1857.] REVIEWS. 139 



thority of Mr. Babingtou. We think^ of course, that Impatiens 

 fulva is as equally well entitled to a place among Britisli plants 

 as TUesium humile. It is probable that the omission of this and of 

 several other usually-recognized British plants was an oversight^ 

 and no intentional disrespect to the fair subjects of our remark. 



The flowers of Hottonia palustris are stated to be purple : they 

 often have a faint tinge of red, but their usual colour is white 

 and slightly rose-coloured. They are described in Hooker and 

 Arnott's work on the British plants as being " pale purple." They 

 sometimes have a shade of what is usually called pink. This and 

 other minor blemishes, such as Urolensis and Herculus, will be 

 rectified in a second impression, which there is no doubt will be 

 soon required. Upon the whole the printing is well done, and 

 very creditable to the press and to the corrector. 



"While these minor defects in arrangement and description 

 of Orders are thus prominently noticed, it is but just to the 

 author, or rather to the students of the science, to state that 

 the work deserves, with the above and similar exceptions, un- 

 qualified commendation. It contains a glossary of botanical 

 terms, which will be useful to a beginner. This appendage 

 to a British Flora Mr. Babington found it impossible to ac- 

 cord to the wishes of some young botanists. For this purpose — 

 a knowledge of botanical terminology — this eminent botanist re- 

 commends several works, and last, though not least, " especially 

 the ' Botanique ^ of M. A.De Jussieu." How many of our botanists 

 can read French with either profit or pleasure ? How many can 

 afford to purchase such expensive books, or who have time to 

 read them, we do not know ; perhaps Mr. Babington, who re- 

 commends the books, does. But we know some zealous bota- 

 nists who cannot avail themselves of such costly appliances. 

 Mr. Childs has compiled a book for botanists who know only 

 theii' own vernacular, and who cannot conveniently spend more 

 than half-a-crown on a botanical work. But his work will be 

 useful to eveiy man who shoulders a vasculum or handles a trowel, 

 — not a mason's implement, so called, but a plant-digger. It is 

 very unimportant to real botanists, as distinguished from learners, 

 what arrangement an author may adopt, or how meagrely he 

 may define the Orders and the genera : all these a botanist 

 knows at first sight ; but he often forgets the names and the dia- 

 gnoses of species, and these are in general distinctly and briefly 



