BOTANICON SINICUM. 
of regret that the translation of the Li kt or Book nd il 
which Lecer published in 1885 in Vols. XXVII and XXVII 
Pe the 
of Max Miner’s Sacred Books of the East, is without a“ 
original! 
Leaer’s Classics form, of course, the principal basil 
of my investigations, The great merit of his elaborate | 
edition is, that all the valuable information on — 
subjects scattered in the bulky Chinese editions of the Classics 
and their commentaries, has now been made easily. accessible 
to European savants, Lecar translates, besides the Chinese 
text of the Classics, most of the Chinese commentaries a the 
subject written by Chinese scholars of different periods, 
and his own criticism always shows admirable good sense. ; 
As to his attempts to identify Chinese names of natural 2 
objects, Leaar, who does not pretend to be a naturalist, 7 
sometimes mistaken, but on the whole it must be said that 
even in this field of investigation the author has done much 
towards the elucidation of dubious questions. In his Shi hing. 
he makes constant reference to some modern Japanese plates 
illustrating this Classic, and especially the beasts, birds 
insects and plants mentioned in it. As the greater part of the 
_ Plants figured in Japanese botanical works have been identified 
by European botanists, Lace generally depends upon these 
identifications, Occasionally he also relies upon identificatio 
given in Mepaurst’s and Wits’ Dictionaries, 
His new transliteration jg not a happy one, 
Chou dynasty, in his Li ki, is 
