THE 



AMERICAN 

 JOURNAL OF SCIENCE, &c. 



Art. I. — Notices of European Herbaria, particularly those most 

 interesting to the North AmericaQi Botanist.* 



The vegetable productions of North America, in common with 

 those of most other parts of the world, have generally been first 

 described by European botanists, either from the collections of 

 travellers, or from specimens communicated by residents of the 

 country, who, induced by an enlightened curiosity, the love of 

 flowers, or in some instances, by no inconsiderable scientific ac- 

 quirements, have thus sought to contribute, according to their op- 

 portunities, to the promotion of botanical knowledge. From the 

 great increase in the number of known plants, it very frequently 

 happens that the brief descriptions, and even the figures, of older 

 authors are found quite insufficient for the satisfactory determina- 

 tion of the particular species they had in view ; and hence it be- 

 comes necessary to refer to the herbaria where the original speci- 

 mens are preserved. In this respect, the collections of the early 

 authors possess an importance far exceeding their intrinsic value, 

 since they are seldom large, and the specimens often imperfect. 



With the introduction of the Linnsean nomenclature, a rule 

 absolutely essential to the perpetuation of its advantages was also 

 established, viz. that the name under which a genus or species 

 is first published shall be retained, except in certain cases of ob- 

 vious and paramount necessity. An accurate determination of 

 the Linnsean species is therefore of the first importance ; and 

 this, in numerous instances, is only to be attained with certainty 

 by the inspection of the herbaria of Linnseus and those authors 



* Communicated for this Journal by the author. 

 Vol. XL, No. 1.— Oct.-Dec. 1840. 1 



