354 Bibliographical Notices. 



posing the groups to be perfectly natural and their affinities com- 

 pletely understood, it is impossible to arrange them in a single con- 

 tinuous series, in such a manner that each shall be preceded and fol- 

 lowed by its nearest allies ; since the same family, for instance, may 

 be equally related to three or four others, only two of which points, 

 at best, can be indicated in the lineal series which must be adopted 

 in books. And 4. we are still obliged to use avowedly artificial cha- 

 racters for the sake of convenience ; as in the arrangement of the 

 numerous orders of Exogenous plants into the polypetalous, mono- 

 petalous, and apetalous divisions, although different genera of the 

 same order, or different species of the same genus, may present these 

 very diversities." 



The nomenclature of botany receives a due share of attention, 

 and the following remarks in our opinion deserve notice : "Asa 

 general rule the names of orders are formed from that of some lead- 

 ing or well-known genus, which is prolonged into the adjective ter- 

 mination acece. Thus, the plants of the order which comprises the 

 Mallow {Malva) are called Malvacece, i. e. Plantce malvacece, or in 



English, malvaceous plants ; but the rule is only applicable 



to ordinal names derived from those of the genera, and affords no 

 sanction to the absurd change of Leguminosce into Leguminacece, La- 

 biates into Labiacece, Cruciferce into Cruciacece, &c, names which are 

 formed upon a different principle. The appellations Graminacece 

 (instead of Graminece) and Palmacece (instead of Palmce) are equally 

 objectionable ; the former not being Plantce graminacece, but grasses ; 

 the latter not Plantce palmacece, but palms : and so likewise Alga, 

 Fungi, &c. 



In the systematic part the arrangement of DeCandolle has been 

 followed as nearly as practicable, so far as relates to the series of the 

 orders ; while these have been at the same time thrown into small 

 artificial groups for the convenience of analysis. A conspectus of 

 these groups is given, but there is no complete analytical view of the 

 orders. Such an artificial analysis is of great assistance to the stu- 

 dent of botany, and we trust that it will be added in a future edition. 



Upon the whole, we look upon this work as one of the best Text- 

 Books which which has yet appeared. In saying this we by no means 

 wish to undervalue the excellent * Elements of Botany ' published by 

 Dr. Lindley. In the structural and physiological part we prefer Dr. 

 Gray's work as being a fuller and more comprehensive guide to the 

 student, while in regard to the natural orders nothing can be better 

 than Lindley's work, whether we consider the descriptions or illus- 

 trations. Lindley's ' Elements,' indeed, appear to us to have served 

 as the model for the work now under consideration. 



The British Flora, comprising the Phcenogamous Plants and the Ferns. 

 By Sir W. J. Hooker, K. H., &c. &c. Fifth Edition. London, 

 1842. Longmans. 



We have just received the new edition of this well-known work, 

 which has undergone considerable change in appearance by the ge- 

 nera and species being now arranged under the natural orders, instead 



