THE FOREST FLORA OF NEW ZEALAND. 29 



Potentilla silvestris Necker (Delicise i. 222), 1768. 



P. Tormentilla erecta Scop. (Fl. Cam. ed. 2, 535), 1787. 

 P. Tormentilla Stokes (With. Arr. ed. 2, ii. 535). 1787. 



So much care has evidently been bestowed on this little book, 

 that it is with regret that we point out its insufficiency. No small 

 amount of labour, for instance, must have been employed in the 

 list of " authorities for plant-names used in any of the five works 

 quoted, each name being followed by the place or country and date 

 of birth, and the date of decease, when these are known." The 

 type is excellent, and misprints, although not absent, are rare ; the 

 introduction of a period between the name and its authority, — 

 " Centaurea aspera. L.," — is an objectionable innovation. 



It is remarkable that, so shortly after the production of Mr. 

 Warburton's book, another volume of the same kind should be 

 issued by the same publishers. There must certainly be a belief 

 in the minds of some that compilations of this sort are useful, 

 whereas nothing can be further from the fact. Mr. Turnbull adds 

 certain items of useless knowledge, such as the position of each 

 genus in the Linnean classification, and what he calls " English 

 names," of which " Small-flowered Pale Smooth-leaved Willow- 

 herb" and " Michelian Cat's-tail-grass" may be taken as specimens. 

 This author also "ventures to hope that [his attempt] may in 

 some degree lessen the perplexities of nomenclature to the 

 botanist," being evidently entirely unaware wherein these " per- 

 plexities " consist. 



As concordances of the nomenclature employed in the books 

 cited, these volumes may be of service to those, if there be any, 

 who need such works. But their number can hardly be large 

 enough to compensate the authors for the labour and expense which 

 must have attended their production : and it is impossible not to 

 regret that these should not have been devoted to some useful 

 purpose. 



The Forest Flora of New Zealand. By T. Kirk, F.L.S., late Chief 



Conservator of State Forests to the Government of New 



Zealand. Wellington : Didsbury. 1889. Folio, pp. xv., 



345. tt. 142. 



This Government publication constitutes a valuable addition to 



our knowledge of the New Zealand Flora. Mr. Thomas Kirk, in 



his official capacity as Conservator of New Zealand Forests — a post 



which we regret to see he no longer holds — has had exceptional 



opportunities for producing such a work, to which he brought 



capabilities of a high order. His long residence in New Zealand 



has enabled him to study the life-history of the trees and other 



plants which he describes ; and the value of the present volume is 



largely due to the numerous plates showing, in many instances, 



various stages of growth, which have been executed by various 



artists under Mr. Kirk's superintendence. 



The plan of the work is thus stated in the preface : — " The first 

 portion of the text contains historical information and other parti- 

 culars of general interest connected with the plant, an account of 



