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REVIEWS. 
bonny burn which makes its way through it, in alternate stream, cascade, and pool, 
stream and cascade again, and seven o’clock in the evening finds most of the party 
—some few had deserted early in the day—at the scene of the morning breakfast. 
But, alas, our host had not calculated upon an evening foray, as well as a morning 
raid, and the late furnishing of comestibles was but scant compared with the early 
—actually there was not enough. One of the party we detected—we almost think 
it was our friend of Madras—laying violent hands on some rather musty beef-bones 
in the pantry, which the host had been ashamed to bring out. 
“ Then came the dispersion. Some, unused to the exertion, must stop at the 
inn ; some lagged on the road; some stopped at the half-way village ; and a few 
only, with the professor and his veteran lieutenant, marched into town at ten 
o’clock, well tired, but well satisfied, and one at least of the party to remember the 
day as one of the green spots in life’s retrospect, which, like a thing of beauty. 
‘ Is a joy for ever.’ ’’ 
Then we have “ Monthly Illustrations,” which will be a guide to the 
tyro botanist as to what plants he may find in each of the twelve months. 
Lastly, we have a chapter on the economic properties of British wild 
plants; one on “Native Medicinal Plants” used in regular medicinal 
practice, and on those chiefly employed “ popularly,” in which we find that 
the herbalists and old wives go in direct opposition to the saying, 11 that 
what is sweet to the mouth is good for the stomachfor we do not find 
one plant in the list given that is not a most disagreeable bitter. This 
our readers can be made practically aware of by tasting the “ tansey,” 
“ wormwood,” and several others. We doubt not but that this little work, 
unpretending though it be, will be a great help to many a beginner in the 
delightful study of our “ wild plants and flowers.” 
A Popular History of British Mosses; comprising a General Account 
of their Structure, Fructification, Arrangement, and General Distribution. 
By R. M. Stark, F.B.S. Royal 16mo. Price 10s. 6d. Pp., 324. 
With 20 Plates, coloured, representing 55 species. London: Lovell 
Reeve. 1854. 
Strange though it may appear, this is the first work on the British mosses 
which tells us about them in a popular and pleasant style, and, at the same 
time, gives us the important and scientific descriptions of them, without 
which we would be unable—however much we might be attracted by their 
beauty—to distinguish one from the other. We purposely omit mention¬ 
ing W. Gardiner’s “ Lessons on Mosses,” which, though a delightful little 
work, did not, we think, sufficiently combine the utile cum inutile —freely 
rendered, the scientific part with the popular. 
The introduction contains a very interesting account of the uses of the 
mosses, which are more than, at first sight, one would imagine. Mr. 
Stark gives them very little credit for usefulness in a medical point of 
