Dec. 15, 1870] 
NATURE 
Tia 

Science, if he had restricted himself to journals, reviews, 
&c., of acknowledged literary merit, or treating specially 
of Natural History. Who, with a grain of common sense, 
cares to know, or attaches a shade of value to, the scien- 
tific opinions of such periodicals as the Doncaster Gazette, 
the York Herald, the Derbyshire Advertiser, the York- 
shire Gazette, the Worcester Fournal, the Bromsgrove 
Messenger, the Yorkshire Post, Our Own Fireside, the 
Oriental Budget, the Threepenny Magazine, the Penny 
Post, the Rock, or the Record? This kind of puffing (for we 
can find no other term to express our meaning plainly) is 
bad enough ; but there is worse, far worse, to come. It 
surely cannot have been with the knowledge and concur- 
rence of “The Rev. F. O. Morris, B.A., Rector of Nun- 
burnholme, in this county, and Chaplain to his Grace the 
Duke of Cleveland,” as he is designated in the Yorh 
Herald, that a series of anonymous opinions on his 
“Difficulties of Darwinism ”—many of them abounding 
in the most gross and fulsome flattery of himself, and in 
vulgar abuse of his opponents—have been appended to the 
more legitimate notices of that book. Lest we should be 
supposed to be using unnecessarily strong language, we 
shall quote a few of these precious criticisms :— 
“ Professor Huxley’s letter to you is in his usual style— 
flippant and rude. Your reply is in every way admirable. 
—Professor é¥ 
“J have read your pamphlet, and do not see how it 
can be answered.— Esq. M.D., A.B.” 
“Prof. Huxley’s impertinent letter deserved what it has 
got. Youcertainly have given him a castigation.—Rev. 
, Cantab.” 
“The papers here steer shy of your pamphlet. They 
are on the other side, and find it awkward to reply to. I 
am very glad to hear that you purpose meeting Huxley 
at Liverpool. He requires a man that can expose his 
shuffles, and turn his banter against himself.— Rev. —— 
IDRID EE 



? 
“Glad to see you an opposer to Darwin’s nonsense.—. 

5 dasq.” 
The last of these absurdities is apparently a round- 
robin printed in a straight line: “ We agree with all you 
say most perfectly. We cannot imagine how it can be 
answered by the Darwinites.” Then follow three dashes. 
Mr. Morris is not merely a well-educated English 
gentleman, but a clergyman and chaplain to a duke ; 
and we feel that we are doing him a service in giving him 
an opportunity of stating (1) whether these extracts are 
really taken from letters addressed to himself, or whether 
they are forgeries ; and, (2) in the former case, of explain- 
ing how they found their way into print in this obnoxious 
form. 
A geological friend of ours, while trying to make a 
short cut, trespassed on a railway line. He had not gone 
far before he was stopped, and told by a grim official to 
retrace his steps. Our friend, thinking that a little “ soft 
sawder” might help hia out of the difficulty, observed : 
“My good fellow, you are perfectly right, and are only 
doing your duty ; but I am much mistaken, when I look 
at your kindly and good-natured face, if you are the sort 
of man to turn a harmless geologist a ¢ouple of miles 
out of his route.” The heart of the guardian of the road 
was so far softened by this speech as to let our friend 
proceed rejoicing, but, as a parting shot, he observed :— 
“Well, sir, I do like a bit of butter, but I ain’t partial to 

grease.” Now, to apply this anecdote, we sadly fear that 
Mr. Morris is “partial to grease.” Many clergymen in- 
dulge in this taste, and one who has associated so much 
as this distinguished naturalist has done with the 
Dit Majores is apt to grow unctuous. On the assumption 
that these extracts are genuine, we can fancy that he 
carried the parcel of letters in his coat-tail pocket when 
visiting his parishioners, and occasionally sat down to 
enjoy a bit of grease, or, in other words, to read one or 
two extracts, as a cheerful: mental stimulant ; that pro- 
bably on one occasion, the stimulant was too much for 
him, and that he inadvertently left the packet “sud tegmine 
fagi;” and that an enemy (probably a rabid Dissenting 
minister of a low class) picked up the prize, at once saw 
its value as a weapon against the Church of England, 
and gave it up to the Elders of his congregation, on the 
condition that they should publish it. It was then pro- 
bably placed in the hands of a literary gentleman— 
possibly the Editor of the Zhreepenny Magazine or the 
Penny Post—and thus, and thus only, the appearance of 
the pamphlet can, we think, be rationally accounted for. 


OUR BOOK SHELF 
Resources of the Southern Fields and Forests, Medical 
Economical, and Agricultural. By Francis Peyre 
Porcher, M.D. (Charleston : 1869.) 
IN this book we have very full accounts of the uses of the 
plants of the Southern States of America. The author 
freely acknowledges in his Preface (or, as it is here 
termed, “Preliminary,’) that he has availed himself 
largely of numerous works on kindred subjects, most 
of which have been published in America. In the 
introduction a few practical instructions are given for col- 
lecting and drying medicinal products of the vegetable 
kingdom. The plants are arranged according to their 
natural orders, the vernacular names being placed first, 
followed by the scientific names, and the distribution of 
the plants in the States. No attempt is made either at 
a scientific or popular description of the plants themselves ; 
so that the book is literally what it professes to be, with- 
out being made bulky with matter that can, if required, be 
found in floras or purely botanical works. The book, in- 
deed, is written more with an eye to the exposition of the 
medicinal uses of the plants ; but the “economical and 
agricultural” portion is by no means lightly treated. In 
short, the information is most varied, as will be seen from 
a few quotations. Here is a recipe for making blacking 
from elder-berries, certainly an application we never 
before heard of :—“ Boil elder-berries well, mashing the 
pulpy matter ; then strain through a colander, and bottle 
for use. The liquid sours somewhat by age, but retains 
its qualities. Another way is to simmer ripe elder-berrits 
over a slow fire in an iron kettle for one hour and let the 
mass cool, and you will have good blacking.” Under the 
head of White Beech (Fagus sylvatica,and F.americana) 
our author tells us “the leaves of the beech trees, collected 
in autumn in dry weather, form an admirable article for 
filling beds. The smell is grateful and wholesome, they 
do not harbour vermin, are very elastic, and may be 
replenished annually without cost.” There is nothing new 
in this application of beech leaves ; they are used in many 
parts of Europe for a similar purpose, and were at one 
time so employed in England, Evelyn speaks of them as 
affording “the best and easiest mattress in the world to 
lay under our quilts instead of straw ;” and by way of 
recommendation says that “ divers persons of quality in 
Dauphiny” use them. The above are examples of what 
may be called purely economical applications. We take 
a cruciferous plant, the Gold of Pleasure, or False Flax 
