IV. PHYSICAL GEOORAPIIY. 181 



comital divisions are partially removed. Of the pro- 

 vinces and connected divisions some further account will 

 be given immediately ; a few facts on the inequality of 

 area in the counties being first adduced. 



In England; the counties vary from 5836 square miles, 

 the area of Yorkshire, downward to 244 such miles for 

 that of Flintshire. Rutland is still smaller, being only 

 149 miles ; but it has not been reckoned as a separate 

 county in this work. In Scotland, the counties may be 

 said to vary from Perthshire, with an area of 2588 square 

 miles, downward to Linlithgowshire, with an area of 120 

 such miles. The county of Inverness is larger than that 

 of Perth ; but it is nowhere in this work taken as a single 

 county. And the two little counties of Kinross and 

 Clackmannan, with areas of only 72 and 48 square miles, 

 have been combined with their adjacent counties or vice- 

 counties. Even after the absorption and division of those 

 extremes, the counties retained in this treatise difi^er very 

 greatly in size ; that of Linlithgow being little more than 

 one-fiftieth part the size of York. 



4. Provinces and Sub-provinces. — The grouping of the 

 counties into 18 provinces was amply explained in former 

 volumes ; namely, on pages 13 to 18 of the first volume, 

 and on pages 422 to 428 of the third volume. It is 

 trusted that some part of the practical convenience re- 

 sulting from such unions has become apparent in this 

 work. The provinces were first traced out several years 

 ago, when botanical data towards showing distribution 

 were much less ample than they have since become. The 

 provincial districts were in some respects accommodated 

 to then recorded knowledge of their botany. Thus, it 

 was very desirable that none of them should be tracts so 

 little examined, as to prevent the compiling of an approxi- 



