, is already finished. 



" The description and figures of the the fishes of Brazil, which death 

 prevented Dr. Spix from completing, will be published by Dr. Martius, who 

 hopes to effect all these objects with respect to Brazil in the course of two 

 or three years, and in this manner to give an idea of the riches, in natural 

 history, of a country which, in every respect, merits the attention and the 

 interest of Europe. , 



Dr. Martius's works already published are : 



Imo dela description du voyage: le Imier Volume (en allemand) avec un 

 Atlas de 15 grandes feuilles lithographi^es, une feuille supplementaire de 

 musique et la partie septentrionale de la carte g^nerale de I'Amerique 

 meridional e. Edition Velin Imperial, 4/. 145,6^.; Royal, sans I'Atlas, 

 1/. 1*.; Edition in English. v. ,. . .. I 



2do des ouvrages botaniques : vs.. . ;';•%..{.-'■■/. v/* 



1. Mart. Palm. Gen. et Species, grand in folio avec 108 tableaux, con^ 

 tenant en partie I'analyse des palmiers et en partie des paltnier^s 

 represents dans des paysages tropiques. Prix color. 52/. ; en noir. 



2. Mart, nova Gen. Plant. Imperial-Quarto ler et 2d volume, avec 200 

 tableaux. Vol.1, color Imp. Quarto, 16/. 165. j Vol.11., 16/. 16*.; 

 Vol. I. et II. en noir. 



3d des ouvrages zoologiques: Testacea fluviatilia, descnpsit Wagner, 

 Imp. Quarto, 29 tab. 4/. 4*. 



S'addresser a Treuttel, Wiirtz, et Richter, London. 



Dr. Martius is at present occupied with an original and ingenious 

 theory of the structure of plants ; the Doctor gave some account of it a 

 few weeks ago at Berlin, where it excited a great sensation ; it will very 

 soon be published in a German periodical, and we are promised a copy on 

 its first appearance, for the purpose of translating and laying before our 

 readers. In the mean time we put down one or two ideas recollected froni 

 a general outline of the theory which the Doctor stated to us. The knot, 

 or joint, of plants with stems, or the collar of plants without stems, con- 

 tains the life, and is for all the purposes of reproduction as perfect as the 

 seed. The leaves of plants are protruded from the stem in the order of 

 circumvolving lines ; the fifth or the sixth leaf will always be found over 

 the first, and no plant can produce a flower till the leaves have made at 

 least one circumvolution. The flower and all its parts are but modifications 

 of the leaf; and the calyx, the corolla, and the stamens follow the same law 

 in their developement as the leaves. The whole of that part of the plant 

 which is above ground, may be described as a travelling leaf. Supposing 

 this theory to be supported by facts, the uses to be derived from it, in vege-* 



K K 2 



