341 REVIEW. [November, 



are found growing together, as if the little peculiarities in the 

 form of the leaves were matters of indifference, and not induced 

 by any dire necessities in the struggle for life." 



Every philosophic naturalist will admit with our author the 

 great difficulties that confessedly exist on the question about the 

 distribution of plants, and some would not be sorry if these 

 difficulties were more generally admitted to be palpable impos- 

 sibilities. 



Some of the readers of this interesting essay on the Flora of 

 the White Mountains, one at the least, might wish to have the 

 following quotation made less difficult (both logic and grammar 

 are obscure), viz. '•' These questions/' the author continues, " are 

 to be worked out, not merely by the patient collection of facts, 

 but by a style of scientific thought, very much above those 

 [persons?] which on the one hand escape such problems by the 

 supposition of multiplied centres of creation, or, on the other, 

 renders their solution worthless by confounding races due to 

 disturbing causes with species originally distinct." What does 

 the doctor mean ? Does the pronoun ' which ' refer to facts 

 or to persons? Is the style of scientific thought above the 

 reach of the comprehension of either of the two classes? The 

 grammatical difficulty would be removed by substituting who for 

 which after Hhose,' if his meaning be that a higher order of intel- 

 lect is necessary for the solution of these problems than is en- 

 joyed by those who suppose that there have been multiplied 

 centres and successive periods of creation, or, on the other hand, 

 etc. Those ivhich and their refer eitlier to persons or to things, 

 to 'facts' or 'style of scientific thought,' 'problems,' etc. Would 

 the author condescend to enlighten our darkness ? We would not 

 hesitate to confess, as part of our scientific creed, that we are not 

 believers in multiplied centres of vegetation, nor iu simple nor 

 single centres either; and again, we do not believe that tlie gla- 

 cial theory, as it is called, will satisfactorily account for the dis- 

 tribution of plants. There are several plants common to the 

 Scottish, the Scandinavian, and the Swiss Alps ; on which of 

 these now elevated stations did these plants originate ? A Scotch- 

 man would, if only out of sheer patriotism, aver that they all 

 had their origin on the Grampians, or on Ben Lawers, or on 

 Ben Cruachan. A Norwegian, like a Swede, would maintain that 

 his country was first created, and consequently first planted- with 



