592 
Language, cee by himself, and now 
carefully revised and correc'ed from the 
originat Copy.” This work was first 
printed in 1748, and contains a great va- 
riety not only of information, but, of 
lively anecdote. Drury appears to have 
undergone distresses of no ordinary kind. 
He was. wrecked at Madagascar, and af- 
terwards fell into the power of a native 
king, whom he served asa slave for many 
Fears. 
In this class also we shall place ‘ A 
general, historical, and topographicat De- 
scription of Mount Caucasus, with a Ca- 
talogue of Pluntsindigenous tothe Coun- 
try, “translated by Mr, Cuarrtes WIL- 
Kfyson, from the works of Dr, Reineggs 
and Marshall Bicberstcin ;” in two vo- 
fumes octavo; observing that the moun- 
tainous district, which lies between the 
Euxine and the Caspian seas, has not 
often engaged the attention. of travellers. 
AGRICULTURE. 
The “ General View of the Agricul- 
ture of the County of Sussex,” drawn up 
for the Board of Agriculture and Internal 
Improvement, by. the Rev. ARTHUR 
Youne, is the last Repdrt which has 
been published. It is ornamented with 
twenty-one plates, among which are the 
Nideot, an engine to clear land of weeds; 
a plan of the Navigation of the River 
Rother; Lord Sheffield’s Farm-yard, 
&e. &e. 
Another useful treatise will be found 
in “ The Experimental Farmer,” by Mr. 
Tiszs, a work which contains rules de- 
serving attention from farmers of every 
description. 
Mr. Reyworpson’s work, entitled, 
« Practical and Philosophical Principles 
of making Malt, in which the Efficacy of 
the sprinkling Sy stem 1s contrasted with 
the Hert fords hive e Method, ” treats its sub- 
jeet with too much philosophical solem- 
nity, although it affords many useful and 
interesting statements. 
NATURAL HISTORY, MINERALOGY, &c. 
Mr. Renwiz’s “ Essays on the Natu- 
ral History and Origin of Peat Moss; 
the peculiar Qualities of that Substance ; 
the Means of inproving it as a Soil; the 
Methods of converting ti intoa Manure ; 
and the other economical Purposes towhich 
tt: may be made subservient ;” would be 
valuable, if it were only for the “facts 
which they afford. - At present wehave 
merely the two first essays of the series ; 
containing, first, Mr. Rennie’s ‘* Obser- 
vations on those lgneous Plants which 
lay the foundation, and furnish the ma- 
terials of Moss:” secondly, “On those 
' Geognosy, im its present State. 
Retr ospeet of Domestic Literature Agricultere, Se Ce 
aquatic Plants which promote its formac 
tion and renovation. 
The subjects reserved for the third, 
fourth, and fifth Essays, are, first, the 
Changes and Combinations which vege- 
table “Matter undergoes when converted 
into Moss: secondlysgou the simple and 
compound Substances which may be ex- 
pected, and are really found in it: third — 
ly, on the distinguishing Qualities of Peat 
Moss, aud the Causes of them. 
The following are the general conclu- 
sions which Mr. Rennie makes in the 
tenth section of the second Essay in the 
present volume:—1. That Moss is cer- 
tainly: of vegetable origin. 2. That all 
Moss is either composed of ligneous or 
aquatic plants;-and that these furnish 
abundant materials for the purpose. 3, - 
That many regions now covered deep 
with Moss, were at one period arable 
lands, at another forests, at a third lakes, 
4. That Moss in. favourable ciréum-' 
stances is renovated with rapidity: aud 
that its origin does not lead us back to 
avery remote wra. Ina future Retro- 
spect we slrall be glad to continue our re- 
port on enguiries which seem to be so 
ably conducted. 
“ An Introduction to the Study of 
Cryptogamous Plants, in Letters,” trans- 
Jated from the German of Dr. Kurt 
SPRENGEL, is the title of another work 
which has ‘appeared, with strong claims 
to commendation. It is written in’ a 
plain familiar style; and is accompanied 
by ten plates. In the first letter the ge- 
neral characteristics of eryptogamous ve- 
getables are considered; while) the se- 
cond treats of the geographical extent 
and places of growth of Ferns. The 
economy of the roots and stalks of Ferns, 
the structure and economy of the leaves; 
the impregnation, and generation of their 
seeds, the general arrangement and dif- 
ferent genera of Ferns, form the subjects 
of succeeding chapters to the thirteenth ; 
which, with the fourteenth, are taken u 
with the Pteroides. From the fifteenth 
‘to the twenty-second chapter the Mosses 
are considered: while the ‘remaining 
chapters, to the end, concern the Lichens, 
Leferences to all the best delineations of 
the different species are regularly given. 
Dr.. Jameson’s “ Elements of Geo~ 
gnosy,” being vol. mm, and Part 11, of the 
System of Mineralogy, is another work 
in this department “ iptitled to our nos 
tice. “ This volume,” says Dr. Jameson, 
“of the System of Mineralogy, 1s to be 
viewed as a sketch of the scienee of 
Tt con- 
tains 
