1823.] The Edinburgh 
gle insect is visible to the public, of 
all that have been depusited in the 
British Museum.” The destruction of 
* quadrupeds is, it seems, equally com- 
plete. «Sloane’s Muscum contained 
1886 specimens of Mammalia; but, 
except what may be preserved in bot- 
tles, or falling to pieces in the vaults, 
all Sloane’s quadrupeds have been 
annihilated.” Of his immense herba- 
rium of 334 volumes, only 50 or 60 
now remain; and these are the prey 
of worms. All this, and much more, 
is asserted; and the trustees are call- 
ed upon by name, as gentlemen, as 
men of science, and as Englishmen, to 
consider the r esponsibility under which 
they lie. The parliamentary grants, 
and other resources of the Muscum, 
are stated as amounting to about 
10,0002. a-year. 
William Rae Wilson’s Travels in 
Egypt and the Holy Laud isthe subject 
of the next article, and appears to us 
to be very fairly criticised. The ridi- 
culous fanaticism of the author is 
treated rather with kindness than 
contempt; and, altogether, it is writ- 
ten in a style very different from what 
is usually to be found in the Edinburgh 
Review. 
Two French works (A Geology of 
Scotland, by M. Boué, and Travels in 
Scotland and the Hebrides, by M. 
Necker de Saussure,) enable the 
writer of the seventh article to amuse 
himself with twenty-four pages of ri- 
dicule and hypercriticism. According 
to the reviewer, those authors are the 
veriest book-makers that ever employ- 
ed paste and scissars. All their geo- 
logical information is stolen from Dr. 
Macculloch and other writers; and 
yet, it would seem, they are invariably 
in the wrong. Not having seen the 
works in question, we will not pretend 
to say how far the criticism is just, 
and what parts of it are captious; but 
we suspect there is much of the latter. 
The imaginary science of geology, 
with its unutterable terminology, has 
produced as much bitterness of con- 
troversy as if the eternal happiness of 
mankind hung upon its theories. The 
party-spirit of the reviewer is obvi- 
ously strong; and Professor Jameson 
receives his share of the unsparing 
ridicule. In the botanical part, M. de 
Saussure is accused of having made 
two errors. He has spoken of the 
Lyrica vagans a8 a native of Scotland, 
and the "Betula nana, or dwarf- bite, 
as growing in Arran. Much foolish 
Review, No. 76. 231 
witis expended on the latter mistake, 
and probably without foundation. 
"The dwarf birch (says the reviewer, ) 
is one of the rarest Scotch plants, 
growing only in the remote mountains 
of Athol, and in one or two equally 
insulated spots.” We would ask the 
critic on what authority he has made 
this assertion? Lightfoot, who was 
no careless observer, says, “It has 
been found also in the Lowlands,— 
in Clydesdale,”—in the very neighbour- 
hood of Arran. And why not in the 
Isle of Arran itself, if the critic be not 
well assured of the contrary? fs not 
Arran (an island) an equally insulated 
pot? 
A pamphlet, entitled Observations 
relative to Infant Schools, by Dr. 'Tho- 
mas Pole, comes next under conside- 
ration, and serves to introduce an 
essay on early moral education. ‘The 
principle laid down is, that moral 
education ought to begin before the 
child is eighteen months old. But the 
poor have neither leisure nor informa- 
tion to attend to the tempers of their 
children; and therefore inlant-schools 
are proposed, in which the child may 
be admitted throughout the day for a 
small fee ; thus giving the mother more 
time for labour, and superseding the 
use of dame’s schools, where such 
children are usually taught their 
ABC. An infant school on this plan 
has been established in Westminster, 
and another in Spitalfields. Dr. Pole 
(who is a Quaker,) gives an account 
of the origin of these establishments, 
and gives the credit of the plan to 
Emmanuel de Fellenberg and Robert 
Owen. These gentlemen have suc- 
ceceded in thus separating the infants 
from their mothers during the day; 
and, if they chose, they might take 
them away altogether; for both mother 
and child are dependant on the esta- 
blishment for the means of existence. 
It seems, however, that in Westmin- 
ster a considerable prejudice prevails 
in favour of dame’s schools: the mo- 
ther prefering to send ber infant to an 
old woman of whom she knows some- 
thing, (and who already has the care of 
the children of her neighbours,) to the 
giving itin charge to a man of whom 
she knows nothing, to run about in a 
large yard, with 2 or 300 others,—the 
children of strangers. This to us is 
not wonderful. The article, altoge- 
ther, is very prosingly written; and in 
such English as might be expected 
from a well-meaning old Jady, who 
has 
