‘Vou. VIL] «= Retrofpect of German Literatére....Geography. | 533 
fa&ts.—Another excellent work in the 
fame department is, ‘** The Botanical 
Magazine (Archiv), of which we ob- 
ferve the third numberof Vol. I. with 7 
plates and 816 pp. quarto, edited by the 
author of the Flora Europea, Dr. ROMER, 
whofe merits in botanical refearches are 
univerfally acknowledged.—An impor- 
tant and beautiful work, in which many 
new {pecies of mofles, together with all 
thofe defcribed by Dillen, Linnzus, 
Necker, Weifs, Weber, Hedwig, Ebr- 
hart, Dickfon, &c. are fyftematically 
arranged, and wherein every thing on 
this fubje& is diligently colle&ed that 
could be difcovered on the Alps “and 
mountains of Switzerland, as well as in 
ithe national Phytophylacium at Paris, is 
the following, of which the fecond vo- 
lume has juit appeared at Gotha. and 
Paris: ** Mufcologia recentiorum, f. ante 
Lyfis, biftoria et defiriptio methodica om- 
nium mufcorum frondoforum hucufque cog- 
nitorum, ad norman Hedwigti, a S. E. 
BrivEL. Cum Tabulis encis.”’ The au- 
thor warmly exprefles the gratitude he 
owes to Juflieu, Desfontaines, Billar- 
diere and other members of the national 
inftitute at Paris, where the famous her- 
barium of Haller is now depofited, and 
where he was permitted to infpect and 
copy both public and private colleétions. 
He is further affitted by Mr. Abraham 
Thomas, the botanical amanuenfis to 
the late Baron Haller; and a third vo. 
lume will foon conclude this’ laborious 
and valuable performance.—We cannot 
omit to mention another interefting pub- 
lication in this department, which pro- 
miles to throw light on the ancient names 
of many vegetable bodies, now either to- 
tally milunderftood or confounded with 
others: Aatiquitalum botanicarum Specimen 
priunum, audtore CURTIO SPRENGELIO, 
M. D. &c. Accedunt Tubule ence, 
1798, 15 fheets, fmall quarto. As the 
defcriptions of plants given by the an- 
Cients, on account of their unacquain- 
tance with the true and permanent cha- 
racters of vegetable productions, are fre- 
quently fo obfcure, that even the mott 
complete Knowledge of the Greek and 
Arabic languages is infufficient to difco- 
ver, ‘6 quid fonent nomina plantarum Greca 
aut Arabica, aut que res his vocibus defig- 
nentur, the learned author has under. 
taken the arduous tafk of decyphering 
many old and obfcure names of plants, 
particularly thofe ogcafioned by the Pinax 
of the unwary Bauhin, whofe hhafty affer- 
tions the fubfequent compilers of dic. 
MONTHLY Mac. No. xL, 
‘tionaries have blindly copsed. Prof. 
Sprengel acknowledges the great merit 
in this branch of fcience due to Of 
Celfius whom he confiders nearly equal in 
point of erudition and found difgquifition 
to the learned Saumaife. 
GEOGRAPHY. 
In order to contraft the prevailing man- 
ners and cuftoms of Paris with thofe of 
‘London, and to point out every ftriking 
occurrence relative to the morals and po- 
litics of both capitals, a periodical work 
has been commenced ir. the prefent year at 
Weimar, intitled “* London and Paris, 
with coloured and plain caricatures, 
drawings, plans, and fongs fet to mu- 
fic ;** by two anonymous authors who 
refide in thefe capitals, and furnifh’ the 
German editor with the lateft and moft 
interefting accounts of the moral and 
phyfical changes taking place in the con- 
{titution of France and England.—Among 
the topographical defcriptions lately pub- 
lifhed, we fhall mention: «¢ Dr. F. Rei- 
negs’s General topographico-hiftorical de- 
Scription of the country called Caucafus ; 
edited from his polthumous papers, by F. 
E. ScHROEDER, in two volumes, witha 
coloured map.”’ Although thefe volumes 
contain many abfurd, whimfical, and in- 
credible ftories, they may neverthele{s af- 
ford fome amufement and information to 
the reader, as that country in the prefent 
imperfect ftate of geography is in a man- 
ner a “ terra incognita.’—Among the 
elementary works in this branch of {cience 
we mention ‘* The Elements of Geogra- 
phy, for beginners, by F. P. WIusEN, 
&c, in two parts, and an appendix, con- 
taining queftions to promote an agreeable 
and ufeful repetition of geographical in- 
ftruction.”’ Although the author deferves 
fome prarfe for the ingenious manner in 
which he has delivered the rudiments of 
Geography, yet we cannot in juftice to 
the public pronounce his performance fre¢ 
from inaccuracies and errors, particularly 
in what relates to the population of dif- 
ferent countries. Another and more ufe- 
ful as well as more correét work of this 
nature is ** The Geographical Manual; 
being a Supplement to the Elementary Trea- 
tafe by Seiler.’ ‘The anonymous author 
has been at confiderable pains to colleé& 
whatever has a tendency to amufe and in- 
ftruét the tyro in Geography. Asawork 
of peculiar merit in furnifhing us with 
authentic accounts of the prefent domi- 
nions belonging to the houte of Pruffia, 
we muft take notice of the ** Topograbhi- 
cal, flatiftical, and She Hl Dictionary 
3 cs 
