644 Retrofpect of Domeftie Literature.—Natural Hiftory, &c. 
time totime. This volume, which is 
publithed by fubfcription, bears a clofe 
afinity to our County-hiftories. 
NATURAL HISTORY, &¢, 
«© Dictionnaire des Termes Tech- 
niques de Botanique, &c.”—A Dic- 
tionary of Technical Terms, for the 
Ufe of thofe who cultivate the Study 
of Botany; by Citizen Movutton- 
FONTENILLE, Member of the Athe- 
neum, the Society of Agriculture, that 
of Natural and Ufeful Arts eftablifhed 
at Lyons, &c.”. : 
This Dictionary is dedicated to 
the learned Profeffor Philibert;. and 
Fontenille, the author, is already ad- 
vantageoufly known to the public, by 
feveral works publifhed by him on the 
fubje& of natural hiftory. He prefents, 
on the prefent occafion, to both the 
Jearned and unlearned reader, a fami- 
liar defcription of allthe technical terms 
which eonftitate the botanical idiom 
originally compofed by the immortal 
Linneus. He alfo pofieffes the merit 
of pointing out and rectifying the er- 
rors and omiifions of former lJexico- 
graphers, fo that he has upon the 
whole produced a publication highly 
interefting to all the Icvers of this very 
popular ftudy. 
Under the title Herbori/ation we find 
an ufeful and well written article, of 
which we fha!l here prefent our readers 
with a fhort extract: —~ ; 
«© He who fearches after plants ought 
to traverfe the fields both cultivated and 
wild, befides fands, meadows, marfhes; 
he ought alfo to travel along the fides 
of ftanding pools, and the borders of 
rivers ; to traverfe the mountains, and 
afcend their fummits ; to fcale the moft 
frightful precipiees, and to difregard 
fatigue and even danger. Who can 
defcribe the delicious fenfations expe- 
rienced on reaching the top of the 
Alps! The odour ef the herbs, the 
perfumes of flowers, the agitation of 
the leaves, the humming of infeéts, 
the morning fong of the birds, the low 
and broken murmurs of cafcades, 
which precipitate themfelves in a thou- 
fanid diverfified forms from the glaciers; - 
joined to the repetitions of the echos; 
in fhort, the fummits of the Alps pre- 
fent folitudes and afylums more agree- 
able in refpeé&t to habitation, than 
the moft magnificent palaces. 
«* A rare plant, collected in the midft 
of danger, affords the botanilt a more 
lively pleafure than can be enjoyed by 
the mere lovers of Flora, although it 
‘aroufes not the jealoufies of ambition. 
The botanift in the Alpine regions 
devotes all his time to obfervation ; 
he courageoufly fupports hunger and 
thirft, heat and cold ; he there alfo ac- 
cuftoms himfelf to temperance and fo-— 
briety. Fatigue hardens his body, ac- 
cidents fortify his patience; a fimple 
repalt on the grafs, near to fome mofly 
rock, folaces his appetite, and appears 
far more delicious to him than the mof& 
{plendid feftival.”’ . 
At the article of the ‘* Linnean Flo- 
ra,” the author expreffed himfelf in 
the following manner: 
‘‘ The ancient botanifts had before 
obferved, that in the general economy 
of nature, the development of flowers 
took place fucceflively on certain de- 
terminate months and days. They had 
even followed up the views of the Crea- 
tor, in never leaving any vacuity in 
the theatre cf Flora; but Linnzus was 
the firft who collected a number of ob- 
fervations, for the purpofe of deter- 
mining the epoch at which the princi- 
pal flowers were accuftomed to blow ; 
and thence forming, what it 1s now cuf- 
tomary to denominate, the Calendar of 
Flora. Anterior, indeed, to the Swedifh 
naturalift, feveral botanifts had diftri- 
‘buted the plants of their Floras ac- 
cording to the time of flowering. Dil- 
len, in his Catalogue of the Vegetables 
that grow fpontaneoufly around Jena, 
paid no regard, in the clafling of his 
plants, to any thing elfe than this. 
Lindern, in his’ ** Hortus Alfaticus,” 
alfo adopted the fame method; but 
neither Dillen nor Lindern,-nor any 
other botanifts who have either pre- 
ceded or followed them, conceived the 
idea of forming a calendar, and indi- 
cating the appropriate plants for every 
day of the year, 
‘¢ Tt is to be obferved, however, that 
a calendar of Flora can only be pro- 
vided, from the beginning of February 
to the end of the month of Novem- 
ber; but the moffes and the lichens 
can fill up the vacuum during Decem- 
ber and January ; yet notwithitanding 
this, the obfervations made on the pre- 
cife. time of flowering are not fuffi- 
ciently exact to render the catalogue 
complete. Even fuppofing that a {e- 
ries of the moft correét remarks were 
to determine the flowering of different 
{pecies, during each day of the year, 
yet this vegetable almanac would be 
always faulty, according to the fea- 
fons ; for we all know, that when the 
. winter 
