18 ESSAYS. 



well-filled shelves are protected by pieces of binder's board, 

 and secured by a cord, which is the more necessary as the 

 doors are not closed by doors or curtains. 



The royal Bavarian herbarium at Munich is chiefly valua- 

 ble for its Brazilian plants, with which it has been enriched 

 by the laborious and learned Martius. The North American 

 botanist will, however, be interested in the herbarium of 

 Schreber, which is here preserved and comprises the authentic 

 specimens described or figured in his work on the grasses, the 

 American species mostly communicated by Muhlenberg. The 

 Gramince of this and the general herbarium have been revised 

 by Nees von Esenbeck, and still later by Trinius. It was 

 here that the latter, who for many years had devoted himself 

 to the exclusive study of this tribe of plants, and had nearly 

 finished the examination of the chief herbaria of the conti- 

 nent, preparatory to the publication of a new Agrostographia, 

 was suddenly struck with a paralysis, which has probably 

 brought his scientific labors to a close. 



The imperial herbarium at Vienna, under the superinten- 

 dence of the accomplished Endlicher, assisted by Dr. Fenzl, 

 is rapidly becoming one of the most valuable and extensive 

 collections in Europe. The various herbaria of which it is 

 composed have recently been incorporated into one, which is 

 prepared nearly after the English method. It, however, pos- 

 sesses few North American plants, except a collection made 

 by Enslin (a collector sent to this country by Prince Lich- 

 tenstein, from whom Pursh obtained many specimens from 

 the southern States), and some recent contributions by 

 Hooker, etc. There is also an imperfect set of plants collected 

 by Hsenke (a portion of which are from Oregon and Califor- 

 nia), so far as they are yet published in the " Reliquae Haen- 

 keanae" of Presl, in whose custody, as curator of the Bohemian 

 museum at Prague, the original collection remains. 



The herbarium of the late Professor Sprengle still remains 

 in the possession of his son, Dr. Anthony Sprengle, at Halle, 

 but is offered for sale. It comprises many North American 

 plants communicated by Muhlenberg and Torrey. The her- 

 barium of Schkuhr was bequeathed to the university of Wit- 



