4-52 Loudo7i^s Encyclopcsdia of Plants. 



cially in duration of temperature, it [hot water] can ever be brought to 

 equal the steam chamber filled vvi;th stones, as practised by Mr. Hay." 



The saving of heat effected by coverings of straw mats or boards, is 

 pointed out and explained on scientific principles, as are the advantages of 

 hollow walls. The importance of the study of vegetable physiology to 

 practical gardeners is insisted on, and of the use of societies in stimulating 

 both to local and general improvement. The magistrates of Edinburgh are 

 said " not to have been slow to acknowledge the very great improvement 

 in every description of produce exhibited in the vegetable market " since 

 the institution of the Society. Of ornamental horticulture it is observed, 

 that " nowhere, in proportion to the accommodation provided, can finer 

 specimens of beautiful exotics be seen, than in the new conservatories of 

 the Edinburgh botanic garden, under the care of Mr. Macnab. Lastly 

 it is concluded that, " Whether we look to the examples of the great 

 and wealthy at home ; to the spirit of enquiry and emulation that per- 

 vades almost all other countries as well as our own, and circulates, as it 

 were, every where freely amongst them ; or whether we call to mind the 

 great skill and enterprise possessed by our practical gardeners, prompting 

 them continually not only to make new observations and try new experi- 

 ments in the practice of their art, but to avail themselves of all the new 

 lights which the sciences connected with it can bestow ; we cannot, I think, 

 but admit, that, great as may have been the recent progress of horticulture, 

 it is yet destined to move on with accelerated speed, and contribute at 

 once to the elegant gratification and solid comforts of the public, to an ex- 

 tent not easily to be judged of by what we already know. 



" It will not be denied, that, in proportion to its means, this Society may 

 claim its full share, both in regard to precept and example, in bringing 

 about this favourable state of things ; and, had it been patronised by the 

 great and wealthy in this part of the island, in a degree corresponding to 

 the support which our elder sister of the British metropolis has received, 

 it would, we think, have exhibited proportionally higher claims to public 

 encouragement. But, looking onward to the future rather than backward 

 to the past, we would cherish the hope, now that its merits have been pub- 

 licly recognised, that it is destined to take a sort of new life ; and that, 

 having passed through the trying periods of seed-time and early growth, it 

 will, ere long, approach maturity, and yield as rich a harvest of fruits as its 

 most sanguine friends can desire. In circumstances like these, it will not, 

 we trust, be objected to this part of the empire, which has so long been 

 distinguished in horticulture as to be considered as a sort of nursery for 

 gardeners, that it is now backward in encouraging the art which it has 

 hitherto so successfully cultivated ; and that, too, at a moment when it is 

 exciting such unusual interest in almost every civilised state, is advancing 

 with rapid pace, both in practical skill and scientific developement, and is 

 almost daily receiving the most novel and important acquisitions, and 

 holding out prospects of increasing honour and reward to those who may 

 professionally devote themselves to its culture." 



Loudon, J. C, Editor, with the assistance of Professor Lindley, Mr.Sowerby, 

 and others: The Encyclopaedia of Plants; comprising all those in 

 Britain, either indigenous or cultivated, flowering or without Flowers; 

 with Figures illustrating one Species or more of every Genus, all the 

 Classes and Orders, and many of the Botanical Terms. London. 1 vol. 

 8vo, pp. 1159. 4Ll4s.6d. 



This work, the labour of nearly ten years, is intended to be in botany, 

 what a Johnson's Dictionary and English Grammar are in the English 

 language; and its editor can recommend it for the objects stated with the 

 more confidence, since by far the greater part of the volume is the labour 

 of Professor Lindley and Mr. Sowerby. 



