To its imperfections no one was more alive than its admirable author, who, well aware of the value of a truly natural system, laboured ardently, and in numerous tribes with great success, but still to his accurate and scrutinizing mind not satisfactorily, towards the accomplishment of this desideratum. His unfinished plan, as is well known, was afterwards extended by the learned Jussieu, and now, in fact, forms the basis of the natural system at present in use. The benefits which have accrued to science by the accurate observation and acute discrimination of Linneus, must be abundantly evident to any one who even cursorily glances over the pages of scientific works, and notes, in almost innumerable instances, the same genera, often the same species, and the very names adopted and established by this great man. Truly, and without fear of failure, may we predict, that whilst Science shall flourish, and her temples be incensed with the humble and sincere homage of her numberless votaries, so long shall the name, the discoveries, and the memory of Linneus, bloom with unimpared, undiminished lustre :

"Nulla dies unquam memori TE eximet ævo,"

In the seventh and concluding lecture, Dr. Wilson continued the explanation of the remaining classes of the Linnean system, and pointed out the manner of ascertaining the name and history of any plant, and the best modes of drying, preparing, and systematically arranging, specimens of the different tribes for the herbarium.

After detailing the scientific advantages of an herbarium, the lecturer thus feelingly alluded to the delightful associations invari ably attached to such collections:-" But there is a result from making such collections, which, although unthought of and unsought for at the time, does not the less surely follow. For what botanist is there who, when he reviews his collection, has not immediately painted vividly before him the spot from which each flower was plucked? Does he not then revisit in his imagination, with feelings almost rivalling reality, every wild scene of nature from the rugged rock to the mountain glen?-or, more tranquil, his thoughts lead him by the gently-flowing stream of the meadow, or he gazes on the ripple of the ocean which murmurs at his feet, till his blood running warmer within him, he remembers the very words and even gestures of dear and departed friends, the companions of his walks. 'Tis thus that the botanist learns to prize and cling to his plants, as all that now remains to remind him of those by whom he was best known and best beloved."

The learned Lecturer, in conclusion, alluded to the pleasure we all must feel in the pursuit of natural sciences, which," notwithstanding the aspersions that have been cast upon them as favouring self-conceit, and as being destructive to our best hopes, I maintain are pure and unalloyed, and which, if our knowledge be based upon the sure foundation of religion, must tend to very general improvement, and infuse into every grade of society what is best described

to our nature, for one moment to suppose that the cultivation of our faculties can ever be prejudicial to ourselves or to others? Can a man, who is fearfully and wonderfully made, know too much of himself or of the world around him, which, from the meanest flower at his feet to the glittering star which sparkles in the firmament, proclaims the power, the glory, and the beneficence of an All-bountiful and Omnipotent Creator?"

WORCESTERSHIRE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY.

THE ceremony of opening the museum of this society took place on the 13th of September; on which occasion upwards of eight hundred persons attended, including a large proportion of the inhabitants of the county and city distinguished for their literary and scientific attainments. The Bishop of Worcester entered the room about twelve o'clock, accompanied by the members of the council, and at the request of the Hon. and Rev. J. S. Cocks immediately took the chair. His lordship then proceeded to open the business of the day in a brief address, in the course of which he congratulated the members of the society upon the completion of the building wherein they were assembled, in every respect so admirably calculated for the purpose for which it was erected. His lordship concluded by requesting Dr. Hastings to deliver his address.

The learned physician commenced by expressing his regret that so responsible a task had not been intrusted to some veteran labourer in the field of science. "The dedication," he observed, "of this temple to science-this splendid edifice, which, to future ages, will be a monument of the zealous desire of the present generation to advance the progress of useful knowledge-should have been undertaken by some votary more capable than myself of making a suitable offering on its altar." Dr. Hastings then proceeded to shew the good results that are likely to ensue from well-regulated societies formed for the cultivation of knowledge; and, after making some apposite remarks on the advantages and pleasures to be derived from the study of Natural History, traced, in a very lucid manner, the progress of that science from its earliest rude and barren state, to its present advanced and promising condition; and, finally, laid before his audience a succinct account of the labours of its most successful cultivators. This very able and eloquent address was listened to throughout with marked attention, and frequently elicited very considerable applause.

