V A H 



coloured plates, not highly finifhed, but expreffive and coi-- 

 reA. The principal objeft of this work was, in the firft 

 inftance, to illuftrate Forrtcall's difcoveries, very incorreftly 

 difplayed in his own pofthumous Flora ; and the materials 

 for the exemphfication of which are, it feems, but partially 

 and imperfectly prefcrved. Vahl's SymboU are moreover 

 enriched wit!i defcriptions and figures of new or rare plants, 

 from various other fources. The communications of the 

 author's numerous correfpondents, particularly of Von Rohr 

 and others from the Danifh Weft Indian colonies, are added 

 to the acqiifitions of his own journeys ; and the whole forms 

 a large body of valuable praftical information. His Eclogt: 

 Americana, publilhed in 1796, are a fequel to the Symbols, 

 on the fame plan, but devoted to American plants. 



In 1799 and 1800 profeffor Vahl received the pecuniary 

 fupport of the Danifli government in a fecond tour to Hol- 

 land and Paris, for botanical purpofes ; chiefly, we pre- 

 fume, with a view to the compofition of a great work, long 

 in his contemplation, on the model of the Linnaean Species 

 Plantarum. Of this he juft lived to publifh the firft volume, 

 under the title of Enumeralio Plantarum, in 1804, in 8vo. 

 including the clafles Monandr'ta and Diandria. The fecond, 

 containing only tlie Trumdria Monogynia, was pubhftied by 

 his widow in 1805. The copious introduftion of new 

 fpecies, the ample original defcriptions, the well-chofen fy- 

 nonyms, and judicious remarks, render this work far fuperior 

 to any other of its kind, giving it all the merit of an original 

 performance. Befides the addition of the eftential generic 

 charafters, as in the Syjlema Vegetabllhim of Linnaeus, Vahl's 

 Enumeralio is enriclicd with a compendious defcription of 

 the peculiar habit of each genus, after a plan firft intro- 

 duced by Gouan, in his Flora, as well as Hortus Monfpeli- 

 tnfis, and which Linnsus juftly commended, as leading the 

 way to improvement in natural claflification. Nor mull we 

 pafs by, without commendation, the excellent generic and 

 fpecific index to each volume, an appendage of whofe value 

 we are fcldom duly fenfible, but from its inaccuracy or 

 omiffion in other inttances. The negleft, or bad conftruc- 

 tion, of indexes, and the omiffion of references to pages, 

 are defefts of the modern French fchool, which may be 

 avoided by any botanical writer, even of the moft humble 

 fcientific pretenfions, and which the moft learned ought not 

 to negleft. The fequel of profefl"or Vahl's laft publication, 

 as far as concerns graffes, was reported to have been left by 

 its author in confiderable forwardnefs, and was, if we miftake 

 not, announced for publication. Something to this eff'eft is 

 found in the preface to the fecond volume ; but we know not 

 that any part of thefe valuable materials has appeared. Tlie 

 botanical profeft'orfhip at Copenhagen was conferred on Mr. 

 Vahl, after his return from his fecond vifit to France, but 

 he lived not long to enjoy his well-merited fame and diftinc- 

 tion. He died on the 24th of December, 1804, in the 

 54th year of his age, leaving a widow and fix children. His 

 library, herbarium, and manufcripts were purchafed by the 

 king of Denmark for 3000 dollars, about 675/., befides an 

 annual penfion of 400 dollars, or 90/., to his widow, and 

 of 100 dollars to each of his children. It was intended 

 that the above-mentioned manufcripts, including a fimlhed 

 treatife on the clafs Syngenefia, ftiould be edited by the fuc- 

 ceffor of profeftbr Vahl, Mr. Horneman, to whom the con- 

 tinuation of the Flora Danka was likewife confided. We 

 are not informed of the progrefs of either. 



Befides the botanical writings of profeffor Vahl, he has 

 pubhfhed fome zoological papers in the Danifli language, 

 efpecially relating to birds ; and has defcnbed a filh, con- 

 ftituting a new genus, by the name of Holocentrus lenligmo/us 

 in the third volume of the Tranfaftions of the Natural Hil- 

 10 



V A I 



lory Society of Copenhagen.— A more detailed review than 

 we could here undertake, of the firft volume of the Enume- 

 ralio Plantarum, may be feen in Sims and Konig's excellent 

 Annals of Botany, v. 2. 179, where Mr. Konig has noticed 

 every new article of information, and correfted every inci- 

 dental miftake, with confummate accuracy and knowledge. 

