The other witty, but unmeasur'd arrogant ; Lord! how I clap my hands, and smooth my brow A grateful spirit to Omnipotence !" Id. p. 151. "As, having clasp'd a rose As chieftain of this winged troop of thought, Id. p.162. "Amazed, even lost in wond'ring, I rest full Parasitaster, p. 339 In turning over this last-mentioned play, we remark two striking instances of carelessness which had before escaped us. In p. 308. the speeches of Dulcimel and Tiberio are printed as vulgar prose, which are in truth as good well-measured verse as was ever written; and again, in p. 318. "these court feasts are to us Servitor's court fasts;" evidently meaning, "these feasts are fasts to us servitors.” We might suspect an error in this line, which the editor seems to think requires no comment: but, the relative who being understood, (a licence by no means unusual,) the passage will construe as it stands, and may have been so written; or, more probably, thus, "yet feared, fears, and most where he most loved," or, by a still slighter correction, yet feared, fears, and fears most where most loved. + Printed with a full stop. ART. ART. II. The Transactions of the Linnéan Society of London, Vol. XI. Part the First. 4to. pp. 182. 11. 1s. Boards. White and Co. &c. 1814. IT T happens, we think, that the Transactions of most of the scientific associations in this country make their appearance at first in the form of entire volumes, and afterward in parts of volumes; and to the latter mode the public must be partial on one account, viz. that it enables them to peruse the communications of learned men in a more recent state. We have heard it slyly surmized, however, that the portions of an erudite tome are far more saleable than its aggregate amount. Whether either of these motives, or any other, may have induced the gentlemen of the Linnéan Society to send their lucubrations to the press by more partial instalments than they did formerly, we pretend not to divine: but, at least, we may confidently assert that, if any diminution of the accustomed demand for their papers has really taken place, it cannot fairly be imputed to an abatement of zeal on the part of the members, or to any inferiority in the value of their researches.-Their present delivery consists of twelve articles, which we shall notice with our usual brevity. Description of several new or rare Animals, principally marine, discovered on the south Coast of Devonshire, by George Montagu, Esq. F.L.S.-This veteran and successful contributor to the British Fauna here presents us with not fewer than twentyone species, of rare or hitherto unknown occurrence on our shores. Their designations are, Cancer hippa septemdentatus,-biaculeatus,-gammarus spinosus,-gammarus galba,gammarus monoculoides,-gammarus obtusatus,-gammarus pedatus, Phalangium acaroides, Nycteribia vespertilionis, Monoculus rostratus, Oniscus cæruleatus, Doris papillosa,-quadricornis,—pennigera, Aphrodita viridis, Amphitrite vesiculosa, Nereis sanguinea, -maculosa, Holotkuria digitata, Tholassiņa mutatoria, and Planaria vittata. The author's accurate and perspicuous descriptions are well illustrated by engravings, and enriched with valuable critical remarks. The first in the list of crabs is, apparently, a non-descript, upwards of an inch and a quarter in diameter, and characterized by seven denticulations on each side, besides those which guard the eyes. All the specimens that were taken were males, and procured in deep water.-The biaculeatus, of which a solitary specimen was caught in the trawl, somewhat approaches to the tetraodon, but is narrower, more gibbous, destitute of the lateral spines, &c.-The monoculoides chiefly deserves attention as forming a link between Cancer and Monoculus. It is thus that 10 that the connections and gradations of nature become daily recognized; and a period in the history of human knowlege may perhaps arrive, at which our present technical land-marks of discrimination will be broken down and obliterated. Phalangium acaroides, which was believed to be so rare, has been detected by this author, in considerable numbers, on the under surface of slates, in the shade; and it seems to be ascertained that the life of this species, which is easily destroyed, extends only to six or eight months. The absurd idea, that either this or the P. cancroides gets into persons' legs and creates humours, is certainly without foundation, neither of them being furnished with a proboscis like the Acarus ; and it is more than probable that the habits of Acarus autumnalis have been ascribed to these insects. That little creature, almost invisible to the naked eye, abounds in dry summers so much as to be extremely distressing to those who enjoy rural sports; and where the habit is readily excited to inflammation, dreadfully inflamed legs will frequently be the consequence, of which I have known several instances. I have found this species of Acarus particularly attached to raspberry bushes, and in this situation it usually attacks the arms as well as the legs of those who are in the habit of picking the fruit. The P. cancroides is more commonly found amongst collections of natural subjects than elsewhere; it is not uncommon to see four or five together in one case of my preserved birds, and yet I have never observed it in any other part of my house. The progressive motion of this insect is very slow and uniform, contracting its arms and becoming motionless when touched. On the contrary, the P. acaroides, though not very quick in its usual movements, will, if touched, run either backwards or forwards with great celerity, and will sometimes leap like Aranea Scenica; possibly like that insect it springs upon its prey.' Of the very singular structure and habits of Nycteribia vespertilionis, an insect which, though destitute of head and eyes, runs with wonderful celerity, Mr. M. gives a detail at some length, and in a very amusing manner. The rostrated Monoculus is the largest of our marine species, being three-eighths of an inch in length, including the tail. As far as we