625 



may often go very far out of the way ;" for his article on ' The Indi- 

 genous Plants of the Mauritius ' is such a precious compound of con- 

 ceit and " ignorance as in the present age one would hardly expect 

 to meet with." 



That our readers may not be required to take our assertions on 

 trust and without proof, we subjoin numerous extracts quoted verba- 

 tim, literatim et pimctaiim : beginning with the introductory para- 

 graph, in which the author sets forth that " He may be allowed per- 

 haps to remark that no English botanical work (and he has searched 

 the most eminent), contains a correct list of the indigenous plants of 

 the Mauritius. * * * jje flatters himself, therefore, 



that the labour he has devoted to this investigation may be found use- 

 ful even to the naturalist. In the arrangement of the genera, the au- 

 thor has preferred the Jussiaean to the Linnean system as being less 

 complex, and therefore better understood." 



So far the plan was good ; and there is nothing to complain of but 

 the bad execution of it. And first with respect to the author's idea 

 of what he calls the Jussicean system, but which, from its originality 

 ought rather to bear his own name. We doubt whether either of the 

 illustrious naturalists apparently alluded to, would willingly accept the 

 paternity of the following arrangement. Euphorbiaceae, Meliaceae, 

 MyrtaceaB, Malvaceae, Leguminosae, Piperaceae, Polypodaceae, Convol- 

 vulaceae, Solaneae, Pandaneae, Palmae, Cyperaceae, Sapindaceae, Rosa- 

 ceae, Verbenaceae, Rubiaceae, Terebinthaceae, Sapoteas, Compositae, 

 Urticeae, Osmundaceae, Bixaceae, Bythenariaceae, Bixineae, Onagra- 

 neaB, Campanulaceae, Rhamni, Vagumlati Olocarpi, Annonaceae, 

 Aristolochieae, Asphodeleae, Labieteae, Homelineae, Capparideae, 

 Acanthaceae, Oi'chideae, Asclepiadeae, Ulmaceae, Caryophylleae, Aroi- 

 deae, Laurineae, Sarmentaceae, Siuilaceae, Superflua, Iridoeas, Passi- 

 floreae, Tiliaceae, Musaceae, Amaryllydeae, Epidendreae, Scitamineae, 

 Oxalideae, Melastomaceas, Heinerocallideae, Connaracese, Combre- 

 taceae, Plantagineae, Olcineae, Cucurbitaceae, Boragineae, SterculiaceaD, 

 Apocyneae, Commelineae, ^sculiacea3, Jucoideae, Menispermeae, Au- 

 rantiaceae, Rhizophoreae, Cordiaceae, Arialaceae, Gentianeae, Santala- 

 ceaD, Hyraenomycetes, Umbelliferae, Chlenaceae, Nymphiaceae, Ebe- 

 naceae, Gramineae. 



We entreat our readers not to skip the above formidable array of 

 names (which, by the way, are followed by a supplement, equally 

 clever), for they really display considerable ingenuity, both as regards 

 location and orthogiaphy, both particulars being strictly observed 

 in our quotation. But better remains behind. 