 We have ah-eady advanced an opinion fimilar to that of this 

 able critic, refpefting Vahl's removal of the Linnsan Sci- 

 TAMINE.5, fee that article, from the clafs Monandria to 

 Gynandria; a meafure barely to be excufcd by our fuppofi- 



tion, and not at all to be juftified by any alleged reafon 



Vahl's Works. Sims and Konig's Ann. of Bot. v. i and 2. 



VAHLIA, in Botany, received that name from Thun- 

 berg, in honour of his contemporary profeflbr Vahl. (See 

 the laft article. ) The fame genus was originally deftined by 

 the great Linnsus to commemorate Jean Jacques Roufleau, 

 as appears by fpecimens in the Linnaean herbarium, marked 

 Roujea capenfts ; but he did not live to publifli this genus, 

 which his fon, through inadvertence probably, introduced 

 into the Suppkmentum Plantarum, by the name of Russelia, 

 fee that article and Roussea. Thofe names being other- 

 wife appropriated, the Vahlia is finally eftablidied. — Thunb. 

 Nov. Gen. '36. Schreb. 176. Willd. Sp. PI. v. i. 1354, 

 Mart. Mill. Dift. V. 4. Jufl". 318. Lamarck Illuftr. t. 183. 

 (Ruflelia; Linn. Suppl. 24. Murr. in Linn. Syft. Veg. 

 ed. 14.270.) — Clafs and order, Pentandria Digyn'ta. Nat. 

 Ord. Calycanthema, Linn. Onagra, Jufl". 



Gen. Ch. Cal. Perianth fuperior, of five lanceolate, 

 acute, concave, fpreading, permanent leaves. Cor. Petals 

 five, ovate, concave, fpreading, undivided, not half fo long 

 as the calyx. Slam. Filaments five, inferted into the calyx, 

 between the petals, and full as long as its leaves, thread- 

 ftiaped, ereft ; anthers incumbent, oblong, with four fur- 

 rows. Pyi. Germen inferior, roundifh ; ftyles two, thread- 

 ftiaped, nightly fpreading, longer than the ftamens ; ftigmas 

 fimple, obtufe. Peric. Capfule ovate, abrupt, marked with 

 five elevated lines, and crowned with the calyx, of one cell 

 and two valves. Seeds numerous, minute. 



Efl". Ch. Calyx of five leaves. Petals five, alternate with 

 the ftamens. Capfule inferior, of one cell and two valves, 

 crowned with the permanent calyx. Seeds numerous. 



I. V. capenfts. Cape Vahlia. Thnnb. Nov. Gen. 36, 

 with a plate. Prodr. 48. Willd. n. i. ( Ruflt-lia capenfis ; 

 Linn. Suppl. 175.) — Gathered by Thunberg, in fandy 

 ground, near the valley of Verkeerde, at the Cape of Good 

 Hope, flowering in December. It has not yet been brought 

 to England. The root is woody and perennial. Stems feve- 

 ral, herbaceous, ereft, a fpan or more in height, fimple or 

 branched, leafy, clothed with fliort, foft, prominent, vifcid 

 pubefcence, like all the reft of the herbage. Leaves oppo- 

 fite, fefTile, linear-lanceolate, entire, pale green, an inch 

 or inch and half long. Flowers yellow, in tmall, axil- 

 lary, nearly feflile, tufts, about tlie upper part of the 

 branches, accompanied by a fmall lanceolate brailea. The 

 petals sudjilam^nls afliime a violet hue when dried. 



VAHNI, in Mythology, a name of the Hindoo regent of 

 fire, who is more commonly called Pavaka; which fee. A 

 fimilar name, ufually indeed written Fani, is given to Saraf- 

 wati, confort of Brahma. See Sara.swati and Marut. 



VAIDYA, the name of a refpeftablc clafs of Hindoos, 

 who follow the profeflion of phyfic. Individuals of dif- 

 ferent religious fefts are comprifed in this denomination. 

 (Sec Sects of Hindoos.) Sir W. Jones, fpeaking of the 

 Vaidyas, fays, " they have more learning, with far lefs pride, 

 than 'any of the Brahnians : they are ufually poets, gram- 

 marians, rhetoricians, and moralifts ; and may be efteemed, 

 in eeneral, as the moft virtuous and amiable of the Hindoos.^ 



° I AfiatK 



