310 NOTICES OF BOOKS AND MEMOIRS. 



sequence in which they could be obtained from botanists, he now 

 fulfils by the issue of this volume. 



It will be seen from the title that of the three Orders com- 

 prised in the book two are monocotyledonous, and therefore are 

 in continuation of the original 'Prodromus'; the other, MeliacecB, 

 was treated in its proper sequence in the first volume of that work, 

 dated 1824. 



The changes to be noted in the character of the book result 

 chiefly from the greater freedom of treatment allowed to the authors ; 

 two of the monographs are illustrated by plates of flower-analyses, 

 and two have long introductions in French on points relating to the 

 Order in general. These are useful additions to the old plan, 

 the descriptions are also usually fuller, and there are more copious 

 references to herbaria. In the book, as a book, there are some 

 alterations also ; the page is much larger, but as the type is also 

 larger and more spread there is perhaps actually less matter in it ; 

 the specific names are printed in a thick type ; and, what is of far 

 greater importance, there is a complete index to species at the end 

 of the volume. 



When such changes were making it would have been easy to 

 have initiated another. The want of a distinguishing type for 

 the synonyms has been always felt in using the old volumes, and 

 the innovation of italics would have been a greater improvement 

 than the larger type and more bulky volume not uniform in size 

 with its predecessors. It is to be regretted, too, that the printers 

 have fallen into so many blunders which remain uncorrected ; the 

 list of errata given is by no means exhaustive. 



Prof. A. DeCandolle himself fitly and worthily commences the 

 new work by a very elaborate and careful monograph of the 

 Smilncea:,, a group which jDresents unusual difficulties to the 

 systematist from the very imperfect state in which it is repre- 

 sented in even the best herbaria, both as to number of species 

 and condition of specimens. M. DeCandolle has the following 

 observations upon the collections he has examined: — "I have 

 been struck with the existing poverty of the largest herbaria. 

 That of Berlin, the most rich in Smilncea of those which I have 

 had for examination, contains only half of the described species; 

 that of Kew, although I have not seen it, may probably possess 

 more ; but the herbaria of the Paris Museum, my own and that of 

 the St. Petersburg garden, have less than half the species ; the 

 herbaria of Vienna, Munich, Florence, of M. Boissier and the 

 Delessert herbarium follow these closely ; whilst the others remain 

 singularly below. It is extraordinary that herbaria do not 

 grow in proportion to the facilities' of travel. I will further 

 add that I consider it a scandal to our time — so satisfied with 

 itself — that the existing species of plants are not represented 

 in some of the principal herbaria by at least fom'-fifths, and 

 arranged in each family according to the best or most recent 

 monograph. The condition in which one finds si)ccimens is not 

 less to be regretted. In Smilacece, for instance, i^laiits usually 

 dicEcious, a very large number of species are only known from 



