to the mind of the writer. For instance, we have in the present volume stanzas 'To a Leaflet, which had clung to a friend here; and which she discovered on her return to another country'!!! How this could have happened to an individual who either washed her face, or had shaken her clothes, we are at a loss to conceive. It is not to be expected that even the Lays of Affection' will furnish us with many instances of such exquisite Della-Cruscanism as the above: but we have other superscriptions almost as delicate. For example: To a friend with a violet; after having received one from her from Switzerland.' The singleness of heart, and unity of object, in this pretty title, are very engaging: but the infantine simplicity of lines To a lady from a violet' is perhaps the most touching of all.

Art. 18. Dialogues on Botany, composed for the Use of Young Persons; explaining the Structure of Plants, and the Progress of Vegetation. 12mo. pp. 467. Hunter. 1819.

On a former occasion, when we gave some account of "Conversations on Botany," we suggested the idea of treating in the same manner the structure and physiology of plants; and we are happy in having it now in our power to introduce to our readers a work of this description. We do not, however, mean to state that the publication before us has completely fulfilled our wishes on this subject; nor do we think that it has been executed with the same success which characterized the "Conversations on Botany." The present dialogues contain nothing which was not already before the public; nor do they pretend to exhibit more than a brief and luminous sketch of what had been already known on the subject of the structure of plants and the progress of vegetation. The author has borrowed very largely, and sometimes almost verbatim, from Sir James Smith's Introduction: insomuch, indeed, that we think it was due to the President of the Linnéan Society to have acknowleged the liberal use which had been made of his deservedly popular work. Willdenow's Principles and Keith's Physiological Botany have also, as we might expect, supplied much valuable matter; and the contributions are not inconsiderable which have been levied from M. Mirbel, whose Elémens de la Botanique we reviewed in the Appendix to our lxxxvith volume. In proof of this last remark, we refer to p. 448. of the present author, where the subject of the geography of plants is considered. The French writer's admirable description of the vegetation of equinoctial regions is also very closely, if not verbally copied, p. 424.

We would observe, in general, that the work before us is too much dedicated to the mere explanation of terms. To such an extent, indeed, is this carried, that we fear that many portions of the volume cannot be perused by the young persons, for whom it is intended, with any degree of interest or intelligence. As an instance

of the unnecessary and injurious degree of minuteness and intricacy into which the author is sometimes drawn, we beg to adduce the subject of the Arillus, (p. 288.) on which some learned botanists have widely differed. We cannot by any means agree with the writer in regarding the skin of the almond as an Arillus it is the Membrana of Gærtner.

A

To point out a few of the inaccuracies which we noted during our perusal of this work, we may state that the nectary of Ranunculus is not a pore, but a scale-like claw. (p. 259.) The aperture in the testa, at the extremity of the Hilum, is confounded by the author, in speaking of the anatomy of seeds, with the spot where the nutrient vessels formerly entered. These, however, are totally distinct, as any person may be convinced by inspecting a full-grown garden-bean before the placentary vessels have separated: which will be seen entering at the extremity of the Hilum, opposite to the aperture, and stretching in green waving lines along the edge of the cotyledons opposite to the embryo. On the subject of the conversion of the starch of seeds into sugar, during germination, the author (p. 300.) entertains the general belief: but we have long been convinced that this change does not occur in all seeds, but is confined to certain grains, among which barley is the most remarkable. Many seeds during germination appear, on the contrary, to lose some portion of their sweetness, which may distinctly be observed in the bean, pea, and chesnut. The gentle torrefaction of seeds, whether previously steeped or not, seems to increase perceptibly the proportion of sugar which they contain. The germination of the cocoa-nut is mentioned by the author, but not by any means correctly explained; nor do we recollect to have any where met with an accurate account of the mode in which it takes place. In the germination of this large seed, the embryo sends forth two distinct sets of roots: the first stretching into the milky liquid of the nut, which by means of their fibrils they absorb, and convert to the nourishment of the evolving plantlet. From the firm substance which gives origin to these roots, the plumule shoots forth in an opposite direction, perforating one of the indented marks at the base of the shell: and from the neck of the plumule, after its escape, new roots are thrown out, which creep along the external surface of the shell, and at length make their way into the earth. In this manner we have a beautiful illustration of the true uses of the milky liquid contained in the heart of the cocoa-nut, and a distinct demonstration of the mode in which the supply of nourishment laid up in seeds ministers to the evolution and support of the infant plantlet.

