Antoine- Laurent Jussieu. 31 



bouring in perfecting his System. Desfontaines confirmed 

 it by his beautiful observations upon the structure of stems ; 

 Petit- Thouars also applied it with singular sagacity, as did 

 Richard, the father of precise and detailed vegetable analysis, 

 whose austere style is well known, and who, nevertheless, dis- 

 tinguishes the author of this arrangement as the first botanist of 

 Europe ; whilst all the celebrated botanists who have appeared 

 within the last half century, have proclaimed him their mas- 

 ter. It has been given to few individuals to exercise such an 

 influence over other men ; and to still fewer to be themselves 

 witness of it : it is a career which is probably unique, belong- 

 ing equally to the 18th and the 19th century, and which, in 

 time as in honour, is allied with the two gi-eatest events con- 

 nected with the natm'al sciences in these two remarkable cen- 

 turies, with the Chemistry of Lavoisier, which was published 

 in the year 1789, the same year with M. de Jussieu's work, so 

 closing the 18th century ; and with the Becherches sur les 

 Ossemens Fossiles, by George Cuvier, which signalized the 

 commencement of the 19th century. 



On the comparative merits of the Reflecting Microscope of Sir 

 David Brewster, and the Catadioptric Engiscop)e of Profes- 

 sor Amici of Modena ; with an account of a new Beflecting 

 Telescope for Terrestrial Objects. By Charles R. Go- 

 ring, M. D. Communicated by the Author. 



Sir Davjd Brewster, whose various ingenious writings on 

 the microscope need no feeble testimony of mine in their favour, 

 has, in his Encyclopaedia Britannica treatise on the microscope, 

 mentioned a new construction for reflecting instruments, which 

 he seems to consider far superior to any other hitherto invent- 

 ed. I am disposed to think, from a consideration of the draw- 

 ing he has given of it, that he cannot have been at the trouble 

 and expense of trying it well and fairly^ else he would have 

 found out the necessity of making the small plane metal of its 

 proper size, viz. at least one-half of the diameter of the concave 

 one. No less can it be if the whole aperture of the concave 

 one is to be called into operation. In the wood-engraving in 

 Sir David's treatise it is made much in the same proportion as 



