Bibliographical Notices. 441 



The books before us are of very different sizes and pretensions, 

 but we do not know to which the preference is due. Happily how- 

 ever we can hardly be considered as called upon to decide their rela- 

 tive merits. 



Mr. Moore's work is intended for use in the field and garden ; 

 Dr. Deakin's for the library and drawing-room ; both aim at scientific 

 accuracy, and will be of value to botanists. In each of them we are 

 introduced to several newly-discovered species or varieties, and both 

 are well and fully illustrated by figures of all the forms which have 

 been found in Britain. 



Our authors have paid much attention to Lastrea filix-mas , and 

 Dr. Deakin separates from it a plant which seems to possess strong 

 claims to specific distinction under the name of L. erosa, believing 

 that he has identified it with the Aspidium erosum of Schkuhr. On 

 this identification we are not qualified to give an opinion, never 

 having seen a specimen of Schkuhr's plant nor possessing access to 

 his plate. It is found " on the Cathcart Hills near Glasgow ... in 

 great profusion," but we have not seen specimens, and can therefore 

 judge of its claims from the description and figures alone. It ap- 

 pears to be a more elegant plant than L. filix-mas, from which it is 

 distinguishable by possessing acute inciso-serrate pinnules : the teeth 

 being patent and again serrate and acute. Most of the pinnules are 

 usually distinct at the base, which is narrowed both above and below, 

 and their lateral veins are three or four times branched. 



Mr. Moore describes under the name of L. filix-mas (3. incisa, a 

 fern which he considers as the L. erosa of Deakin, but in that opinion 

 we do not concur. Beautiful specimens of it are before us, and after 

 a careful examination of them we have been led to the conclusion 

 that they are not distinguishable specifically from L. filix-mas, from 

 which they seem chiefly to differ in the rather less obtuse extremity 

 of their pinnules, the teeth of which are not patent, and are regu- 

 larly furnished with one or more terminal or subterminal notches, 

 but not toothed as in L. erosa. Their base also is similar to that of 

 typical L. filix-mas, being narrowed above, but not at all or very 

 slightly below, the lowest excepted : they are also usually decurrent 

 and connected. The sori do not appear to occupy a greater length 

 of the pinnules than they are often found to do in the typical plant, 

 neither do the veins strike us as being materially different from 

 those of it. It is probable that Mr. Moore has been led to suppose 

 that his plant is identical with that described by Dr. Deakin, from 

 the latter botanist having stated his belief that the plant found at 

 Cockermouth by Miss Browne and figured by Mr. Newman (p. 197, 

 /. b.) is his L. erosa. We think that Newman's figure represents 

 Moore's variety incisa, and that a comparison of it with Deakin's 

 figure (on page 102) will show that Dr. Deakin has been too hasty in 

 identifying the plants. An elaborate description of L. erosa will be 

 found in Dr. Deakin's work. 



We have not succeeded in confirming the distinctness of L. maca- 

 lata (Deak.), which according to that author differs from L. dilatata 

 by its longer stem, uniformly coloured scales, more deeply cut and 



