1858.] REVIEWS, 629 



giving a specimen of the work submitted to him for his opinion ; 

 but in some cases this may not be quite sufficient. He may 

 generally be expected to give an opinion of the manner in which 

 the author or publisher has carried out his view of the matter, 

 or, in other terms, if he has adequately performed what may be 

 legitimately expected from the title of the book, or from the ob- 

 jects of its publication. 



About the present work, this new illustrated British Flora, 

 there can hardly be a difference of opinion, either among stu- 

 dents or critics. 



No botanist and no artist of the present day has both the 

 means and the ability to issue such a work at so moderate a 

 price as the proprietor of this publication. That the work will 

 enlarge tlie circle of soi-disant British botanists is reasonably to 

 be expected. How far it is calculated to aid the onward progress 

 of science might be seen by those who are not far-sighted. 



Thalictrum minus and T. majus appear in the drawings given 

 in this work (figs. 3 and 4) to be distinct enough, and their 

 verbal definitions, as they appear on page 1, are sufficiently clear. 

 But whether these forms as described in the figures, and their de- 

 scriptive characters, be constant enough to help the unskilled to 

 identify or discriminate them, we will leave the quoted authori- 

 ties who indorse them to determine. Mr. Babington may com- 

 plain that he is quoted in support of species which he has aban- 

 doned for nearly half a score of years, though the readers of 

 Mr. Sowerby's 'Illustrated British Flora ^ may not be cognizant 

 of this fact, but it is the duty of an honest critic to tell them. 



In Ranunculus we have R. pantothrix, but miss R. fluitans, R. 

 coenosus, Guss., etc. We do not miss the Species Babingtonianse 

 in this genus, because we have not had them long. 



We have Pajjaver nudicaule, which might have been spared, 

 because it is not generally acknowledged to be a British wild 

 flower. There are but three Fumarias, while most recent writers 

 on British plants give us five or six. 



Mr. Sowerby does not deceive the purchasers of his work ; he 

 only professes to give them a reduced edition of ' English Botany.^ 

 As has been said, the work cannot fail to be useful, as it will 

 render the subject more attractive and accessible to those who 

 only wish to get a superficial view of the subject. Those who 

 wish to advance, desire works which will at least put them in 

 possession of all that is known about the science at the time of 



