Bibliographical Notices. 515 



the Surgeon-Major has promised us, merely (from a misguided motive 

 of economy) to save a few rupees to the Indian treasury. 



It only remains for us to say that the book, which has been printed 

 in Calcutta, is most creditably got up *, and that we strongly recom- 

 mend it to our readers. 



A Flora of Ulster, and Botanist's Guide to the North of Ireland. 



By G. Dickie, M.D., Prof, of Botany, Aberdeen. 12mo. Belfast, 



1864. London : Reeve & Co. 

 We httle thought, when noticing Mr. Tate's 'Flora Belfastiensis' in 

 our April Number, to receive so soon another book treating upon the 

 botany of the same part of Ireland, but extending its range con- 

 siderably further. It might have been well if the authors had 

 each known of the other's intention, as one book would have had 

 more chance of success than two. 



Dr. Dickie was resident for some years at Belfast, and then took 

 notes of all the plants of which he ascertained the existence in the 

 north of Ireland, by which he means that part of the island lying to 

 the north of the 54th degree of latitude. In so defining his district 

 we think that he has not been wise. It would have been better to 

 confine himself to Ulster, and include the whole of that ; for he has 

 now omitted a small piece of two counties, Monaghan and Cavan. 

 He would then have had a well-defined field in which to work : and 

 if in this field he had divided his localities into groups, according to 

 the three botanical provinces— 28. Erne, 29. Donegal, and 30. Ulster 

 Coast (which are laid down in the 'Proceedings of the Dublin 

 University Zoological and Botanical Association,' i. 246, and the ori- 

 ginal 'Natural History Review,' vi. pt. 2. 533) — he would have 

 facilitated the compilation of the much-wanted ' Cybele Hibernica." 

 It is true that we may arrange the localities for ourselves, if we 

 think fit so to do ; but there are many plants stated to be " frequent," 

 of which it is impossible to learn, from the information given by 

 Dr. Dickie, whether that frequency extends throughout Ulster or is 

 more limited in extent. Certainly we do rather wonder that Dr. 

 Dickie, who has shown the interest which he takes in the geogVaphy 

 of plants by his most valuable remarks upon the altitude at which 

 they occur, should have neglected to subdivide his country into dis- 

 tricts, both here and in the 'Botanist's Guide to Aberdeen, &c.,' 

 after the mode which has been found so useful in the more recent 

 English local floras. "We consider this a serious omission ; and 

 there is another deficiency which forcibly strikes us. Dr. Dickie 

 manifestly takes no interest in what are called "critical" plants. 

 It is the distribution of that class of " species " which we especially 

 desire to learn ; and there is nothing in this book to convey informa- 

 tion on that subject. 



* One clever gentleman of our own craft takes credit to himself for the 

 discovery that Dr. Jerdon has, at page 16 of Volume I., made the mistake 

 of calling the Condor Sarcorhamphus papa, and the King- Vulture S. gry- 

 phus, without acknowledging that this mistake is corrected in the author's 

 own list of " Errata " prefixed to the volume ! 



