348 NOTICES OF BOOKS AND MEMOIES. 



and periodical botanical literature alone contains an amount of 

 additional matter which is truly formidable in its proportions. The 

 floras of the less-known counties, Iceland, Ireland, Spain, Greece, 

 Turkey, and the eastern parts of Europe, have been in the same 

 period carefully worked out by competent botanists, whilst in the 

 north and west of Em-ope the industry of very numerous observers 

 has resulted in a vast number of new forms and varieties being 

 distinguished, synonymy rectified, distribution corrected and 

 extended, and a considerable number of additional species in every 

 district. To grapple with this mass of literature in various 

 languages, and reduce it to a brief orderly summary, was a task 

 which few would have the courage to face or the necessary qualifi- 

 cations to accomplish ; and our thanks are due to the author for 

 the masterly manner in which he has here effected it. 



In the use of the ' Sylloge ' there was one drawback felt by nearly 

 all but the botanists of Scandinavia, namely, its arrangement, which 

 was unfamiliar, and necessitated the constant use of the index. 

 The Friesian system has been here supplanted by the CandoUean, 

 to which most systematic botanists are now quite accustomed. 

 The book is also smaller, the type better, and printed in single 

 lines instead of double columns, and every expedient tending to 

 judicious condensation and brevity adopted. The formula on 

 which each species is treated has been somewhat altered also, both 

 in the way of addition and subtraction. The fuU quotation of 

 the authorities for the names has been dropped — a change to be 

 deprecated, though space is gained by it. On the other hand we 

 have now reference under each species to published ' Exsiccata,' a 

 very useful addition ; the synonymy has been much extended and 

 is well up to date (it is a pity that synonyms are not printed in 

 itahcs as in the ' Sylloge'), and the sub-species or species of 

 lower grade are readily distinguished by being printed in smaller 

 type and havmg no number prefixed. Keferences are given to the 

 ' Sylloge ' and its ' Supplement ' (published m 1865) in cases 

 where the special distribution of sub-species or varieties was given 

 in those books but is not here repeated. 



Condensation has been greatly studied, and on the whole the 

 actual number of distribution-districts appears to be smaller than 

 before. This has resulted partly from additional knowledge having 

 shown many species to have a more general range ; and also, in 

 the case of montane or alpine species, from quoting the mountain- 

 ranges specifically, " Pyren. Alpes. Carp.," instead of under the 

 names of all the political divisions of Europe to which they 

 belong — a change worthy of notice, as a step towards natural 

 instead of artificial districts. 



The author inclines to employ the genera founded on less 

 marked characters, ej/., PulsatiUa, Ficaria, Batracldum , but in his 

 species-views he is by no means given to undue refinement, 

 and the host of specific names of the ultra-critical school are 

 merely given without remark under the species out of which they 

 were carved, or are even intentionally omitted. 



The botanist looking through the closely-printed pages before 



