Bibliographical Notices. 119 



of Cambridge, and, at a still earlier date, by Webb and Coleman for 

 that of Essex. But possibly the very first attempt at recording the 

 plants of a province in this way was made in Babington's • Flora of 

 the Channel Islands.' He there always records the presence of a 

 plant, when known to him, in each of the four principal islands, and 

 thus gives a tolerably complete flora, not only of the whole group, 

 but also of the two larger islands, and less perfectly of two of the 

 smaller ones. "We believe that there are no other books in which 

 this valuable mode of determining the frequency of each plant within 

 the range of a local flora is employed. 



Mr. Gibson has manifestly taken much pains to render his book 

 as complete as possible. He records about 1 1 20 plants as said to 

 have been found in Essex, but marks a considerable number as either 

 mistakes, naturalized, or otherwise more or less ambiguous as species 

 or as natives of the county. This weeding of the list seems to have 

 been done with care, and we very rarely see any reason for arriving 

 at a different opinion from that announced by the author. We may, 

 perhaps, instance as a few of these differences our doubt if Nymp/icea 

 alba can require the mark of doubtful nativity appended by Gibson; 

 and the same may perhaps be said of Rosa rubiginosa. On the 

 other hand, it seems nearly certain that Saponaria officinalis is a 

 naturalized plant in the east of England, whatever claims it may show 

 to be thought indigenous on the borders of Wales. But we will not 

 occupy valuable space by following up a subject so open to contro- 

 versy, and on which each careful observer must judge for himself. 



We have said that the Essex flora contains an enumeration of 

 about 1120 plants, thus exceeding that of the adjoining county of 

 Cambridge by nearly 200 species. This is chiefly caused by the 

 extensive sea-coast which bounds Essex, and the almost total absence 

 of maritime plants from Cambridgeshire. 



Very much addition is made to the value of this book by the ex- 

 ceedingly numerous, learned, and accurate remarks introduced into 

 it by the Rev. W. W. Newbould, one of our best botanists and a 

 gentleman especially conversant with contemporary foreign floras, 

 and also with the writers of the ante-Linnsean period and their 

 herbaria. His remarks are usually (although, we think, not always) 

 pointed out by the letter N being appended to them. Mr. Gibson 

 observes in the Preface : — " I cannot omit to refer more particularly 

 to my valued friend W. W. Newbould, to whom I am indebted for 

 the assistance which he has most kindly and freely rendered. In 

 addition to the time bestowed on ancient authorities and herbaria, 

 he has undertaken excursions into several districts, for the purpose of 

 noting localities ; and, besides offering various important suggestions, 

 he has revised the manuscript, assisted in correcting the proof-sheets 

 while they were passing through the press, and added many critical 

 notes. The accuracy of the work has been much enhanced by 

 W. W. Newbould's exertions." This acknowledgment we consider 

 fully required ; for we have personal knowledge of the great labour 

 and care with which he treated the manuscript. Newbould makes 

 an interesting remark upon Carex ericetorum, which has been re- 



