1865.] Australian Flora, 167 



15,000 English square miles, or nearly twice as much as the area of Wales. 

 Haiti alone is nearly twice as lai'ge as the whole of the British West Indies ; 

 Cuba surpasses them almost throe times, and this will account for the fact 

 that, considerable as were the materials at command, and great the exertions 

 of so many excellent collectors, the number of novelties in the ' Flora ' is, 

 comparatively speaking, small, while Cuba affords a daily increasing 

 number of unpublished species. Considering, at the same time, how 

 neglected by botanists Cuba has been, if we compare it with the standard 

 works of men like Jacquin and Swartz, whose publications with regard 

 to the West Indies were almost confined to. the British possessions, it 

 will appear probable that by far the greatest part of the plants of our 

 territory consists of old species, these indeed being the foundation of our 

 scientific knowledge of the Flora of tropical America." 



Almost all the principal authors who have written on West Indian 

 plants belong to the last century, when nothing was known of a natural 

 arrangement, and no synopsis has been previously given of the Flora, 

 and of no part of the British West Indian Islands has a tolerably 

 complete ' Flora ' ever been published since the time of Patrick 

 Browne, whose ' Flora of Jamaica ' appeared in 1756. Among the 

 writers on the West Indian Flora may be mentioned Sir Hans Sloane, 

 Linnaeus, Plunder, Jacquin, Olaus, Swartz, Vahl, Tussac, Lunan, Des- 

 courtilz, Hamilton, Haycock, Macfadyen. 



The author has followed pretty nearly the Candollean system, 

 except that he has given up the Monochlamydeous division, and in- 

 corporated the Apetalous plants with the other subclasses of Dico- 

 tyledons. The work has been executed with great care, and the 

 author has been aided in his labour by Dr. Hooker. This publication 

 supplies a desideratum which has been long felt, and its execution 

 reflects the highest credit on Dr. Grisebach. A tabular arrangement 

 is given of the natural orders according to the typical characters and 

 a copious Index is added. 



AUSTEALIAN FLOEA.* 



Me. Bentham and Dr. Muller have published the second volume of 

 Iheir ' Australian Flora,' containing the species included in the Orders 

 Leguminosaa, Eosaceas, Saxifrageae, Crassnlaceae, Droseracese, Halo- 

 ragese, Bhizophoreas, and Combretaceaa. The first of these Orders, the 

 Legunrinoseas, occupies 424 pages. Excellent analyses are given of the 

 genera and of the species, and the publication is in every respect 

 worthy of the botanical reputation of its authors. The services of 

 Dr. F. Muller, the superintendent of the Melbourne Botanic Garden,, 

 have been of great value. He has already published works on the 

 Australian Flora, and is placed in circumstances which have enabled 

 him to clear up many doubts and difficulties which a botanist resident 

 in Britain could not have accomplished. The work is a fit companion 

 to the ' New Zealand Handbook' 



* ' Flora Australiensis : a Description of the Plants of the Australian Ter- 

 ritory.' By George Bentham, F.R.S., F.L.S. ; assisted by Ferdinand Midler, M.D V 

 F.R.S and'L.S., Government Botanist, Melboivne.yie.toxia.. $w. koodoo • Loyeji 

 S.-ere&Co Vol II Pp.521 



