64 
REVIEWS. 
of latitude. At page 5 there is an instructive chart on which the limits of 
these zones are represented by differently-coloured spaces. 
As a sample of the style in which the subject is treated, we may select 
the following- 
“ That we may prize, at its full value, the scanty vegetation of the polar zone, 
let us try to forget that such a thing as a tree, or even a shrub, exists; let us place 
ourselves there in fancy, and look round ; and, that we may properly enjoy the six 
weeks’ sunshine, let us first imagine the state of things through the long night of 
winter. . . . The ‘ cold, round moon,’ looking steadily down on all that white 
frozen world, never setting the fourteen days and nights together, and only hiding 
her face from her third to her first quarter, as if for sorrow that she could then be of 
so little use ; but, even then, there is still the glorious aurora lighting up the heavens, 
and darting bright rays through the air to make some amends for the loss of sun 
and moon.’’ 
Then follows an account of the vegetation as it appears during the short 
summer of the inclement north; the species are not numerous, but of 
much interest to the botanist. It is, indeed, in such a latitude only that the 
vegetable denizens produce so striking an impression on the most indifferent 
spectators. Examine the journals of arctic voyagers, and observe with 
what intense interest—after passing a dreary winter, where only snow 
and ice meet the eye—they look for and note the earliest appear¬ 
ance of some of those plants which rapidly burst into flower after 
being denuded of their snowy covering. The chapters containing details 
about the vegetation of the different zones comprehend, also, facts of import¬ 
ance respecting the general aspect of different regions, and the manners and 
customs of the inhabitants: as we have stated in the outset, all these 
are intimately connected. Although not much inclined to criticise very 
closely a work which does not profess to be strictly scientific, yet we 
cannot avoid alluding to some mistakes which seem even to have escaped 
the notice of the learned editor. Having collected the rare and beautiful 
Astragalus alpinus in its Highland home, we had some difficulty in 
recognising it under the following description—“ A thorny plant of the 
leguminous tribe, not unlike gorse (or whin) in its general character.” 
Surely, neither author nor editor had ever seen the species. The lichen 
on which the reindeer feeds is described as “in appearance very much 
like the Iceland moss we see in druggists’ shops.” These, and some other 
blemishes, will, doubtless, be remedied should the book reach a second 
edition ; nevertheless, those who have a desire to know some fact# 
respecting the features of Flora in different parts of the world will find 
the “ Popular Geography of Plants” deserving of perusal. 
Next to actual inspection of the vegetable covering in various climatic 
zones, we may rank good panoramic views of the same, though even the best 
