34 REVIEWS. 



this time appeared. It is stated in the original announcement 

 that the work ^vill not exceed ten or twelve numbers ; we 

 imagine, however, that four or five additional numbers will be 

 required for its completion. It commences, like the " Genera 

 Plantarum " of Jussieu, with the plants of the simplest or 

 lowest organization (Thallophyta, Endl.) ; a plan which is 

 now the most common and perhaps the most philosophical, 

 but which is attended with many practical inconveniences to 

 the tyro. 



The first edition of the " Genera Plantarum " by Linnaeus 

 was published at Leyden in the year 1737 ; the second and 

 third were published at the same place, the one in 1742, the 

 other in 1752 ; the fourth and fifth were published at Stock- 

 holm ; the latter (termed the sixth in our copy) in the year 

 1764, which is the last by Linnaeus himself, is the edition gen- 

 erally cited, and was reprinted at Vienna in 17G7. This last 

 Stockholm edition forms the excellent model of all the suc- 

 ceeding editions, as they are termed, edited by various au- 

 thors. It comprises 1239 genera, which in an appendix are 

 reduced as far as possible to their proper natural orders. The 

 first edition after the death of Linnaeus is, we believe, that of 

 Keichard, published at Frankfort in 1778, about the same 

 time with the edition of the " Systema Plantarum " by the 

 same author. To this succeeded the edition by Schreber 

 (published also at Frankfort, 1789-1791, in two volumes), 

 who is chiefly famous for having in this work changed all the 

 unclassical names of Aublet and others for new ones made 

 according to the Linnaean canons. Succeeding authors in 

 plucking these borrowed plumes have despoiled him of some 

 rightful feathers ; as in the case of the genus Erasenia, for 

 which most botanists have retained Michaux's name, Hydro- 

 peltis, which was published a dozen years later. The number 

 of genera is here increased to 1769. About the same time 

 (1791) an edition was published by Ilaenke at Vienna, which 

 is apparently carefully digested. The latest edition of the 

 " Genera Plantarum " which bears the name of Linnajus, and is 

 arranged according to the artificial system, is that of Sprengel, 

 and published at Gottingen in 1830 and 1831 (2 vols. 8vo), 



