53 
REVIEWS OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. 
The New Botanist’s Guide to the Localities of the Rarer Plants of Great 
Britain. By Hewett Cottrell Watson. Vol. II. Scotland and adjacent 
Isles. London: Longman fy Co. 1837. pp. xxiv., 278. 12mo. 
Nearly eighteen months, observes Mr. Watson, have elapsed since the pub¬ 
lication of his first volume. The present volume is similar in character to its 
predecessor, being in fact a continuation and conclusion of the work, the objects 
of which we may briefly explain. Its aim is to furnish a catalogue of the rarer 
British plants, either from the authors own observation, from that of such friends 
as he can trust for accuracy, or from the best published works and catalogues. 
A separate chapter is dedicated to each county, with the particular locality or 
localities in which each species has occurred, and occasional notes and observa¬ 
tions. 
This second volume, as its title imports, treats of the botanical riches of Scot¬ 
land; but in a Supplement various additions are made to the Flora of England 
and Wales, each plant, as above, being followed by the locality, and the autho¬ 
rity on which it is inserted. 
So far as we have examined the work it is correctly printed; and, aware as 
we are of the authors zeal and knowledge of the subject, it is to us no matter of 
surprise that he has performed his task in the most satisfactory manner. 
Having given some account of the object of the work, and an opinion as to its ex¬ 
ecution, we will conclude with a few words on the preface. It will be in the memory 
of most of our botanical readers that, simultaneously with the first volume of the 
New Botanist’s Guide , appeared Mr. Watson’s Remarks on the Geographical 
Distribution of British Plants , a separate work, but obviously intimately related 
to the former. Mr. W.’s reviewer in The Athenaeum professed himself at a loss 
to perceive the cui bono of these Remarks. Now as a general rule we would not 
recommend authors to reply to any reviews of their books in periodicals, espe¬ 
cially as the reviewer and the public generally care very little about the matter, 
and as authors are apt to be much more touchy and tender respecting their li¬ 
terary bantlings than an impartial judge would be. In the present case, however, 
a principle , and not the mere feelings of an author, was touched upon, and the 
discussion is, therefore, not only allowable, but may prove salutary. We can 
scarcely conceive a more interesting or useful department of Botany than the 
distribution of plants. The fabrication of systems may be very amusing to their 
framers, and may prove useful to the student of Botany as an abstract study, 
but investigations relative to the distribution of plants, properly considered, must 
lead to results of a more practically beneficial nature to mankind, and to the 
