636 



3. Manual of British Botany, containing the Flowering Plants and Ferns, ar- 

 ranged according to the Natural Orders. By Charles C. Babington, 

 M.A., F.L.S., F.G.S., ETC , ETC. London: Vao Voorst. 1843. 12mo. 



In our last number we briefly mentioned the appearance of two of 

 the works whose titles stand at the head of this article : in the pre- 

 sent notice we believe we cannot do better than combine with these a 

 third, and to class them all under one general head ; since the geo- 

 graphical distribution of plants and their correct discrimination are 

 branches of botanical science as inseparable as they are important 

 and interesting. A botanist is always anxious to ascertain not only 

 the name of a plant and its place in the system ; he also wishes to 

 make himself acquainted with its native country, its general geogra- 

 phical range, and every circumstance connected with its habitats and 

 localities, together with the various conditions of climate and altitude 

 under which it occurs. Such information relative to our native spe- 

 cies will be convey ed in Mr. Watson's treatise on ' The Geographi- 

 cal Distribution of British Plants,' of which the first part, containing 

 the Ranunculaceas, Nympheeaceae and Papaveraceae, is now before 

 us. The author has been for many years engaged on this subject; 

 the two treatises previously printed by him having been but the pre- 

 cursors of the present admirable work, wherein his views are more 

 fully developed, and the results of his researches stated in a more ex- 

 tended form. Its scope and design will be best shown by extracts 

 from the "Preliminary Explanations." 



" The first object to be accomplished in the following pages, is that of bringing 

 together, under a methodical form, those facts which are calculated to assist in show- 

 ing both the general range and local habitats of such plants as are reputedly indige- 

 nous, or pretty well naturalised, in the island of Great Britain and its islets immedi- 

 ately adjacent, from Scilly to Shetland." — p. 2. 



The plants of Ireland are necessarily excluded, there not being on 

 record sufficient data to enable the author to illustrate the geographi- 

 cal relations of the flora of that country. The Channel Isles are in 

 like manner excluded, because they are considered to belong more 

 properly to France than to this coiuitry : " all their indigenous plants 

 being apparently common to those islets with France, while several 

 of them are unknown among the native plants of England." 



" After bringing together such data as may be found conveniently within the au- 

 thor's reach, for exhibiting the ascertained distribution of each species considered by 

 itself, it will then become comparatively easy to add illustrative maps, statistical tables, 

 and more comprehensive and generalised views respecting those various physical con- 

 flilions which arc apparently most influential in determining the present distribution 



