Boston Journal of Natural History. 31 



REVIEWS. 



Art. I. Boston Journal of Natural History., contairiin^ Pa- 

 pers and Communicaiions read before the Boston Society of 

 Natural History., and published by their direction. Vol. V. 

 No. II., &c., Boston, 1845. 



The second number of the fifth volume of the transactions 

 of this enterprising society, is before us, and is unusually 

 rich in botanical interest. On this branch of science, it con- 

 tains a paper from our correspondent. Prof Russell, on the 

 mosses of Eastern Massachusetts ; and an article on the 

 plants collected in Texas, by F. Lindheimer, with remarks 

 and descriptions of new species, &c., by George Engelmann 

 and Asa Gray — the latter gentleman well known, herea- 

 bouts, as an eminent botanist, occupying the chair of Natural 

 History in Harvard University. To this enumeration of 

 Texan plants we shall probably have occasion to refer at 

 some future time. A short article from J. E. Teschcmacher 

 on a species of a cactus, is also to be noticed in this number. 

 This corrects a mistake, in the generic position of a Melocac- 

 tus, (M. viridescens Nutt.) considered as an Echinocactus by 

 Messrs. Torrey and Gray, in their important work on the 

 North American plants : — 



"This difference of opinion arose probably from Nuttall's description 

 stating that the flowers proceeded from the upper clusters of spines, whereas 

 the flowers of Melocactus proceed from the woolly head characteristic of 

 this genus, in which they are usually imbedded. But Nuttall also states 

 that the fruit is smooth ; this is a character of Melocactus, the fruit of 

 Echinocactus being generally more or less scaly from the remains of the 

 sepals ; PfeifFer says rarissime l<svi.<;. 



" My specimen is about 5 inches high, and 9 inches diameter ; the spines 

 are radiating, very crowded, and transversely striate ; four of them (Nut- 

 tall says three) in each fascicle are larger than the rest, but the upper and 

 lower spines are the largest. These spines are rather poisonous ; wounds 

 inflicted by them are almost certain to fester. In other respects, it agrees 

 with Nuttall's description ; but it has a distinct woolly head, which is, 

 however, small and depressed, in the centre of the plant. There are no 

 flowers now on the specimen, but the scars left by them exist. On these 

 scars several seeds remain, exactly as maybe seen on other Melocacti, of 

 which the fruit has dried off. The scars are behind the fascicles of spines, 



