attracted the attention of Buxbaum, whose 
name is immortalized by having been con- 
ferred, by the pen of Linnzus, on a moss, 
. of most striking and peculiar structure, 
- which he was the first to detect and exa- 
mine. The same year witnessed the ap- 
pearance of the first volume of the Aca- 
demy's Memoirs; this Institution was 
newly established, and Buxbaum was one 
of its earliest members. In this and the 
three following volumes are several disser- 
tations composed by him, on many new 
plants, and among others, the first obser- 
vations relative to the Flora of St. Peters- 
burg. The activity of the new Scientific 
. Academy contributed greatly to the pro- 
. gress of Botany in Russia, a new epoch for 
. all Natural History pursuits commencing 
— with its foundation, while the patronage 
which the Empress Anne delighted in be- 
.. Stowing on science, added a freih impulse 
.. to its progress 
E23. G. Grelin, who entered the Academy 
in 1727, employed ten years in exploring 
the inexhaustible treasures of Siberia, and 
his Flora Sibirica, in four vols. 4to., with 
.. four hundred plates, was the result of this 
expedition, and by its classical as well as 
aplac 
While G Gmelin was thus engaged in investi- 
gating Siberia, Dr. Ammann, an academi- 
E cian, published a remarkable work, under 
this title, * Stirpium rariorum in Rutheno 
imperio sponte provenientium icones et 
cor sine ” It contained figures and 
Eus of many new plinti; disco- 
vered by Messerschmidt, Gmelin, Hein- 
inin, and Gerber. The latter had bo- 
ccm on the shores of the Wolga, while 
Dr. Heinzelmann explored the environs of 
Orenbourg and the steppes of the Kir- 
5 Ten scientific e contri- 
buted b y Dr. Ammann to the Memoirs of 
the Academy, ioe attest the "edita 
its of this bota 
turn for a iei frt the expedition 
: Gmelin to speak of his contemporaries, 
then a simple student, afterwards 
e, and finall ly a Member of the 
PROGRESS OF BOTANY IN RUSSIA. 
Scientific — has penus iuc € tiar 
170° 
Academy, is the first Russian by birth who 
distinguished himself as a Botanist. Gme- 
lin speaks highly of him, and his journey 
to Kamtschatka produced many botanical 
novelties; still his fame chiefly rests on 
the Flora of Ingria, which Gorter subse- 
quently edited from the writings which he 
had left. 
The scientific labours of Steller are im- 
portant : his journey from Okotsk to Kamts- 
chatka; the part t ut he took in the cele- 
brated expedition of Behring, by which he 
was enabled to visit many hitherto unknown 
islands, and even to land on the Western 
coast of North America, his disasters and 
his residence on Behring's Island, have not 
been unproductive in botanical interest ; 
many were the new and rare plants which 
he collected; the sn le island of Behring 
affording him two hundred and eleven 
species; while hs journal contains also 
many important remarks on the vegetation 
of the countries which he had visited. 
Still it was not permitted for him to enjoy 
the success of his exertions, as a prema- 
ture death carried him off, and prevented 
him from publishing, or even revising his 
hard-earned discoveries. 
About this period, the ingenious ideas 
of Linneus, and the new system of that 
illustrious author, had brought about a to- 
tal reform in Botany, and conferred a sig- —— 
nal benefit upon science. The influence 
of these happy innov. tions was felt in the 
progress of Russian Botany, for the efforts 
of the Academician Siegesbec:, who com- 
bated this new met od vere, of course, 
powerless against the force of truth. In _ 
other respects, Siegesbeck was an useful 
Naturalist, and gave a good deal of inform- - 
ation on the Flora of St. Petersburg, and 
on several new plants. Among the Rus- 
sian Botanists of this period, Dr. Lerché 
was peculiarly eminent. In his situation 
as a military surgeon he visited many pro- 
vinces of the empire, and paid particular - 
attention to their vegetable signe 
corresponding zealously with Count Munich 
from Caucasus, and imparting to us. 
and Gmelin the result of his 
in Persia. 
