58 Grevitle^s Psllgce J3ritd?micce. 



been done. Instead of repeating, ad nauseam, common-place 

 arguments in favour of the students 6f nature, Dr. Greville 

 would have profitably occupied the space with a ' condensed 

 and continuous view of' the anatomy •and physiblbgy 6f the 

 ^'Igse: points little or nbt at' ^1 elucidated by oiil^ 'eleilie'iitary 

 authors^ and points \^hich the'^r6!^eiit d!Mhor'ife'cfeftiiinly best 

 qualified' to ^tiite'^leaHj^ ^rid s'ati^fadtorily. ' The mtliliier in 

 which' J^l'gafe 'ablaorb th^ir fo6d, b3)^'what vessdls'it cii*culates 

 and is^ elabiorat€d' t& si pr6p^ n^Aritoertt, iii'what state nhh by 

 what means the 'excess is expefied, 'dhd' the action of sea- weed 

 on the circumfluent medium ; these are questions relative to 

 which we would have b^^ti ^I'ad id hav*e received some infor- 

 mation ; and they are questions, the discussion of which would 

 tend to rescue the study from the sneers of the scoffer more 

 effectually than a piige .or. two of vague and silly declamation. 

 "We could have vrishedTJdso that something more particalar 

 had been ^id of the distribution of our native! spedljes.' The 

 subject has not been altogether neglect^djl^ut, ^fe information 

 brought tqgether is very trivial and'unsatisfaetoiy. From the 

 work itself, perhaps, one might with care, and 'n6t without 

 difficulty, father materials for an esslitoW"thi§ stibjett; but the 

 task would have been comparativelye^sy to l)r. Greville . Let 

 him not say that he has done enough in ijiidi eating under every 

 species its, peculiar range, by- the citation of many habitats. 

 This will feot do; for particulars thus doled oiii^ 'by ^ie^^ieal 

 have little^nterest except 'to the colle^pt^^^ ^^'^,'^)y.ell,'npt^pn the 

 memory. !We shall immediately revert to thm mlfj^^l^hut we 

 wish first to furnish our leaders witli the content)© (jf^heivork. 

 After the introduction foflows a'synopsis of the^eHferfaiy^rf^ed 

 into order^, or, a^'they ^jight properly t^J^y^'j^^'e^ j^^npipi- 

 nated, intQ families, according to the author'sAVk:W'S,!(vrhioh are 

 in many respects original; and- an enumeration (S^falP tfe^ spe- 

 cies which" are known, whether" British or fo'r^igrf^ l?teJ|4t)our 

 which this^^jCatalogue has cost the author must ii^y)^.'ti^ri great ; 

 but it affbj'ds no room for criticism.. To«i|:. i* app^Media co- 

 pious list of authors who have written on .^^Igae ; and* ihis again 

 is succeeded by the proper object of the'b'Obk^ the accqi^iit of 

 our native species, which are described w,ith,,^c;i:^eaiiel n^inute- 

 ness whicli. leaves little to be desired. 'The^cli'araiot^s.of the 

 genera and species have been all revised ^alJ*d'd6t'i^e6ted;'thfe 

 synonyme^ are more select than numerous, aM witli .this w^e 

 find no fault, but we do "regret the want of reference. to some 

 of the older botanists ; their works are beginning, unfortu- 

 nately, to be neglected. The species mentioned by Ray, in 

 his admirable Si/nopsis, ought certainly to have b^eb ascer- 