At the conclusion, a vote of thanks to Dr. Hastings was proposed by the Rev. John Peel, and seconded by John Williams, Esq., of Pitmaston, accompanied with a request that the address be printed ;*

* In the event of Dr. Hastings complying with the request that his address be printed, we propose giving an analysis in our next number.

a resolution which met with the hearty and unanimous concurrence of the meeting.

After the customary vote of thanks to the chairman had been passed, the company separated, highly gratified with the proceedings of the day.

Previous to the delivery of the address the following gentlemen were elected members of the Society :-Col. Davies, Rev. R. Sargeant, Rev. J. Dudley, Rev. G. E. Larden, Rev. G. Hall, Rev. -Cox, Mr. T. Waters, Mr. S. Dance, Mr. J. Clarke, and Mr. S. Stephens.

Upwards of one hundred gentlemen subsequently dined together, in commemoration of the event; the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of the Diocese presided on the occasion, and John Williams, Esq., officiated as Vice-president. Some admirable speeches were delivered during the evening, and it was gratifying to observe the interest which the prosperity of this Society appeared to excite.

CRITICAL NOTICES OF NEW PUBLICATIONS.

An Angler's Rambles. By Edward Jesse, Esq., F.L.S., Author of Gleanings in Natural History." London: John Van Voorst.

66

THIS volume does not pretend to be a regular guide, or book of instruction to the angler, but is an amusing history of fishing excursions, with sundry adventures which befel the author in pursuit of his favourite amusement in various parts of the kingdom; in which, too, will be found much information in the angler's craft. Its style, observational, conversational, and didatic, blended, is well adapted to the subject, and, now and then, an axiom and a reflection forced on the reader during the piscatory mania, help to give variety to the incidents.

We extract the following interesting observations on the "habits and instinct of fish," as affording a fair specimen of the author's style:

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"Their gills supplied the place of lungs, and are filled with innumerable very delicate vessels, generally divided into four layers, which are attached to a corresponding number of little bones. The scales are covered externally with a sort of slime, which, as Blumenbach says, appears to be in a great measure excreted from small cavities placed in a line along each side of the body. That fish are capable of hearing, there can now be little doubt, from various experiments which have been tried to ascertain the fact. Their sense of smelling also, is very acute. Little can be known of their mental faculties. Some fish are more cunning and cautious than others, while the perch and trout are readily tamed and become very docile. The miller's thumb (Cottus Gobio) is the only one in England which appears to have any

VOL. V.-NO. XVII.

X

natural affection for its young. This little fish deposits its spawn in a hole, and watches it until the young ones are hatched. The Goramy of India, are stated by General Hardwicke, in his account of that fish, to watch with the most active vigilance the margins of the spot which they had selected and prepared for depositing their spawn, driving away with violence every other fish which approached their cover. He adds, that from the time he first noticed this circumstance, about one month had elapsed, when one day he saw numerous minute fishes close to the margin of the grass, on the outer side of which the parent fishes continued to pass to and fro.

"The food of fish is very various, but they may generally be considered as carnivorous animals. They have different and curious modes of procuring it. The eel, for instance, will twist its tail round a rush, or the root of a tree in a rapid stream, and suffering itself to be moved backwards and forwards by the action of the water, will seize its prey in this position. Pike hide themselves under weeds, or stumps of trees, and dart out and seize the smaller fish. Other sorts will disturb the mud by rolling on it, and then feed on the insects which were concealed under it. But perhaps the most curious fact in regard to the mode in which a peculiar fish procures its food, is to be found in the habits of the chaetodon, of the East Indies. The upper jaw of this fish ends in a tube, through which it is enabled to throw water upon the insects which settle upon aquatic plants, so that they fall into it, and thus become its prey. There is also a small fish found in great numbers in the rivers of the Burmese empire, which, on being taken out of the water, has the power of blowing itself up to the shape of a small round ball, but its original shape is resumed as soon as it is returned to the river.

