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NOTICES OF BOOKS. 189
indigenity. What locality that record refers to I do not know. Miss
Foulkes-Jones has sent me a plant gatliered by herself in 1874, on
a wall at Gloddaeth, near Llandudno,—seemingly not a likely
place for the species to occur as an introduction,—W. Whitwell.
Chara fraciIlis Desv., in Denbighshire.—I gathered this species
in 1875, from a small pond below a structure then known as
" Whalley's Folly," on a moorland height between Trevor and
Llangollen. On the appearance of the article by Messrs. Groves in
the ' Journal of Botany ' for last March, with its remark that Denbighshire
had no Chara record hitherto, I forwarded the specimens
to those gentlemen, and they kindly informed me that the form
was one approaching to barbata.—W. Whitwell,
NOTICES OF BOOKS.
The Flowerimj Plant : as Illustratimj the First Principles of Botany.
By I. R. AiNswoRTH DA\as, 13. A. Loudon : Griffin. 8vo,
pp. X. 181 ; 61 cuts.
Mb. DA\as has already proved in his ' Introduction to Biology '
that he is a very capable biologist, as fully abreast of modern discovery,
both in Zoology and Botany, as it is possible for one ordinary
man to be in so wide a field of science, and that he is gifted
with the power of imparting his knowledge in a clear and concise
manner. In judging the value of the present much more elementary
work, we have chiefly to consider how far he has succeeded in
suiting his book to the precise needs of the class of students for
which he intends it. Strangely enough, there is some difficulty in
ascertaining who are those for whom the volume is designed. It deals
with " first principles," and it is stated in the preface that "no previous
knowledge [of Botany, I suppose is meant] , is assumed " on the
part of the reader. Candidly I do not think that Mr. Davis's volume
is well adapted to those who have no previous knowledge whatever
of things relating to Botany. For absolute beginners the best
type of book is undoubtedly the famous ' Lessons ' in which Prof.
Oliver has adapted the material provided by the late Professor
Henslow. The very first sentence of that manual, "Gather,
first of all, a specimen of the Common Buttercup," is a perfect
example of the way a book should begin which is intended to make
a science interesting to those who know nothing about it. And
this gradual leading on from the known to the unknown is well
maintained by Prof. OHver. After a dozen pages the pupil is still
dealing in a very simple but thorough fashion with his " Common
Buttercup," and yet has already become acquainted with some of the
leading truths of J3otany, without encountering a single long word
or a single complicated statement. Mr. Davis' method is entirely
different; without any pretence of choosing a pleasant or easy patli
be boldly plunges in medias res.
In the first dozen lines tlie beginner, who is entirely without
knowledge, has to master the terms Morphology, Histology, and