lence of a system which has achieved such wonders.

It were inconsistent with our present purpose to enter upon a minute enumeration of all those circumstances which, independently of its own simplicity, have aided the triumphs of the Linnæan system; but one obvious cause of this success lies in the facility afforded for its acquisition by the superficial as well as the profound, the gay as well as the learned, through the aid of Local Floras. Many who might be deterred from the study, if general and extensive enumerations were their only guides, are by these led to cultivate a knowledge of the vegetable productions of their own kingdom or district. This foundation being laid, that which before appeared bewildered, speedily assumes order and harmony: the student fears not to grapple with the Floras of other regions, and he is thus prepared to extend the conquests of his favourite science in whatever quarter of the globe his lot may be cast. When properly executed, such performances also present attractions of no ordinary kind to the Philosophical Botanist, who, having already surmounted difficulties which may long retard the inexperienced, becomes anxious to view the science of plants in connection with others equally important. Through these he is enabled to observe more minutely the effects produced on vegetables by the variation of climate and difference of soil or mineralogical structure; and the productions of distant and widelyseparated countries are thus rendered easily accessible, should he wish to accumulate the whole into one comprehensive arrangement.

Those of Lapland and Sweden, written by Linnæus himself, are models of what he intended a Partial Flora to be. They have accordingly been imitated by most of his successors in this department; and, to the praise of their modesty be it spoken, the pupils have generally refrained from excelling their master. There is a graceful liveliness both of style and allusion, which never fails to

charm the reader as often as he refers to either of these works, and which excites an interest even in one who looks into them without any specific purpose. When to these we add the erudition displayed in references and synonyms, the didactic precision and clear discrimination displayed throughout the whole, it is not surprising that they should have so rarely been excelled. If this has ever been the case, it is gratifying to find that the merits of a British Flora render it doubtful whether the palm should be conferred on its author, or upon one of the most acute to be found in the long list of those who have illustrated the Botany of Germany. For great as the merit of Schrader's Flora is allowed to be, the Flora Britannica of Sir James Smith may well rank as its parallel, in accuracy of distinction, fulness of description, judicious arrangement of synonyms, and general elegance of style.

The Botanical erudition displayed in his English Flora invests the same accomplished author with still stronger claims on the gratitude of all who can appreciate the labour attending such deep research, and such extensive reference as are exhibited in every page. Its admirable descriptions, and the number of localities given for our rarer plants, would of themselves be no light recommendation to a native Botanist; while the critical examination of natural orders, supported by numberless references to botanical works of every description and date, must render it a valuable acquisition, both to the student and man of science, wherever a petal has been distinguished from a pistil. The propriety of introducing all at once, in a work of this description, such an extensive change in the generic characters of umbelliferous plants, may well be questioned, but of the necessity of breaking down some of our old genera, all must be convinced. With the grasses, and some other extensive families, this was more especially requisite; and by judiciously availing himself of the la

bours of our distinguished countryman Mr Brown, as well as several of the excellent monographs of other writers, many difficulties, which, meeting him at the very threshold, were apt to produce a distaste in the student, have been removed; while those who have advanced farther in this delightful science, will be glad to find the improvements introduced of late years, whether at home or on the Continent, brought to bear on the Flora of their native country. The anecdotes occasionally introduced will materially assist the memory of a beginner, by investing the objects of his study with an additional interest; while they are not so numerous as to swell the work, or impart to it an air of solemn trifling. In short, taking them all in all, the publication of these volumes cannot fail to constitute an era in the history of British Botany, although they possessed no other merit than that of removing a vagueness which has long prevailed in our Botanical phraseology.

Of what may be termed Local Floras, in the strictest sense of the term, Linnæus has left us no specimen; and this being the case, it is fortunate for science that men of much botanical skill have not disdained the labour required for accomplishing such a task. The Flora Edinensis is perhaps the best work of this description that has hitherto been published: and as it appeared in the early part of last summer, Some readers may think an apology necessary for our apparent neglect of its merits. If this be insisted on, we beg leave to remind them, that, after having Dr Greville's work before us throughout the whole of the botanical year, our opinion will be more valuable from being founded, not on a hasty glance, but on mature deliberation.

