432 REVIEWS. 
interesting records of local botany hitherto contributed, even in 
Great Britain,—especially rich in excellent local floras. To bo- 
tanists connected with the Isle of Wight it will afford invaluable 
assistance,—to them it will be indispensable. To the botanical 
geographer it will be especially useful: for although it is limited 
to the vegetation of an insulated portion of the south of England, 
the learned author carefully ascertained the range of the Vectian 
plants, not merely in the British Isles, but in Europe and other 
quarters of the globe. Besides an insular flora is per se pecu- 
liarly instructive ; and this one affords the means of contrasting 
the productions of the extreme south of Great Britain with those 
of the middle and extreme north of our Isle.- A comparison of 
the Vectian flora with that of Shetland would be very instructive. 
The following extract from the Editors’ preface will give our 
readers an idea of the manner in which this work is executed :— 
Dr. Bromfield became resident at Ryde, in the Isle of Wight, in the 
year 1835, and shortly afterwards conceived the idea of preparing a Flora 
of the island. He was not content to follow the usual practice in the 
making of local Floras and Faunas, and to be satisfied by presenting merely 
a tolerably full list, but he determined that the vestigation should be very 
complete, and that every species should receive an original description : 
nor was he satisfied with a mere cursory research in the framing of these 
descriptions or with copying any character from other authors unverified by 
his own examinations. He was also equally careful to avoid describing 
general characters from individuals or varieties, and endeavoured, with 
immense and most persevering care, to select such points as are really the 
permanent and essential characters of genera and species. To ensure this 
result he was in the habit of obtaining a very great number of specimens 
of each species collected from various localities ; and, whenever practicable, 
he endeavoured to compare Isle of Wight specimens with those collected 
at a distance. Having thus secured sufficient material for investigation, 
his next aim was to consult every author within his reach for all the cha- 
racters which different observers had noticed. For this part of his plans 
he had collected a very ample botanical library, especially of foreign 
authors. The characters however observed by others were, for his own 
descriptions, merely suggestive ;—none being recorded but such as, after 
careful examination, he himself found to exist in nature. 
The entire volume, inclusive of the Editors’ and Author’s pre- 
face, the introduction and the indexes, contains above 700 closely 
printed pages. We shall attempt, as usual, to afford our readers 
a concise view of the contents of this excellent work. In the 
