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316 NOTICES OF BOOKS.
europiea. This has hitherto been recorded from only one locality in
Shetland,—in Unst. As there are no trees on the island, the
stems of Ilmnex obtusifolkts and R. crisjms are carefully dried by the
natives and woven into small baskets or creels, chiefly used for
carrying fish.—E. M. Bakrington.
DiANTHus c^sius Sm.—An earlier name for this plant is D.
Graliiinopolitanus Villars (' Hist, des Plantes de Dauphine,' iii. 598
(1789). This is pointed out by Verlot, ' Plantes Vasculaires du
Dauphine,' p. 51 (1872)
; and Villars' name is also cited for the
species by Nyman, although he retains Smith's name, published
July 1st, 1792, according to the date on the 'English Botany' plate
accompanying his original description. Frederic N. Williams.
Flora of Somerset. — The Rev. E. P. Murray will publish a
new Flora of this county in the ' Proceedings of the Somerset
Natural History and Archaeological Society,' and hopes to issue the
first part in the autumn of next year. He will be glad to receive
any help in his work : address—Eev. E. P. Murray, Shapwick
Vicarage, Blaudford.
NOTICES OF BOOKS.
Through the Fields icith Linnceiis; a Chapter in Sivedish History.
By Mrs. Florence Caddy. 2 vols. 8vo, pp. 347, 376. London
Longmans, Green & Co. 1887.
The Floral King: a Life of LinncEUs. By Albert Alberg. 8vo,
W. H. Allen & Co. 1888.
pp. 244. London :
These biographies of Linnaeus should have been noticed earlier
in these pages. They are both popular works, having each excellencies
in their own way, and also defects. Mrs. Caddy, to prepare herself
for her work, made a diligent pilgrimage to the districts familiar to
Linnaeus in the different periods of his life. Possessed of a lively
imagination, she has supplied many gaps in the story, has put into
the mouths of Linnaeus and his friends interesting speeches, and
has indeed treated the whole subject as a novel, with Linnaeus as
the hero.
Eosen, his
The struggles of his early life, his tragic quarrel with
courtship of his future wife, and many other familiar
incidents in the life of the illustrious Swede, supply congenial topics
for Mrs. Caddy's facile pen. The following extract dealing with a
subject strange to our pages may interest our readers, and illustrate
:
Mrs. Caddy's methods
" Falun had materially altered in its aspect for Linnaeus since
he had been absent. Sara Elizabeth, the elder of the two handsome
daughters of Dr. Morbus, had come from Sveden, her father's
country seat at some distance from Falun, and she, like the rest of
the world in the Dalecarlian capital, was curious to see the
interesting traveller who had recently returned successful at the
head of an adventurous band of explorers. In fancy I can see their
introduction to each other ; they first shook hands, then she bobbed
a curtsey, and he lifted off his hat. This is the order of the usual