With the learned author we cannot help expressing surprise that the Flora of the neighbourhood of our romantic town has not long since been more fully illustrated. Pleasing as it is, to the lover of natural scenery, the botanical stores scattered

profusely around render it equally attractive to the lover of Nature in her less obtrusive beauties. For whether he visit the level shores of the Forth, the steeps of ArthurSeat, or the classical scenery of the Esk and Pentlands, the stranger will find in each something worthy of being added to the richest collec tion. The Rocks of the King's Park and Hills of Braid, with the plains and marshes around, present almost every variety of soil and shelter, if we except that which is formed within old fir-woods, a situation to which some of our rarest Scottish plants seem to be confined. The space lying between Holyrood and Duddingstone is perhaps richer in plants than any spot of similar extent in Britain; while the beautiful walk from Roslin to Hawthornden will not lose by comparison with the most celebrated scenes, and would well repay the Botanist's visit, were he to meet with little but the ele gant Carex pendula, one of the finest plants the British Flora can boast of.

That the vegetable productions of such a district should not have been correctly enumerated until now, is indeed surprising, and more so, when we recollect that, so far back as the time of Alston, Edinburgh was not inferior to any medical school in Europe for the zeal with which Botany was cultivated by some of its members. The task, however, has at length been accomplished in a way that atones for past deficiency. Dr Greville's Flora is in every respect worthy of the promise given in his admirable illustrations of our Cryptogamic treasures. His generic characters are judiciously adapted to the species enumerated. These, as well as his specific definitions, are comprehensive, without being diffuse, and, in most instances, constructed on true Liunæan principles. The merit of his labours in the 24th Linnæan Class is beyond all praise : and we doubt not but this part of the Flora Edinensis will be of the utmost service, in forming an acquaintance with this difficult family in other parts of the kingdom. Al

though unwilling to dispense with any of its matter, we could wish that a more portable form had been adopted; and, if we mistake not, the use of a smaller type throughout would have rendered it a more frequent companion in the fields. Our author follows out the suggestion of Dr Hooker, by uniting the Cerastium semidecandrum and C. tetrandrum of Smith; but in specimens gathered so early as the 6th of April, (those taken for the latter were found on the highest soil of ArthurSeat,) there appears a difference sufficient to mark the plants in question as distinct species. We may also remark, that, in giving plants, which, although common in other parts of the country, are of some rarity in this neighbourhood, a greater number of habitats might have been acceptable: thus Viola odorata might have been mentioned as growing on a bank at the south-west corner of Craigmillar Castle; Symphytum tuberosum as occurring immediately opposite Inverleith plantation, &c.

These things, however, are of little importance, when compared with the good effects which such a work is calculated to produce. As a model for similar performances on the Botany of other parts of the country, its merits will at once be acknowledged. It is not to be expected that our provineial Botanists can have that intimate acquaintance with the state of Botanical science which must be possessed by one who has, in a manner, made this study his profession, and who, in the Libraries of learned societies, or from an extensive correspondence, has early access to every change that may be proposed, whether for better or for worse. To them, therefore, such works must be of the utmost value, by embodying, so far as indigenous Botany is concerned, every improvement made up to the date of publication. Accordingly, should we ever be favoured with a Flora Argatheliensis, or (no disparagement to the Botany of Argyleshire) a Flora Moraviensis, it is to be hoped that their authors, instead of relapsing into antiquated heresies, will adopt the orthodox doctrines so admirably illustrated in the works here recommended to their notice.

It were needless to say much of the claims possessed by the Flora Edinensis on the student, who must of necessity form an acquaintance with Botany. He has here an easy means of laying a foundation for more extensive acquirements in the practical department of the science: and it will still farther enable him to attain that knowledge which will soon be required of every candidate for a degree, should other members of our University continue to go hand in hand with the zealous Botanist to whom this work is dedicated. There are many, besides these, to whom a knowledge of Botany would lay open an interesting field for innocent a musement, accompanied with an exercise healthful both to body and mind. To those who are denied opportunity of acquiring a practical knowledge of sciences which can only be illustrated to perfection by means of a costly and extensive apparatus, such works will furnish, after some preliminary labour, the means of becoming acquainted with a science in which no disgusting or dangerous experiments are to be performed, in which no expensive instruments are required, and which, comparatively, demands little time to be exclusively occupied in its pursuit. Its objects present themselves in the gay parterre and the sequestered woodland; its instruments are those in whose construction art has had no hand; and, by accompanying us in the solitary walk, it may be cultivated at a time which to most men is altogether lost. In it the young and the elegant will indeed " find a resource equal to the enjoyment of a new sense;" and in its cultivation, amid the retirement of the country, "they will imbibe health, as well as knowledge and taste, at the purest of all sources."