Another subject, on which we must beg to dissent from this author, is the arrangement of the seeds of the gooseberry. In examining a gooseberry, we always perceive two lines, consisting each of a bundle of fibres, passing along either side, from the peduncle of the fruit to its apex. On dividing the gooseberry transversely, we find the seeds regularly attached by placentary véssels, springing from their cords. Thus we see that the arrangement of the seeds of the gooseberry is by no means promiscuous,

as

as the writer states, (p. 324.) but perfectly regular. — As a favourable instance of his manner of conveying instruction, we quote his remarks on the decay of trees: a subject, it is true, on which it would be difficult for a writer of any talent not to express himself in an interesting manner.

"When trees have attained their full maturity," replied Miss Percival," their vessels become rigid and obstructed, the roots prepare less nourishment, the sap is less freely propelled, and their very increase in bulk diminishes their real vigour. The buds are fewer, the leaves perform their office feebly; the smaller branches become brittle, and are snapped by every breeze; the stem decays at the head, and water lodges in the injured parts; the wood cankers, and the tree perishes. Such is the progress of vegetable decay."

A melancholy account of it, indeed," said Emma; what then becomes of the tree ?"

" and

"When life is extinguished," continued Miss Percival, "nature hastens the decomposition; the surface of the tree is overrun with lichens and mosses, which attract and retain the moisture, the empty pores imbibe it, and putrefaction speedily follows. Then come the tribes of fungi, which flourish on decaying wood, and accelerate its corruption; beetles and caterpillars take up their abode under the bark, and bore innumerable holes in the timber; and wood-peckers in search of insects pierce it more deeply, and excavate large hollows in which they place their nests. Frost, rain, and heat assist, the whole mass crumbles away, and dissolves into a rich mould.

"It is thus that the career of plants is terminated; the earth they had adorned is fertilized by their remains; and seeds, ready to germinate with new life, spring up in endless succession."

The remarks on Mr. Templeton's experiments on the naturalization of exotics are well deserving of notice:

"Mr. Templeton lives in the north of Ireland; but an intimate friend of mine, who lately visited that country, has given me a very interesting account of his garden, and of his obliging readiness to shew it. Many shrubs and flowers, which are usually considered so tender as to require the assistance of a stove, grow there luxuriantly in the open air; the most delicate heaths, myrtles of various kinds, the green tea-tree, and several others, were observed in different parts of his garden, arranged according to the requisite soil and shelter.

"On the banks of a little stream were great bushes of broadleaved Kalmia, with their branches bending into the water; and in the same place, I remember particularly, that my friend mentioned a very large tuft of the gladiolus cardinalis in full blossom, which had been there for many years, and seemed as healthy in that situation as the common flag."

"That is the gladiolus with fine scarlet flowers, that we have so often admired in Mr. M.'s green-house; it is very astonishing," said Fanny," that in the cold bleak north of Ireland such plants should be made to grow in the open air: how does he contrive it ?"

"His experience enables him, by the appearance of the root and leaf, to judge what kind of ground is best adapted to each plant; some require a stiff, some a dry soil; others, such as erica and kalmia, require a very light soil, through which they can readily shoot their little fibres. The proportion of moisture is a circumstance to which he pays great attention; plants in a warm climate perspire more than in a cold one; the dryness or humidity of the soil should therefore be carefully adapted to their habitual perspiration. After soil, the next thing to be considered is aspect; - plants do not remove well from a shady to an open situation, nor the reverse. Shade is beneficial, not merely in moderating the heat of the sun, but in protecting the tender plant from cold tall evergreens, or any large adjacent bodies, intercept the dew which would have been converted into hoar-frost; they also prevent much of the heat, which the earth receives in the day-time, from flying off at night. In the same way, it is well known that the ground parts with its warmth much more slowly when the sky is canopied with thick clouds than in clear star-light nights — the most injurious, perhaps, of any weather in spring to which tender plants can be exposed."

