Vor. VI.] Retrolpeet of Dometic Literature..,.Natural Hiftory. $05 
to abforb fluids with peculiar activity, and 
the leaves to peripire in a very fmall de- 
gree, The Linnzan Society has publifhed 
a fourth volume of its ‘* Tranjactions,” 
containing, it is unneceffary to tay, much 
curious matter. Mr. SyMons’ ‘§ Syyop- 
Jis plantarum, injulis Britannicis indigena- 
rum,’ is executed with much neatneis and 
elegance; the priefts of the Linnzan tem- 
ple are not intolerant, or Mr. Symons 
would not have dared the profanation of 
its eitablithed doctrines, at leaii, he would 
not have found it to bea venial crime* ; 
relying on their clemency, he has ven- 
tured to explode frem his botanic fyitem 
the three ciafles monecia, diwca, and 
polygamia, arranging the plants which be- 
leng to them under the clafles charac- 
terized from number. Some other altera- 
tions too are rif{qued ; among them are 
the removal of ogches from gyzandria to 
diandria ; and of viola trom /yngenefia to 
pentandria. Dr. SIBTHORPE’s * tira 
Oxontenfis’’? is executed with diligence 
and accuracy: the fame may be faid of 
Mr. Forsytu’s ‘* Botanical Nomencla- 
tor.’ **Menthe Britanhice;’ Mr.SoLe’s 
new botanical arrangement of the Britifh 
mints, is illuttrated with twenty-four 
copper plates, andas a work ot elegance 
and taite, might, without any impro- 
priety, have been arranged under the 
head of Fine Arts. Mr. SOLE is of opi- 
nion, that good plates are injured by co- 
louring ; zs plates would certainly; they 
are executed with the greateit delicacy 
and correétnels. Linnzus left unnoticed 
many ot Ray’s mints: Mr. Sovg has in- 
cluded in his arrangement all thofe which 
are enumerated both by Ray and Hud- 
fon, together with feveral new {pecies 
hitherto unnoticed. The three firft num- 
bers are publifhed of ‘* A Collection of 
Exotics from the Ifland of Antigua, by a 
Lady,” the drawings are very elegant; 
they are executed with freedom and fpirit, 
and are well copied by the engraver. A 
third volume is publiihed of Mr. Dono- 
VAN’s ‘6 Natural Itifiory of Britifh Birds:” 
it contains twenty-four plates, but they 
are not regularly arranged, the confe- 
quence of which is, that the jame, or 
fimilar obfervations are occationally re- 
peated. A tranflation has appeared of 
Profeflor Raff’s <* Syffem of Natural Hi/- 
tory, adapted for the Inftruction of Youth, 
in the form, of a Dialogue.”? It fome of 
Mr. ARCHER’s “ Micellancous Obferva- 
tions on the Effects of Oxygen on the Animal 
* Mr. S. is a fellow of the Linnzan 
fociety. 

and Vegetable Syfiems,”’ are trite, many of 
them are new and ingenious; the firft part 
of this work only has yet appeared; in 
this, Mr, ARCHER has attempted to 
prove why fome plants are evergreen and 
others deciduous; the latter, he fays, 
yield good oxygen air in the fummer clear 
weather only; the former yield it through- 
outthe year. From this faét, he concludes 
that the claboration of oxygen is the only 
caufe of the green colour and peculiar 
odour of plants in general: if this be 
true, would it not follow that plants ela- 
borate oxygen gas during the night, ~in- 
ftead of azote? if our author allows that 
they emit azotic gas by night, the green 
fhould, at leaft in {ome meature, fade, and 
the odour become faint. Do the dark 
green plants elaborate more oxygen than 
thole of paler hue? a fhort appendix,with 
fome of the practical metheds for pro- 
ducing fixed air, oxygen air, hydrogen 
gas, mitrous air, and hydrocarbonate, 
occupies the lait four pages of this in- 
{tructive and ingenious pertormance. Dr. 
Townson’s ‘ Philofopby of Mineralogy 
is, in many refpeéts, a very ufeful work: 
the Dostor frit explains tue laws by which 
he {uppoles the toflil kingdem to be go- 
verned; he then enumerates the different 
materials of which it is compofed, and 
fhows the manner in which they are 
placed; and lattly, confiders the charaGers 
by which they are to be known. In Dr. 
Dickson’s ** Effay on Chemical Nomen- 
clature,” are coiuprited obiervations on 
the fame fubjecst by Dr. Kinwan. fa 
confequence of the many new difcoveries 
in chemiftry, both ot fubftances and com- 
potions, jome perions of eminence have 
aimed at the'entire (ubverfion of the an- 
cient nomenclature; Drs. Kirwan and 
Dickson, however, have confined their 
ichemes of reformation to thote cafes only 
in which the improprieties of denomina- 
tion are prominent and notorious. Theie 
two learned and ingenious gentlemen, 
therefore, without ubag fuch violent and 
{weeping mealures, have contented them- 
felves with correcting whatever in the 
French nomenclature was inaccurate, and 
expunging from it whatever was redun- 
dant. Dr. Kirwan flates. in the intro- 
duction, that he is on the eve of publith- 
ing a treatife, in which mahy new terms 
mult of courfe be introduced: he teels 
himiclt neceffitated, therefore, to trace 
the outlines of the fyitem of nomenclature - 
which he hds followed, not, {ays he, 
** with the prefumptuous defign of im- 
pofing it upon others, but merely from 
the view of rendersig my own future com- 
munications 
