Bibliographical Notices. ^15 



The work consists of descriptions and figures of the more interesting 

 plants selected from an Herbarium of 2196 species, collected by Dr. 

 Horsfield in Java between the years 1802 and 1818. This indefa- 

 tigable naturalist, whose labours (we say this with a distinct recol- 

 lection of his important publications on the zoology of Java) can only 

 be fully appreciated by those who have seen his vast collections in the 

 Museum of the East India Company, and who is endeared to us by his 

 intimate association with the late lamented Sir Stamford Raffles, and 

 by his extensive acquirements in all departments of natural history, 

 is one of the faithful servants of a company, which, through the 

 spirit communicated tg its officers, has certainly been more honoured 

 by men of eminence in its employment, than we believe has ever 

 fallen to the lot of any other government in ancient or modern times. 

 We doubt if an equal number of adventurous and faithful contribu- 

 tors to the stock of human knowledge in all its departments, to those 

 which for a long succession of years have reflected imperishable ho- 

 nour on the East India Company, can be found in the records of any 

 other service. When among many others Ave allude to the names 

 of Jones, Wilkins, Marsden, Colebrooke, Raffles, Elphinstone, Mal- 

 colm, Roxburgh, Hamilton, Hardwicke, Wallich, Horsfield, Royle, 

 men who, in the discharge of important public duties, found time to 

 devote themselves successfully to literature and science, and whose 

 labours have been fully appreciated by the learned in all countries, we 

 cannot but attribute the spirit which animated them to the liberality 

 and encouragement of the Board of Directors of the East India Com- 

 pany. Dr. Horsfield's work, from the beauty of its illustrations and 

 the copiousness of its text, will rank with the sj)lendid publications 

 of Humboldt, Martius, Blume, Wallich, Royle, and we only regret 

 that it is to be limited to the particular description of fifty species. 

 The first part contains twenty-five plates, and one hundred and four 

 pages of letter-press, the greater part of which we owe to Mr. Ben- 

 nett ; and in the rapid analysis which we subjoin, we regret that we 

 cannot enlarge upon several of his observations, especially those on 

 grasses under Ataxia, Sclerachne and Polytoca. We refer to the 

 work itself for these important articles, and those on Podocarpus, 

 Antiaris, Pouzolzia, and Gunnera, for proofs of the labour bestowed 

 by Mr. Bennett in his researches. 



In the first article, the subject of which is the Polypodium (Di- 

 pteris) Horsfieldii, R. Br., Mr. Brown reduces Professor Reinwardt's 

 genus Dipteris to the rank of a subgenus of Polypodium, comprising 

 the species here figured, and Polypodium (Dipteris) Wallichii, He 

 remarks on the necessity of subdivision in this very extensive genus. 