The author of these Dialogues has certainly shewn an extensive acquaintance with his subject, and on many occasions has succeeded in communicating his knowlege in an easy and interesting manner but, in a great number of instances, it must be admitted that he has failed in this important object, by too great an attention to minutiæ, and too close an adherence to technical terms. On the whole, however, the work has many merits, and may with much benefit and propriety be put into the hands of young people who are to be instructed in the knowlege of this science.

EDUCATION.

Art. 19. A New Classification of all the Nouns
German Language; with a Vocabulary and
Terminations. For the Use of Schools and

Substantive in the List of all their Private Students. By J. J. G. Fischer. 8vo. 5s. Boards. Boosey and Co.

1819.

1

Those who have studied the German language are aware that it is not easy, from seeing a substantive in the nominative case, to infer how it should be declined; because, 1st, the gender cannot readily be guessed: 2dly, the masculines and neuters, if they observe a resembling law, are liable to differ in the accusative singular; 3dly, feminines observe a peculiar law; and, 4thly, the laws which apply to one class of terminations are widely distinct from those which apply to others.

In order to remove these difficulties, Mr. Fischer professes to have collected all the substantives in the German language, and to have labelled them with appropriate figures, that instantly announce to which of the ten declensions, or forms of inflection, a given noun belongs; and thus the reader, by turning to the table of terminations peculiar to that declension, may be able to find the inflection belonging to any particular case of the noun in

question.

question. The gender is also noted by means of the letters m. f.n.

This process of seeking a word first in the dictionary, and then in one of the ten columns of declension, is obviously too slow for conversation, but may be useful to the young writer. The list of nouns is not absolutely complete; for Gewissen, (conscience,) Nacht, (night,) and Pudel, (spaniel,) are wanting, although their derivatives abound: while the list itself might have been much abridged with advantage, by omitting compound substantives; since, as such substantives do not decline the former but only the latter part of the word, the first half of the compound is needless for the purpose of this vocabulary. A few exceptions, however, occur, as in amtmann and amtsbruder, where the one compound is made with and the other without the mark of the genitive.

We have looked for many words in this vocabulary, and believe the references in general to be grammatically made and correctly printed; which is the appropriate praise of such a compilation.

Art. 20. Rural Employments, or a Peep into Village Concerns, designed to instruct the Minds of Children. By Mary Elliott. 12mo. 2S. Half-Bound. Darton. 1820.

This little book, which answers to its title, may excite the attention of children, and furnish them with some useful information: - but a few trifling oversights should be corrected by the fair writer; as in page 15. the first woollens inade in England was in the year 1331:2 page 47., one can scarcely take a step but we see something going forward.'

Art. 21.

An Introduction to Modern History, from the Birth of Christ to the present Time: in Continuation of "An Introduction to Chronology and Ancient History," by the same Author. By W. Jillard Hort. Small 12mo. 2 Vols. Ios. 6d. Bound. Longman and Co. 1820.

From these little volumes the juvenile reader may obtain a clear and useful compendium of modern universal history; they are creditable to Mr. Hort's industry and judgment, and deserve attention from persons concerned in education.

Art. 22. The English Primer, or Child's First Book; on a Plan which cannot fail to delight young Children, and facilitate their Instruction in the First Elements of Spelling and Reading. With nearly 200 Wood Engravings. By the Rev. T. Clark, author of "The National Reader," &c. 12mo. 6d. Souter. 1820.

As the wooden cuts opposite to the spelling lessons in this Primer are really ingenious and neatly executed, we hope that they will afford all the delight which is anticipated by Mr. Clark.

AGRICULTURE.

Art. 23. On the Management of Farm-Yard Manure, and on other Rural Subjects. By Francis Blaikie. With a Plate and De

scription