Bibliographical Notice. 91 



limited district, and to mention the exact localities in which the rarer 

 plants were found : anything beyond this was considered unnecessary. 

 No attempt was then made to determine the frequency of the plants 

 throughout the district, especially that of the more common species, 

 nor was their history usually noticed ; but, in the place of these latter 

 facts, we were often furnished with their generic and specific charac- 

 ters. It is now considered advisable to omit the descriptive part, 

 for so many good general Floras of Britain exist that it has become 

 unnecessary. The omission of the descriptions has allowed the space 

 thus gained to be devoted to a more accurate account of the geo- 

 • graphical distribution of the plants, to notices of their first observa- 

 tion in the district, and to other interesting subjects. This new kind 

 of local flora was introduced by the publication of Messrs. Webb and 

 Coleman's 'Flora of Hertfordshire;' and the same plan has been 

 followed in the Floras of Cambridge, Essex, and that of Surrey now 

 before us. The first peculiarity of these books is that the counties 

 to which they relate are divided into districts, and a complete list of 

 the plants, with their localities, is recorded for each of those divisions, 

 by which more complete elaboration of the Flora we obtain inform- 

 ation of much value to the botanical geographer. We learn not only 

 that a common plant is found in the county, and perhaps abundant 

 in one part of it, but also that it is, or is not, frequent in each of the 

 districts adopted by the author. For instance, in Surrey, the Wych 

 Elm (Ulmus montana) is frequent in two of the nine districts included 

 in the county, it is local in one of them, apparently only planted in 

 another, and absent from the remaining five ; also the Common 

 "EXm (JJ.suberosa) is "common throughout the county." When 

 similar Floras of Kent, Suffolk, and Norfolk have been published, 

 our information concerning the distribution of plants in a part of 

 England which is very interesting to botanists (because its proximity 

 to the Continent caused it to be the first British ground reached by 

 what are called Germanic plants, in their migration) will be very 

 complete, and of much use to us in forming an idea of the approxi- 

 mate time of arrival and rate of diffusion of them. 



This book contains more than a thousand species ; and when we 

 remember that the county is not at all mountainous nor maritime, 

 this must be considered as a very large number, and a clear proof that 

 the authors have spared no pains in their researches. Indeed the 

 result is in all respects highly creditable to the late Mr. Salmon and 

 also to Mr. Brewer, who is very far from being only the compiler, as 

 he modestly designates himself on the title-page. He has succeeded 

 in obtaining the help of many active observers, and is especially for- 

 tunate in receiving that of Mr. H. C. Watson, whose name appears 

 upon nearly every page, and whose localities are recorded in a very 

 complete and instructive manner. Of course it was to be expected 

 that Mr. Watson would add largely to the value of any local flora to 

 which he might condescend to contribute ; for who is not acquainted 

 with his care and accuracy in all matters relating to local botanical 

 geography ? 



The larger portion of the volume is occupied by the list of species, 