"There are few fish, however, whose habits are more peculiar and interesting than those of the salmo genius. Their migrations from fresh water to the sea, and from the sea to fresh water, twice in the year, the great rapidity of their growth, the efforts they make to ascend rapids, overcoming the almost perpendicular falls of Ballyshannon in Ireland, and of Pont Aberglaslyn in Wales, and the bony excrescence with which the lower jaw of the male is provided, to enable him to remove the gravel, to make a furrow in the spawning season, and which he loses when this operation is over, are facts which must always interest a naturalist."

The fact that, in the month of March, young salmon pass towards the sea as fry, and return in May about half a pound in weight, is mentioned by a gentleman in Scotland who had frequently tried the experiment of marking fish in their passage to and from the sea. Some of them caught in May, and marked, were found to be in July five pounds in weight, having revisited the sea in the interim.

The anecdotes, however, are not all piscatory-they at times take a wider range; some of which are not only amusing, but evince that kind of tact which proves the writer to be well skilled in composition. As a proof we extract the following description of the mode of life of two ancient ladies, residing in the village of Cleveland, Staffordshire, whom the author, in his younger days, often visited :—

"One of them, lady Blount, was the widow of a baronet; and the other, Miss Barbara Newton, was her maiden sister. When I first visited them, they might each be rather more than seventy years of age. Tall and somewhat stiff in their persons, with formal and rather ceremonious manners, observing the strictest etiquette, not only with their visitors, but with each other; they were, nevertheless, unbounded in their hospitality, and dispens

ed their bounties with an unsparing hand. Their dress was the very picture of neatness and propriety. I can see them now in their large full caps beautifully plaited and as white as snow, with ruffs round their necks, and white kerchiefs pinned round their shoulders, and covering part of their stiff chocolate-coloured silk gowns. These were made with long waists and short sleeves, having large ruffles attached to them above the elbows. A huge gold watch was appended to the girdle, and they wore rather high-heeled shoes, with little formal buckles attached to them. Their hair was perfectly white, and was disposed in what may be called sausage curls beneath the cap. They wore on their arms a sort of mitten, or gloves with half of the fingers cut off, which enabled them to ply their needles the more readily. Such was the dress of these worthy ladies, who (seated in large arm-chairs on each side of the fire-place, with a small table near them on which their work-baskets were placed) were ready to receive any visitors who might call upon them. The arrival of any one was the signal for the servants to bring in a well-furnished tray of refreshments, of which the guests were expected to partake, as their omitting to do so would have been thought to detract from the hospitality of the mansion. Kind old ladies! Sometimes their home-made wine was recommended, or, if the weather was cold, a glass of old Madeira. Chicken-pies and brawn, also made their appearance, with a huge cake, and fruit of various kinds, all arranged with the utmost propriety."

What with the anecdotes, many of which are irresistibly ludicrous, and some information useful to all rod-and-line catchers of fish, Mr. Jesse's Angler's Rambles must be considered an extremely interesting work-in fact, did our limits permit, we should be tempted to quote from its pages more freely. We now leave him, with the ardent wish that he may be induced to devote his time to the study of nature, and give to the world the result of his investigations.

The Sea. By Robert Mudie, Author of The Heavens, The Earth, The Air, &c., &c. London: Ward and Co., Paternoster-row.

IN former numbers we have noticed, with well-deserved commendation, Mr. Mudie's admirable volumes of The Heavens, The Earth, and The Air; and we now take a glance at his fourth and highly-interesting volume, The Sea. We are later than we intended to have been-indeed, we frankly confess that we are not justified in having so long deferred to draw the attention of our readers to a work which, as a companion to the preceding ones, fully merits all the attention and praise which we have so freely and justly bestowed on its predecessors. The old excuse, however, must be again summoned to our aid, and we are not overstepping the boundary of li teral truth, when we affirm that want of room, and not want of assiduity or inclination, has been the sole occasion of this tardy notice. Whatever of information or of science falls from the pen of Mr. Mudie is always worthy of deep attention, and he possesses a very singular facility of adding to accumulated knowledge and deep reflection the charm of intense interest. His subjects are not lightly chosen, nor are his theories of that speculative order which entangle common sense in a web of misty sophistry, but intelligi