316 NOTICES OF BOOKS. 



europcea. This has hitherto been recorded from only one locality in 

 Shetland, — in Unst. As there are no trees on the island, the 

 stems of Pannex obtusifolius and B. crispus are carefully dried by the 

 natives and woven into small baskets or creels, chiefly used for 

 carrying fish. — E. M. Barrington. 



Dianthus c^sius Sm. — An earlier name for this plant is D. 

 Gratianopolitanus Villars ('Hist, des Plantes de Dauphine,' iii. 598 

 (1789). This is pointed out by Verlot, ' Plantes Vasculaires du 

 Dauphine,' p. 51 (1872) ; and Villars' name is also cited for the 

 species by Nyman, although he retains Smith's name, published 

 July 1st, 1792, according to the date on the 'English Botany' plate 

 accompanying his original description. — Frederic N. Williams. 



Flora of Somerset. — The Bev. B. P. Murray will publish a 

 new Flora of this county in the ' Proceedings of the Somerset 

 Natural History and Archaeological Society,' and hopes to issue the 

 first part in the autumn of next year. He will be glad to receive 

 any help in his work : address — Bev. B. P. Murray, Shapwick 

 Vicarage, Blandford. 



NOTICES OF BOOKS. 

 Through the Fields with Linnceus; a Chapter in Swedish History. 



By Mrs. Florence Caddy. 2 vols. 8vo, pp. 347, 376. London: 



Longmans, Green & Co. 1887. 

 The Floral King: a Life of Linnmus. By Albert Alberg. 8vo, 



pp. 244. 'London: W. H. Allen & Co. 1888. 

 These biographies of Linnaeus should have been noticed earlier 

 in these pages. They are both popular works, having each excellencies 

 in their own way, and also defects. Mrs. Caddy, to prepare herself 

 for her work, made a diligent pilgrimage to the districts familiar to 

 Linnaeus in the different periods of his life. Possessed of a lively 

 imagination, she has supplied many gaps in the story, has put into 

 the mouths of Linnaeus and his friends interesting speeches, and 

 has indeed treated the whole subject as a novel, with Linnaaus as 

 the hero. The struggles of his early life, his tragic quarrel with 

 Bosen, his courtship of his future wife, and many other familiar 

 incidents in the life of the illustrious Swede, supply congenial topics 

 for Mrs. Caddy's facile pen. The following extract dealing with a 

 subject strange to our pages may interest our readers, and illustrate 

 Mrs. Caddy's methods : — 



" Falun had materially altered in its aspect for Linnaaus since 

 he had been absent. Sara Elizabeth, the elder of the two handsome 

 daughters of Dr. Moraaus, had come from Sveden, her father's 

 country seat at some distance from Falun, and she, like the rest of 

 the world in the Dalecarlian capital, was curious to see the 

 interesting traveller who had recently returned successful at the 

 head of an adventurous band of explorers. In fancy I can see their 

 introduction to each other ; they first shook hands, then she bobbed 

 a curtsey, and he lifted off his hat. This is the order of the usual 



