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suits. Bulbs are divided into annual and perennial ; with the 

 consideration of the former, the history of the development 

 and propagation of the daffodil, the tulip, the crown impe- 

 rial, the crocus, the common onion, &c., are detailed with the 

 greatest accuracy. The hyacinth is taken as an example of 

 the vital history of the bulbs of perennial duration, and the 

 development of its bulbs very minutely described. The genera 

 Muscari, Ornithogalum, Uropetalum, Amaryllis, Narcissus, 

 Pancratium, Galanthus, &c., resemble the hyacinth. The con- 

 dition of the bulbs of Amaryllis formosissima is specially de- 

 scribed. The lilies form a second chief division of perma- 

 nent bulbous plants, in as much as they have scaly bulbs ; a 

 great number of liliaceous plants, which chiefly belong to our 

 most beautiful plants, have been studied for a series of years, 

 and the development of their bulbs fully described. Of the 

 Allia, Allium Cepa, descendens, fragrans, moly, nigrum, sati- 

 vum, Scorodoprasum and vineale are annual, and Allium acut- 

 angulum, fistulosum, senescens, and Victorialis are perennial, 

 and to the same class belong also some kinds of Iris, Scilla, 

 Gladiolus, Oxalis and others. All these observations are not 

 only highly instructive to botanists, but must also prove very 

 agreeable to the lovers of horticulture. 



The second part of this work contains general observations 

 on bulbous plants, from which I may extract the follow- 

 ing. The regular, more or less rounded form of all bulbs arises, 

 says M. von Berg, chiefly from this circumstance, that in these* 

 plants, more so than in all others, the antithesis between the 

 inner formation and outer development appears most promi- 

 nently, and that both actions begin contemporaneously and 

 almost consist in the same act ! M. v. Berg noticed a curious 

 fact on the bulb of the narcissus, which commenced deve- 

 loping leaves of a bright violet colour like those of the flower ; 

 subsequently they increased considerably in length, but the 

 coloured apices dried up while the larger inferior portions re- 

 mained quite foliaceous. 



A distinct chapter is devoted to the consideration of the 

 individuality and death of plants. The question, whether 

 plants die from age or whether their termination is brought 

 about by accidents, is then treated of, and M. von Berg de- 

 clares in favour of the first view, which in my opinion, how- 



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