1862.] REVIEWS. 279 



he so long honourably filled, " who will take his place in the bo- 

 tanical world 1" There are great men still in being ; but com- 

 parisons are odious, hated by those who have the misfortune to 

 be compared. Mr. E. Forster and Mr. W. Borrer are kindred 

 spirits, " lovely in their lives," were attached to the harmless 

 science, but both lived for higher objects than botany. They 

 were true philanthropists, genuine lovers of humanity, and 

 natheless actuated by higher motives than philanthropy. Can 

 any of our readers tell or surmise upon whom their mantle has 

 fallen? 



The reviewer has now given his readers a very brief summary 

 of the ' Flora of Essex,^ and he will not obtrude his opinion of its 

 merits. Let the readers of the Flora judge for themselves. He 

 will not however begrudge his own individual thanks, and he ac- 

 knowledges the pleasure he has had in perusing a work of so 

 much labour, research, and expense — a book which is so highly 

 creditable to all who were engaged in its production, the printer, 

 the engraver, and the author. Let it not be forgotten that the 

 book is illustrated, and ornamented also with very excellent 

 coloured drawings of the four plants presumed to be peculiar to 

 Essex, viz. Lathyrus iuberosus, L. hirsutus, Bupleurum falcatum, 

 and Galium Vaillantii. We are quite certain that the few bo- 

 tanists who will have the pleasure of seeing the ' Flora of Essex,' 

 will enjoy its contents as much as ourselves. 



That Lathyrus hirsutus is peculiar to Essex should be received 

 cum grano salis. There are records of its being, seen in other 

 counties, and some of these are not unworthy of some respect. 

 Derby, Durham, and Somerset have all been, even in modern 

 times, debited with this species. The other three peculiar species 

 have been observed in other parts of England, and as they are agra- 

 rials they may appear almost anywhere between the four seas. 



No reader can reasonably expect a first aitemi^t to be quite 

 immaculate, nor emaculate like Gerard's ' Herbal ' by Johnson ; 

 but it may be affirmed that the author and his friends have done 

 their best, and their work, as the Germans say, will praise the 

 workmen. (" Das Werk den Meister loben soil.'') The author 

 very modestly states that he is " aware of its shortcomings," 

 and he indulges the charitable hope " that other labourers in the 

 same field will endeavour to supply the deficiencies, which are to 

 some extent unavoidable in a first attempt to describe the dis- 



