the young botanist must necessarily ap- 
ply; for of Linnzus’s introductory ex- 
planation of the vegetable kingdom only 
a small part is translated, giving little 
more than a brief account of the fructi- 
fication. | The definitions, as far as they 
0, ate clear and accurate, that of the 
Folticle excepted, which is said to be a 
single-valved pericaxp, opening longitu- 
dinally on one side, and containing loose 
seeds. The idea directly conveyed by 
the last phrase is totally inconsistent with 
the essential principles of vegetation. 
Loose seeds can derive no nutriment 
from the parent plant, and will never 
come to maturity. The original is fol- 
liculus membranaceus, univalvis, latere 
dehiscens, 2 seminibus distinctus. Its 
meaning, though not completely express- 
THORNTON'S NEW ILLUSTRATION OF LINNZUS"S SEXUAL SYSTEM. 
873 
ed, certainly is that the receptacle of the 
seeds is attached to the pericarp at its 
base, and is unconnected with it in any 
other part. 
The present volume includes the class. 
polyandria, and Dr. Turton will doubt 
less wait for the completion of Willdes 
now’s valuable edition, before he brings 
his version to a close, a consummation 
devoutly to be wished by the merely 
English botanist. We have observed 
several errors of the press, not mentioned 
i the table of errata; which, we trust, 
will be carefully corrected in a future 
edition; and as the botanical part of the 
work is likely to have a more extensive 
sale than the rest, Dr. Turton will pro- 
bably be induced to reprint it ina dee 
tached form, 
Arr. IX. 4 New Illustration of the Sexual System of Linnaus. By Rovert Jous 
Tuornton, 17. D. Fe. 
«* TO turn the penny, once, a wit 
Upon a curious fancy hit; 
Heng out a board, on which he boasted, 
¢ Dinner for threepence, boiled and roasted !’ 
The hungry read, and in they trip, 
With eager eye and smacking lip : 
* Here, bring this boiled and roasted pray.’ 
Enter potatoes, dressed each way : 
All stared and rose, the house forsook, 
The dinner cursed, and kicked the cook. 
My landlord found, poor Patrick Kelly, 
There is no jesting with the belly. 
«<« Now can’t you guess the application ! 
Don’t raise too high an expectation.” 
So sang, or so said our English Ros- 
cius, forty years ago, in one of his hus 
morous prologues. Whether Dr. Thorn- 
tén had never heard of this luckless 
Hibernian, or confident of his own 
powers, had no doubt of equalling the 
most lofty expectations which could pos- 
sibly be excited, we know not: but cer- 
tain it is, that he did not hesitate, pre- 
vious to the appearance of this new 
illustration of the Sexual System in suc- 
cessive numbers, to publish a prospectus, 
at least as full of promise as the hum- 
bler board of poor Paddy. It was re- 
commended alike to the lover of science 
and the lover of elegance, as a great 
national work: it was described at its 
outset, in a dedication to the queen, as 
intended to exceed all works of the kind 
on the continent, and to be not only (by 
-employing the first artists of this coun- 
try) a national honour, but an eternal 
memorial of that protection which is 
“granted to science by her most graci- 
‘Qus majesty: its patronage was pom. 
Folio. 
pously announced as comprehending her 
most gracious majesty, their royal high. 
nesses the prince and princess of Wales, 
and the duke of Gloucester; their se= 
rene highnesses the princess of Wirtem- 
berg, and the princess Sophia of Glou- 
cester ; nine foreign kings and poten- 
tates; seventy-four English, and five 
foreign nobility ; one hundred and nine- 
ty-four gentry ; two hundred and sixty- 
six medical gentlemen, twenty florists, 
and fourteen public bodies, at the time 
when only one hundred and fifty sub- 
scribers were deficient, beyond which 
number not a single individual was to 
have the honour and happiness of pos- 
sessing this superb work. Its claim to 
general admiration was to be founded 
partly on the fairness of the paper, the 
beauty of the letter, the accuracy of the 
figures, and the splendour of the colour- 
ed engravings: but, as in these, Dr. 
Thornton was to be indebted entirely to 
the talents and skill of professional 
workmen and artists, it would naturally 
be taken for granted, that the part exe~ 
cuted by himself would possess an equal 
degree of pre-eminent excellence. He 
could not but be sensible that, as the 
superior qualities of the paper and type 
are mercly decorations, so the engrav- 
ings, though in some degree illustrative, 
are chiefly ornamental; and that the 
substance, the life, and the spirit must 
be sought for in the matter, the facundia 
and the Jucidus ordo of the literary com- 
position. Tor, if we suppose him un- 
acquainted with the mishap of Patrick 
