wood's works. 41 



" I must never cease to remember the ingenious and 

 valuable present of the late king, Louis Bonaparte, to the 

 collection of the library. It is the work of a German, and 

 consists of 135 volumes formed of wood. The binding of 

 each book is formed of a different tree ; the back is orna- 

 mented with pieces of the bark, and such mosses, lichens, 

 and other parasitical plants, as characterise the species. 

 Each volume opens, as it were, in the centre of the leaves, 

 and contains the bud, leaves, flower, fruit, farina, and 

 every other part in any degree illustrative of the nature 

 of the tree. It affords a complete and scientific exempli- 

 fication of 1 35 trees, beginning with the oaks and ending 

 with the juniper ; and, in fact, may be considered as a 

 brief and perfect epitome of the German groves and forests. 

 In the case of plants, such as the rose and juniper, the 

 ligneous parts of which are not sufficiently large for the 

 purposes required, the binding is formed of some ordinary 

 wood, sprinkled over with fine moss, and then elegantly 

 barred with the rose or juniper wood, giving the volume 

 the appearance of a valuable old manuscript with iron 

 clasps. On the whole, it is one of the most ingenious and 

 complete productions I have ever seen. 



" My friend the librarian was, I found, one of the chief 

 causes of the most valuable manuscripts in the collection 

 not beino; transferred to Paris. He was continued in 

 office during the administration of the French, and being 



