i88i.] 
235 
Analyses of Boohs. 
two classes, examiners and examined,”— quotes it, too, not in 
ridicule or in pity for a nation which is thus following the ex- 
ample of China, and deliberately rendering itself incapable of 
original thought ! 
An editorial article, on the “ Mundella Education Bill,” speaks 
of the “ quiet and unobtrusive manner of its introduction into 
the new educational structure of England’s coming greatness.” 
Whilst appreciating the kindly feeling here brought to light, we 
fear “ England’s coming greatness ” is an exceedingly question- 
able matter. Perhaps, in consideration of what we once were, 
the leading powers of the future will permit us to go on passing 
examinations, making speeches, laying wagers, and founding 
seCts and philanthropic movements. 
Elsewhere the editor speaks of “ interpreting the whole uni- 
verse by the nobler key of Plato, Aristotle, .and Hegel, rather 
than by the dog-headed and monkey-tailed ciphers of Darwin and 
Haeckel !” Such remarks carry with them their own criticism. 
Practical Botany for Elementary Students. Introductory to the 
Systematic Study of Flowering Plants. By D. Houston. 
(Stewart’s Educational Series.) London : W. Stewart and 
Co. Edinburgh : J. Menzies and Co. 
The work before us is of a practical character. The student is 
told how and what to observe ; the instruments needful are 
described in the introduction, and the plants selected for exam- 
ination are well known and easily procured types of the fifteen 
natural orders included in the “ Syllabus of the First Stage of 
Elementary Botany issued by the Science and Art Department.” 
The author believes that no better selection of natural orders, as 
an introduction to the study of classification, could possibly be 
made. As one of his order-types the author takes the common 
buttercup ; he directs the examination of its roots, root-stock, 
aerial stem, leaves, inflorescence, flower, and fruit. Of these 
parts the flower and fruit are most closely scrutinised, using the 
lens, and making certain sections. Notes are to be taken and 
sketches drawn. From the particulars observed the pupil learns 
why the buttercup is referred to the class Dicotyledons, the divi- 
sion Polypetalae, the subdivision Thalamiflorse, and the natural 
order Ranunculacese. A list is then given of other well-known 
plants belonging to the same order, and reference is then made 
to its general properties and uses, and to its geological and geo- 
graphical distribution. 
It is very evident that the student who has carefully worked 
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