$o4 Analysesof Books. [May, 
see a simplification in the taste of bibliography all over the world. 
‘The magnificence and expense of Humboldt’s books must have 
rendered their sale exceedingly limited ; a circumstance which could 
not but tend very materially to circumscribe his reputation, and to 
prevent the general diffusion of the facts which he published; for 
the purchasers of very expensive books are very seldom those who 
are best qualified to appreciate their merit, or to draw advantage 
from them. We are persuaded that Baron von Humboldt would 
very materially increase his reputation, and at the same time confer 
an important obligation on science, if he would republish all his 
works on South America in a small octavo form, and freed as much 
as possible from all repetitions and unnecessary details. 
Humboldt and Bonpland, in their five years’ travels in South 
America, from north latitude 12° to south latitude 23°, collected 
5,800 species of plants. Of these 5,500 were phanerogamous 
plants, 3,000 of which were new, and unknown before to botanists. 
That this number is.very considerable, will be evident from this, 
that in .the Systema Vegetabilium of Willdenow, published from 
1797 to 1811, the whole phanerogamous plants of South America 
do not exceed 3,158 species ; while the plants of New Holland at 
present known do not exceed 3,800 species. 
The species of phanerogamous plants known to grow in South 
America within the Tropics, including those that have been lately 
added to the list by Humboldt and Bonpland, Ruiz and Payo, Per- 
soon, Mutis, &c. amount to 13,000. 
Botanists at present are acquainted altogether with 44,000 species 
of plants; while the whole number mentioned by the Greeks, 
Romans, and Arabians, does not exceed 1,400. The proportion of 
plants which grow in latitudes 0°, 45°, and 68°, are as the numbers 
12, 4, 1. The mean annual temperature in these regions is $1+°, 
555 1°, 321°; the mean summer temperature is $21°, 70°, 531°. 
~ Within the tropics the monocotyledinous plants are to the dyco- 
tyledinous as one to six; between latitudes 36° and 52°, as one to 
four ; and at the polar ‘circle, as one to two. In Germany, the 
monocotyledinous plants are to the whole phanerogamous plants as 
1 to 44; in France, as 1 to42. The same proportion holds in 
North America; and likewise, according to Mr. Brown, in the 
temperate zone of New Holland; while in Iceland and Lapland 
the monocotyledinous plants are to the whole phanerogamous as one 
to three. 
The annual monocotyledinous and dicotyledinous plants in the 
temperate zone constitute jth part of the whole phanerogamous 
plants. In the torrid zone they scarcely amount to 4,th part; and 
in Lapland to 5th. 
The following table exhibits the number of species of the natural 
families of phanerogamous plants which grow spontaneously in 
France, Germany, and Lapland, with the ratio of each to the whole 
number of phaneyogamous plants growing in the country. 
