Bibliographical Notice. 57 



brought into comparison with the Flowering Plants. Then may be 

 offered a sounder basis for explaining some of the phsenomena of 

 geographical distribution, which in our times are so full of promise, 

 but whose existence has hitherto rather been made evident than 

 satisfactorily accounted for. 



The 'Cybele Britannica' is an " opus per se," as it is a model for 

 future operations. We English botanists may well claim that our 

 Flowering Plants have been better and more systematically explored 

 than those of any other country. It is true that M. Lecoq has given, 

 in ten royal octavo volumes, an account of the features of the flora 

 of a portion of France, including an outline of the general " area " of 

 each species ; but we do not fear a comparison between his book and 

 the English 'Cybele.' To say nothing of its lengthy disquisitions, 

 and too often fanciful theories, there is, in the French work, great 

 want of convenient tabular summaries. The plants of his own di- 

 strict are not nearly so thoroughly investigated by M. Lecoq, in his 

 1 Etudes ;' besides, the very size and expense of the volumes places 

 them beyond the reach of most readers. Indeed, we do not feel at 

 all sure that the comparison with Mr. Watson's work is fair to either 

 writer, since M. Lecoq avowedly addresses himself chiefly to the 

 general question, while Mr. Watson equally professes to give his 

 attention rather to local and particular details. 



When treating of his species, M. Lecoq first discusses the aspect 

 and distribution of the order, then the statistics, range, &c, of the 

 genus — very interesting points, it is true, but somewhat out of place 

 in a local treatise. Then follows a kind of biography of each plant, 

 extending often over two pages, separate paragraphs being besides 

 devoted to — 1. nature of soil; 2. altitude (often only approximately 

 given) ; 3. a statement of the entire or general range. Here the very 

 want of that precision which is so valuable a feature of the * Cybele ' 

 is, in our eyes, the fault of the French author. 



But we cannot help regretting that no place has been allotted by 

 Mr. Watson for a few words respecting the kind of soil * most favour- 

 able to each species — whether silicious, calcareous, argillaceous or 

 peaty, friable or compact ; for this is a point always of high interest 

 to the local observer, and one to which M. Jules Thurmann has re- 

 cently devoted two volumes ; Mr. J. G. Baker, too, has given a conve- 

 nient abstract, in the shape of a pamphlet, where the English plants 

 are arranged somewhat after the manner of M. Thurmann. We 

 must, however, confess that we feel some misgiving as to the adop- 

 tion of so difficult a terminology as that of the Swiss author. If 

 the harsh terms of " Dysgeogenous " and " Eugeogenous " be fairly 

 represented by "compact" and "friable," we might hope to find 



* Something, indeed, is to be gathered from the terms " glareal," " ericetal," 

 " rupestral," &c. ; and, in most cases, mention is made of the attachment of a 

 species to a calcareous substratum, which often greatly influences the assigning 

 of plants to the " Germanic " or South-eastern group, because it is on the east 

 side of England that the Chalk principally occurs. But the desideratum above 

 mentioned consists in the absence of a line regularly devoted to a statement of 

 the soil preferred by each species. 