recollect, it has not been formerly described. Of Doris pennigera, a singular and shewy animal, only one specimen was found, at low water-mark, on the rocks at Milton. It measured half an inch in length. Amphitrite vesiculosa, which is minutely described, is obviously distinct from A. ventilabrum, and, though living in the neighbourhood of the latter, in the estuary at Kingsbridge, never intermingles with it, each species observing its respective boundaries. This beautiful creature has been kept alive in sea-water for more than a month. REV. Nov. 1814. R Nereis Nereis sanguinea, a large and gaudy non-descript, which sometimes extends to fourteen or fifteen inches in length, lurks under fragments, in rocky situations, but is rare. . While the animal was in a glass of sea-water, the circulation of the colouring secretion through the ramifications of the cirri was a curious object, and appeared to be effected at the will of the animal; but when it became sickly, the circulation was slower, rising up through the branches of the cirri gradually as in capillary tubes, and as soon as it expired all the colour from those parts vanished.” Holothuria digitata is capable of great muscular contraction, so as to form ligatures, and to separate into globular portions: but it is still doubtful whether it be identical with H. inhærens of Müller and Gmelin, and with Fistularia reciprocans of Forskahl. From its constant tendency to separate into fragments, a perfect specimen cannot be preserved. Planaria vittata, which appears to be a non-descript, is represented as a beautiful species, about an inch and a half in length, and an inch in breadth; with a slow gliding motion, the margins undulating into large scallops. Two were taken by accident amongst Spongia tubulosa at the Salt-stone in the estuary of Kingsbridge, in the month of August, and fortunately a drawing was taken the same day, for on the next morning not a vestige remained of them, although placed in a glass of sea-water; they were completely decomposed, and turned into a milky fluid.' Observations on the supposed Effects of Ivy upon Trees, in a Letter to the President. By Humphrey Repton, Esq. - The purport of these observations is to shew that ivy is not only less injurious to trees than it is generally supposed to be, but that in most cases it is rather beneficial, and deserving of encouragement; and we must acknowlege that the instances adduced seem to justify such a conclusion. Indeed, the attaching shoots of this plant appear to feel their way, as the author expresses it, in search not of food but merely of support; the ivy insinuating itself into cavities, but forming no tight bandage, nor affixing its holders till it meets with a substance that cannot be injured by them. An Essay on the British Species of the Genus Melöe, with Descriptions of two exotic Species. By Wm. Elford Leach, Esq. F.L.S. This is a skilful revision of a family of insects whose technical exposition has long laboured under much. confusion and error: but we cannot enter into an analysis of the essayist's emendations and discoveries, without quoting pages of definitions and descriptions, which, to the bulk of our readers, would be unintelligible, especially without the assistance of the the figures. It may not be uninteresting to collectors to observe, that all the species of this genus, except M. maialis, shrink so much after death, that it is necessary to remove the contents of the abdomen, and to fill it to the natural size with cotton; which may easily be done, when the insect is in a recent state, by making an incision on the under side.' On artificial and natural Arrangements of Plants: and particularly on the Systems of Linnæus and Jussieu. By William Roscoe, Esq. F.L.S.-We have rarely perused a more agreeable piece of philosophical and botanical criticism, or one which was more richly garnished with elegance of language and felicity of illustration, than the paper before us. After having remarked on the general tendency manifested by the French botanists, and some of their followers on the continent, to supplant the Linnéan arrangements and nomenclature of the vegetable kingdom by those that were proposed by the Jussieus, Mr. Roscoe proceeds to shew, in the most able and satisfactory manner, That the method of Jussieu is not in fact a natural, but an artificial one. That, as an artificial method, the system of Jussieu is inferior to that of Linnæus. That the artificial and natural methods of arrangement are, and must always remain, essentially different from each other, as well in the means employed as in the objects to be attained.' We shall extract Mr. R.'s illustration of the first of these positions, both because it occupies little room, and because it may serve to establish a truth not generally admitted by the majority of botanical writers: Could we suppose it possible for a person to be born with some superior instinct, which enabled him to decide at first sight on the character of a plant, and the genus and order to which it belonged, we might perhaps be induced to assent to his decisions, and allow him arbitrarily to establish his system. But, even with this conviction on our minds, circumstances might arise to shake our belief in his infallibility; and if, like Bernard de Jussieu, he should, in one short order of only eight genera, unite together the Bromelia and the Hydrocharis, the Musa and the Galanthus, we should perhaps feel inclined to ask upon what similarity in the flower, root, or seed, he had founded his opinion. Nor would it be sufficient for the ends of science, if the decisions of this superior being were always free from error. For this purpose, we must not only know, but must be enabled to communicate our knowledge to others; and how this could be done, without our giving some specific reasons for our convictions, and for the assent to them which we claim, it is not easy to conceive. These difficulties were perceived by the younger Jussieu; who instead of giving us a mere list of genera, arbitrarily arranged in R 2 orders, |