438 



Scientific Intelligence. 



becoming an American citizen, should be held excusable for continuing in 

 ignorance of the vegetation around him. 



This Manual will of course become the constant companion of all in- 

 telligent investigators of Plants within the limits referred to : but it ought, 

 also, — in connection with the Botanical Text-Book, and elementary Lessons, 

 by the same author — to be introduced into every well-ordered seminary 

 (by all means including the common schools,) of the same region. 

 With such class books, in place of the superficial and defective compila- 

 tions heretofore too generally employed, a just conception of the science 

 would soon supercede the prevalent smattering of uncouth terms destitute 

 of ideas ; and a proper foundation would be laid in the inquiring minds 

 of youth for a future superstructure of true Botanical knowledge. 



A reform of this character is a consummation devoutly to be wished. 

 It is, indeed, high time that the intellect of " Young America," — in every 

 educational department — should be placed on the right track at the start, 

 and be so developed, in its progress, as to eschew the vulgar errors and 

 exploded fallacies of the past. The morning of life is too short, and too 

 precious to be wasted in acquiring ideas that are obsolete, and which, 

 of necessity, must be afterward unlearned, or discarded. 



In the confident expectation that other editions of the Manual will ere 

 long be demanded, we would respectfully suggest to the accomplished and 

 indefatigable Author, the propriety of so extending the future ones, as to 

 comprise all the known Plants of the United States, — and thus present a 

 valuable and most desirable compendium of the Botany of our whole 

 country. While it would meet an urgent present want, it would serve as 

 an exceedingly interesting Prodromus of that complete National Flora, 

 which must one day be prepared. Such a Prodromus — in appropriate 

 type — would form a couple of volumes of very convenient size ; the first 

 of which might contain the Exogenous Plants of the Union, and the 

 second, the Endogens and Cryptogams. May we not hope that such a 

 desideratum will speedily be supplied? w. d. 



9. Report on the present State of our Knowledge of the Mollusca of 

 California; by Rev. P. Carpenter, (Proc. Brit. Assoc., August, 1856; 

 Ath., No. 1504.) — As many of the shells of California extend to Sitka, 

 and some even to the Shantar Islands, while the shells of the Gulf of 

 California belong to the Fauna of Panama and Ecuador, this report em- 

 braces the shells of the whole of the west coast of North America. The 

 causes of error, both in ascertaining the habitat and in identifying the 

 species of mollusks, were pointed out. An historical account was given 

 of all the known collectors in the district, pointing out the degree of au- 

 thority attached to each, with a list of species, references, synonyms, &c. 

 Special attention had been paid to the minuter shells of the Gulf, among 

 which were pointed out several new and interesting forms. The large 

 multitudes of shells from that district which had been lately sent to this 

 country had brought to light many interesting points concerning the 

 great variations in particular species. In the genus Caecum, for instance, 

 five species had been made out of different stages of growth in the same 

 shell. All the known shells of which the exact locality was ascertained 

 had been tabulated in columns, representing the distribution of the spe- 

 cies, and arranged zoologically. About 800 species are known from the 



