ART. IV. Caroli Frederici Gærtner, Med. Doct. Soc. Natur. THE E fore fore but be confidered as of the greatest value to the systematical botanift. * While we thus reprobate the inattention to carpology, that marks the writings of most of our botanical contemporaries, it is but justice to obferve, that the prejudices which once feemed to be entertained against it, by a certain fchool, begin gradually to disappear. Thofe botanifts, whofe deeper infight 'into vegetable economy has taught them to confider the natural affinities of plants as an object by no means of idle fpeculation, are already fully aware of the neceflity of the ftudy of carpology; nor is it a matter of doubt, but that, ere long, betanifts of all other persuasions will difcover the propriety of following their example. If we mention the late Gartner's great work as one which has formed an æra in the hiftory of botanical writings, it is not that we affect to join the common-place encomiums fo indifcriminately beftowed by botanical writers and reviewers upon all the parts of that performance, or to place implicit confidence in every thing that has come from the pen or pencil of that celebrated naturalist. We wish to do juftice to a work of great and original merit, without feeking to difguife thofe imperfections which are almoft infeparable from fuch extenfive undertakings. That author, we are convinced, has often trufted too much to analogy in his defcriptions and delineations, especially in thofe of the minuter feeds: his fpecimens were not conftantly the moft perfect ones, nor had he always opportunities of repeating his obfervations. Hence, even with his genius for penetrating at once through the complicated organization which prefented itself to his view, it was often impoffible to avoid deception. It would be unfair, however, to cavil at inaccuracies proceeding from fuch innocent caufes. We are rather furprized, indeed, at their comparative fewness; and nobody, we trust, will diffent from us, who at all knows to appreciate the merits of fuch an herculean labour. For this, as well as for other reafons, we think it unneceflary at prefent to pafs any particular cenfure upon the original work of that illuftrious botanist. Our duty, however, forbids us to extend the fame indulgence to the performance now immediately under confiderationthe continuation, partly pofthumous, and partly fupplied by the fon of that celebrated author. Dr Gartner, in the two volumes which conftitute his Carpology, * We cannot, however, go the whole length of that zealous carpologift, who maintained that there was divine authority for founding all botanical arrangement upon this favourite branch of the ftudy; and that this was diftinctly expreffed in the text, By their fruits fhall ye know them. " logy, had made us acquainted with the fruits of one thousand genera of plants, that is, about half the number known at the period of his publication. Though the preface to the second volume states, that with it the work is to be confidered as completed, yet there remained fome materials which that indefatigable man, notwithstanding the decayed ftate of his health, could not suffer to be loft for want of exertion. He therefore again resumed the task of delineation and description; and forty more genera, the beginning of an intended fupplement, were nearly accomplished, when he was cut off in the midst of his labours. Prompted by the wishes of feveral naturalifts to fee the work continued, Dr C. F. Gærtner (as we learn from an advertisement annexed to the number before us) refolved to take up the thread of his father's investigations; and, with this view, undertook and accomplished, in the years 1802 and 1803; a carpological tour in France, England and Holland. He acknowledges that the liberality with which the moft celebrated naturalifts of thofe countries affifted him in his pursuits, has far exceeded his moft fanguine expectations. At Paris he obtained permiflion from the Directors of the Mufeum of the Jardin des Plantes, not only to examine the treafures of their fruit collection, but alfo to make drawings of every thing that was remarkable; and, through the communications of feveral botanifts of that capital, he became poffeffed of moft of the genera of Aublet, Commerfon, l'Heritier, and others. In London he met with the fame encouragement from Sir Jofeph Banks; and likewise obtained fpecimens of fruits and feeds from Mr Lambert, At Leyden he made a confiderable acquifition in Ceylon and Javanese pericarps and feeds, moft of them prefented to him by Profeffor Brugmanns. Thus fupplied with valuable materials, Dr Gærtner jun. promifes to continue the work of his father without interruption; and we rejoice at it, especially as what appears to belong to him in the number before us, augurs by no means unfavourably for what we are to expect from his talents. The editor has omitted to inform us how much of this first number is pofthumous. We have reafon however to believe, that the five firft plates belong entirely to the father. The figures which they contain are of unequal merit; fome of them being greatly inferior to what we were accustomed to admire in the finished and complete reprefentations of the preceding volumes, and made from fpecimens too imperfect to add much to our better knowledge of the plants to which they