214 . Bibliography. 



have taken place or are now in progress, both in the minute crystalliza- 

 tion and the mountain mass, or in the atmosphere, from climate, winds, 

 waters, or internal fires, are reviewed at length and in a philosophical 

 manner by the author. The nature of animal and vegetable life, their 

 distribution over the globe, and the changes they have wrought or have 

 undergone, are also discussed in full. The work, as the name implies, 

 is a general treatise on the agencies in nature and their results, and 

 has a special bearing upon geological science, to which it is a valuable 

 contribution. 



15. A Treatise om the Forces which produce the Organization of 

 Plants, with an Appendix containing several memoirs on Capillary 

 Attraction, Electricity, and the Chemical Action of Light. By John 

 Wm. Draper, M. D., Prof of Chem. in Univ. of New York. Harper 

 & Brothers, 1844. pp. 108, 4to, and Appendix, pp. 216. (3 plates.) 



This is a book of no common pretensions. The author states that it 

 embodies the results of ten years of laborious research in one of the 

 most interesting and at the same time difficult departments of natural 

 philosophy. Most of the memoirs on which the views of Dr. Draper 

 are founded, have been pubUshed in the London, Edinburgh and Dub- 

 lin Philosophical Magazine, and are therefore perhaps less known in 

 this country than they are abroad. The volume has reached us at too 

 late an hour to allow of more on the present occasion than a cursory 

 glance at its general scope. We hope to return to it again hereafter. 

 Dr. Draper's reputation as an experimentalist stands high, and his views 

 will meet a respectful attention, however much they may be at variance 

 with preconceived notions. 



16. ^ Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Garden- 

 ing, adapted to North America, with a view to the improvement of 

 country residences, and with remarks on Rural Architecture. By A. 

 J. Downing. Second edition, enlarged and improved, and newly illus- 

 trated. New York and London, Wiley & Putnam, 1844. pp. 497, 8vo. 



Mr. Downing has had the uncommon merit of striking out a new 

 path of successful authorship in this country, in a field hitherto entirely 

 uncultivated. The appearance of a second and much improved edition 

 in a short space of time from the first, is evidence alike of the public 

 appreciation of the work, and of an unexpected advance in taste on the 

 subject of rural improvements. The number and beauty of the illustra- 

 tions, the excellent manner of mechanical " getting up" of the volume, 

 but more than all the atti'active, easy style of the author, marked every 

 where by a highly cultivated taste, are recommendations which will 

 not fail to address themselves to every reader. 



