REVIEWS, 
41 
more generally diffused. The author’s own qualifications for the proper 
treatment of his subject are of a high order, and the list of contributors, 
whose aid he frankly acknowledges in the preface, is a sufficient guarantee 
for the accuracy of the information contained in this excellent work. The 
sheets have, moreover, passed under the review of the veteran Baron 
Humboldt, than whom there is no one better qualified to testify as to the 
importance of the contents. 
Plants belonging to the family of the Palms occupy as prominent a posi¬ 
tion in the estimation of the botanist, as they do in the landscape of the 
regions where they abound. They have attracted the attention of numerous 
observers, and since the time of Linnaeus, when only fifteen were known to 
science, nearly 600 are now included in the list of species. By the labours 
of Yon Martius and others, a large amount of information has been con¬ 
tributed as to their structure, distribution, and products. 
Palms are in general characterised by their perfect flowers, supported on 
a branched scaly spadix, and a small embryo imbedded in albumen of 
fleshy or bony texture. In the introduction to the work, Mr. Seeman 
treats of the general aspect, organization, and distribution of this noble 
family. The species, while having a strong resemblance, do, nevertheless, 
present a considerable difference in the length and general features of their 
stems, in the form of their leaves, and in other particulars. Although 
there are some fine examples under cultivation in different parts of Europe, 
it would be difficult, from such isolated individuals, to realize a full concep¬ 
tion of those groups of majestic and of graceful Palms which arrest atten¬ 
tion in the equatorial zone. While some natural orders of plants have 
their representatives in many different parts of the world, the Palms are 
almost exclusively tropical, “ being most numerous, both in species and in¬ 
dividuals, towards the equator, and decreasing on receding from it. Few 
extend their range into the temperate zones, and none, it is hardly neces¬ 
sary to add, venture within the limits of the arctic and antarctic circles. 
The true palm climate has a mean annual temperature of 70° to 81°. 5 F.” 
Mr. Seeman describes the characters, distribution, and properties of 
species belonging to sixty-two genera, and. for convenience of reference 
these are arranged in alphabetical order, and the details comprehend mat¬ 
ters of interest to the botanist as well as to the general reader. 
In temperate climates our necessaries and luxuries are derived from 
various sources. The great family of the Palms comprehends in itself a 
complete store of materials—a vegetable bazaar—from which different 
branches of the human family derive useful products in the greatest variety. 
Without specifying the particular species—for which we must refer our 