Let them hasten, then, to the fields, where all is inviting, where all is variety, from the daisied meadow to the moss-covered-rock,-where "hill and dale, wood and wold," alike furnish pleasure less fleeting than that of mere gratified curiosity." We are here recommending Botany to those who, if they study it at all, will do so without any hope of thus arriving at a Professorship, or of being knighted, like Linnæus, for the ap

plication of science to arts that may enrich a kingdom; but who, being happily gifted with a taste for refined accomplishments, may be desirous of cultivating a science which, while it heightens their enjoyment, will at the same time extend their know ledge of Nature's works. And we can assure them, that, in visiting scenes endeared by intrinsic beauty, or hallowed by historical associations, no remembrancer can be more strong than some modest flower gathered on the spot; a sentiment so gracefully expressed by Sir James Smith, that we will be pardoned for giving it in his own words. "A plant," says this elegant writer, on collecting some specimens near the Bay of Baia, "gathered in a celebrated or delightful spot, is like the hair of a friend, more dear to memory than even a portrait; because it excites the imagination without attempting to fill it." Through the operation of a similar feeling, even Mr Oldbuck, with all the callosity of his antiquarian heart, confesses that the unfortunate result of Hector Macintyre's rencontre with the Phoca would not have grieved him so much, had not the lost cane been cut, with his own hand, amid scenes which inspired the muse of gentle Drummond."

But the perception of Nature's beauties, and the lively associations of history or romance, must yield in importance to that higher delight, which ought to be our end and aim in every pursuit. The towering mountain, and the pebble which we tread under foot,-the boundless

To laugh, when sad in mind-
To weep, and feel no grief-
Lament, distress to find,

Yet tender no relief,

Betrays a heart of common mould,

For most have hearts as false and cold!

To hide a starting tear

To check a rising sigh

To act a part austere

While feeling pearls the eye,
Is casting Nature's grace aside.
And offering up the soul to pride.

I've seen a Courtier smile,
And use designing art-
Cringe, bow, and flatter, while
Foul rancour fill'd his heart;

Yet he with favours high was crown'd,
While honest Truth no pittance found.

ocean, and the dew-drop which sparkles on the tiny blade,-man, who plays his part for fourscore years, and the feeble insect which dies at the setting of the same sun whose noonday-beams seemed to call it into being,-all shadow forth the skill of some anseen Contriver, all impressively proclaim, "The hand that made us is divine." The order and harmony that every where prevail, from the "unwedgeable and gnarled oak," which has for centuries resisted the rude buffetings of the storm, to the minute fungus scarcely perceptible even with the aid of the microscope, strikingly impress the mind of the Botanist with the same great truth: and in considering "the lilies of the field, how they grow," he learns, amid difficulty and trial, to repose his confidence in Him who provides for these, "though they toil not, neither do they spin." There may be those of whom the poet could say,

"A primrose by a river's brim, A yellow primrose is to him, And it is nothing more;" but assuredly the Botanist is not of their number; for from that which ranks among the most fleeting of Nature's works, he is led to think of one who endureth unto eternity; and can truly exclaim,

I love the lightsome vein

Of mirth that wit supplies; And I can laugh amain

When things ridiculous rise;

But ne'er may mirth my sorrows drown, If I must laugh when I should frown!

I've seen a son convey

His mother to the comb;

I've seen a father lay

His first-born in its gloom;

While each has strove, with care severe,

To check a sob, and hide a tear.

Far distant be the morn,

When tears my couch shall steep!

But if my heart is torn

And burden'd woe must weep;

B.

Those tears I'll shed, though they should be

The cause for realms to laugh at me!