Dr Murray's Northern Flora. 397 



to his memory, were Dr Murray to edit the unpublished works of this 

 learned man, and it were strange lukewarmness to departed worth, 

 were the naturalists of the day not forward to encourage such an 

 undertaking. We call Dr Murray's attention to this suggestion, and 

 beg to express our hopes that it may meet the approval of the friends 

 of Dr Skene. Fac-simile extracts from two of the letters of Lin- 

 naeus to Skene are appended ; we would rather have made our se- 

 lection from the letters of Skene to Linnams. 



There is an appendix to this part of the Northern Flora, 1 . con- 

 taining " notes from the ancients on certain indigenous species," 

 by Mr Adams, surely the most learned of all country surgeons ; and 

 2. '' observations on the agricultural properties of native plants, by 

 the Rev. J. Farquharson." The latter, restored to its original state, 

 (for Dr M. has omitted much of the communication) would form an 

 excellent article in the Journal of Agriculture. 



Dr Murray is of opinion that the Veronica hirsuta is a mere state, 

 not even a good variety of V. officinalis; while he is inclined to believe, 

 that' the Highland Veronica humifusa, now generally reckoned a va- 

 riety of V. serpyllifolia, is a good species, — an opinion to which we 

 are not altogether disinclined, for certainly it is, with its large hand- 

 some blossoms, very unlike any prostrate variety of the serpyllifolia 

 which we have gathered in the north of England. We have less 

 hesitation in giving our assent to the propriety of keeping Potamo- 

 geton compressa and pusilla distinct ; neither the authority of 

 Hooker nor of Arnott can persuade us to forsake the guidance of 

 Smith in this matter, since we have found his observations ex- 

 act to nature. Eriophorum pubescens, not included in this Flora, 

 we can assure our author, is not a rare plant in Sutherland, growing 

 along with the more common E. angustifolium ; and our enthusias- 

 tic friend Mr Stables can, if our memory does not greatly deceive 

 us, communicate specimens of the former, gathered during an ex- 

 cursion, the memory of which he will oft fondly recall " when 

 time brings on decay." The Myosotis secunda of Dr Murray is 

 surely the same with the M. repens of Don, but in the slight du- 

 biety of their identity, some excuse may be found for the imposition 

 of a new name ; there can be none allowed for misnaming our Poa 

 trivialis the P. scabra, — and it is certain, that an indulgence in 

 such puerilities of nomenclature is a ready means of rendering nu- 

 gatory an author's authority in higher matters. 



" On the whole," to use the words of our correspondent H. C. 

 Watson, than whom no one is better qualified to give an opinion on 

 the subject, " we can recommend the ' Northern Flora' as an useful 