refpectively belong. More than a third part of the defcriptions we find deficient, either with regard to the whole feed, or one or more of its conftituent parts. Such deficiencies occurring but feldom in the preceding E-2 volumes, volumes, we mat corcium that the late author had no i to cha thu cari mpled p ut public eve We now proceed t efter iom diutory remarks on id: the plants contamce n this number, a art either mutt rema alle, or ftand n. need of a...in Maitration. Of the four gralios repretentei i ti rii plate, one is a 2. cies of 1.bamum, conndered as new ma dilanquilled, or acce of the traniverK WARS O Lat rute games of the 10le Lowe by the appellation at rutum, In Garner will find, on cons ng Salabury's leones pirtin Marie, that his plant is br um of Konig, wht likewie pa ed upon thus nam t tie winks appearance & L g'units. Thele raja, ni ihoua, however te oblerved, are not p culiar to that species; 1 a daim is laevit provided with the though diftinguifiable tron, the farmer, by its glumes being at fame time longitudinally striated. Koittama men quin and corven 2 are made to form a gerus caled Opliuru. It is characterized by the filarm, not really I tickinted, Ípikes, and cach apparent jom having only one nicher fower. Another character, what diftinguithes this genus froz Rottballia, is here stated to be the hermy hrodite nature of all the Agung though we ate inmediately after tow, that in. Q. increa more female florets were foune har hermaphrodite ones, an rone but mile ones in US comemora This appears to be contre COCOIN. Of neither of tatt ipecies the Luthor has feen the feecs, For Lad we an opportunity to observe them in the latter: but, in the former, we know them to be of an oval, paint-convex form, and crowned with fome upri la bri.. Blues theit, und Rottrella comidiata L., we find two other grimex deicribed here, viz. Gira latifolia, while male towers, contrary to what we len from other authorities, are ii to be turuled with a coroll; and Logeum &partum, of which, however, we pekels already de excellent defcription and figure of Ricture in the A correres de la Secinte d'Hilure Nat. de Port, the ugh not neute to the dynonymer by the younger Gærtner. Four 2. baomu, aclcribed and figures as fuck in the fecond volume of this carpological work, is here referred to Thunberg's Hearing As an example of a reil Retio, R. fearijus is given, and the clatincave diameters that 4eparate the former genus from it are lated to confi, a, in the femde female calyx being folitary, top-fhaped, and compofed of feveral fcales; 2. in the uniform rofaceous corolla, furnished at its bafe with a proper fpongy receptacle; and, 3. in the folitary nut exceeding the calyx four times in length. Nearly related to both these genera is Elegia, but fufficiently distinct in having a capfular fruit of feveral cells. The annulated appearance of the feed of Gahnia procera is extremely remarkable; it resembles the larva of an infect, and is therefore termed campomorphum, The fecond plate (tab, 182.) contains the genera Dilatris, Maffonia, Renealmia, Arctopus, Efcallonia, Coprofma, and Damnacanthus. The laft of these names, the compofition of which we can. not help admiring, is given to a genus of the natural order of the Rubiacea. To judge from the fruit, (fent by Thunberg as Cariffa fpinarum), it approaches but too near the Canthium of Lamarck. We avail ourselves of this opportunity to observe, that the Webera of Schreber (Rondeletia afiatica L.) is by no means a congener of Canthium, as Willdenow makes it; but how the former botanist came to defcribe the fruit as containing only one feed, we are unable to tell to us their number appeared to be from fix to eight. A very good and complete figure is given of the flowers and fruit of Renealmia pendula, a real Tillandfia; which latter generic name ought to have been retained by Dr Gartner jun., the former being already given to a genus of the natural order of Scitaminea. The feeds of this fpecies (which, by the way, is not a nondefcript, but the fame with Tillandsia nutans of Swartz) are very fingularly conftructed they appear wrapt up in a close web of fibres, which, at the top, form a crown, improperly called Pappus by defcribers, and at the bafe an appendage of the fame nature as the crown, but with the fibres glued together fo as to form a cone. obfervations might have been added refpecting the fpecies of this genus, which stands in great need of reexamination: the generic character, as here given, is certainly applicable to a few only, especially as far as it relates to the fruit and feeds. Some We were particularly defirous to become better acquainted with the pericarp and feeds of Efcallonia, in order to be enabled fafely to fix its place in the natural series; but all we learn here, in addition to what is known already by Smith's defcription, is, that the diffepiment of the berry appears cleft in the middle, and both the edges turned inward into one of the cells. The description and delineation of that fingular vegetable Arctopus echinatus, is more fatisfactory. The nature of its fteril or male plant, is perhaps lefs involved in obfcurity, than it appears to our author. He fays, • Cum mafcula planta conftantiffime fterilis fit, licet quaternos aut quinos in fingulo involucro habeat flofculos femineos, mirandum, unde fuad E 3 |