218 



Bibliographical Notices, 



In the work before us, Mr. Leighton has accurately, and in most 

 cases very fully, described the plants of his county ; and from having 

 used several of the continental Floras, in conjunction with that of 

 Smith, he has in numerous cases introduced the description of parts 

 which that excellent author has overlooked : we would particularly 

 mention the seeds, a minute attention to which was not requisite 

 when botanists almost entirely confined themselves to the elucidation 

 of the Linnsean system alone, but which are now considered of great 

 value in determining the natural affinities of plants, as well as in 

 certain tribes affording excellent specific characters. 



The book under our notice is arranged according to the Linnsean 

 system, but care appears to have been taken that the generic and 

 specific characters should be such as will serve for any classification. 

 In some of the more difficult genera outline sketches are given of 

 those parts from which the characters have been derived, and these, 

 although deficient in artistical beauty, are deserving of the highest 

 praise for clearness and accuracy of detail : they include a com- 

 plete series of drawings for the Cyperacece, Potamogeton, Valerianella, 

 Rumex, &c. 



In looking through the volume, we observe that the account of 

 the Cyperacece is so full as almost to constitute a monograph of the 

 British species ; Viola is very fully illustrated by new observations ; 

 Chenopodium acutifolium and polyspermism are proved to form only 

 one species. In the genus Rubus, we have a series of very valuable 

 observations from the pens of Nees ab Essenbech, Borrer, andLindley, 

 causing the introduction of the names of several new forms (we will 

 not venture to call them species) into the British lists ; in the genus 

 Carex valuable characters, illustrated by a complete series of figures, 

 have been drawn from the form of the ripe nut ; and as the author's 

 observations are manifestly original, he is no doubt ignorant of (or 

 perhaps been unable to obtain) the rare work of Schkuhr upon this 

 genus, in which a similar, though to our mind, less satisfactory 

 series of figures of nuts is given. The species of oak are illustrated 

 by the valuable notes of Professors Graham and Don, three forms 

 being distinguished ; we must, however, confess, that our own opi- 

 nion is against there being really more than one species in Britain, 

 although three varieties maybe easilypointed out. We are acquainted 

 with no permanent character by which the oaks can be specifically 

 distinguished from each other ; for although in their extreme forms 

 they abundantly differ, yet the intermediate forms, both in shape of 

 leaf and length of peduncle, do not appear to allow of any marked 

 line of separation being drawn. 



The following plants appear for the first time as English plants in 

 the present work : — 



Atriplex deltoidea, Bab. 

 Ballotta ruderalis, Fries. 

 Callitriche platycarpa, Kiitz. 

 Cardamine sylvatica, Link. 

 Gerasus austera, Leight. 

 Dianthus plumarius, Linn. 



Myriophyllum alterniflorum,Z)C. 

 Quercus intermedia, Don. 

 Scrophularia Ehrharti, Stev. 

 Senecio erraticus, Bert. 

 Spergula vulgaris, Bnng. 



