ly as a botanist. In Britain, a nurseryman is literally a florist: in France, he is a cultivateur-botaniste. From the latter, one receives a specimen with more pleasure, as, when put into the herbarium, it is to represent the species. This precision of nomenclature is no doubt much facilitated by the plan adopted by the Jardin du Roi. In France, there are, in addition to the several botanical institutions in Paris, many smaller ones, also under the government, scattered through the country. I may instance those of Lyons, of Strasburg, of Montpellier, of Toulouse, and of Perpignan. When any of these receive the root of a new or rare species from another country, or its seeds, the year following either seeds or roots are transmitted to the Jardin du Roi at Paris; and also, when any new plant arrives there, it is as soon as possible disseminated through the smaller establishments in the provinces. The care and attention paid to the naming of plants at the Museum, prevents almost the possibility of an error, and thus in the government institutions in the country, the species is found well 'determined. Specimens from such places are of great utility in determining with exactness similar species in the private nurseries, and, as I have already said, a botanist may look forward to study in any of them. One ought never to take a specimen from a British garden for their herbaria without examining it well. In France, one may take it as an authority by which to name others. I cannot conclude these remarks, without observing, that the probable cause of the whole is the small inducement there is in Britain for any young man to devote himself to botany as a profession. In France there are so many public establishments, that a young man, if talented, and active and efficient in his studies, may, in a few years, look forward to a public appoint ment. In England, on the contrary, the Government have scarcely, I think, half a dozen botanical establishments in their pay. The consequence is, that in Paris alone there are more botanists of note than in the whole of Great Britain. Britain, it is true, possesses Brown, the greatest botanist of our time; also, Smith, Hooker and Lindley, men eminently distinguished in the annals of botanical science; but when their days are num bered, it may be subject of regret that there are none worthy to succeed them *. The face of vegetation has undergone considerable changes since I came to Montpellier. At one time, the garriques were yellow with Genista scorpius, and the meadows white with Narcissi : : now, the garriques are blue in some parts with Aphyllan thes monspeliensis, and silvery in others with Stipa tortilis: the Cistus albidus makes some places appear red, while C. monspe liensis makes others white. The principal genera here in spring are Fedia, Helianthemum, Medicago, Trifolium, Linum, and Euphorbia. In summer the Cisti, and in autumn the Centaurice, abound of this last genus, I understand there are upwards of thirty-five species in the neighbourhood. Of the genus Biscutella, so common in many parts of Italy, there are here very few species: the principal is B. ambigua, and B. saxatilis ß, DC+. Lathyrus, Astragalus, Vicia, and other genera of Leguminosa, are tolerably abundant. Of Polygala, I do not recollect of seeing any others than P. vulgaris (which bears no very great resemblance to the British one of that name), and P. monspeliaca. The latter, though I understand it to be rare about Montpellier, is common in some parts of the property of We are rather disposed to believe that Mr Arnott underrates the botanical accuracy of the gardens of this country; and that, on the whole, a greater degree of precision as to nomenclature prevails in the principal gardens of Britain, than in similar establishments on the Continent. We hope to take up the subject in a future number; in which the gardens of England, France and Germany will be compared and contrasted.-Neither do we see cause to despair of the future progress of scientific botany in this country.—EDIT. › { These two are only to be distinguished from each other by the asperities on the silicule. The most complete enumeration of the species of this beautiful genus is in De Candolle's Prodromus; but I doubt if all be equally valid. The characters in the first and last sections that De Candolle has made of first consequence, is the presence or absence of asperities on the silicule; and were this of less importance, a very curious combination of species would take place. I have endeavoured to arrange the following clavis analytica, so as to present this to the view: SECT. I. Calyces basi longi bisaccati. Silicul. disco lævibus (in stylum coeuntibus), Silicul. disco in stylum non f caule hispido, punctis ele. coeuntibus, caule villoso, vatis scabris, (in stylum coeuntibus, B. erigerifolia. B. hispida. B. auriculata. Restinclieres; and it must not always be concluded, that the spe. cific name Monspessulanus, Monspeliensis, or Monspeliacus, indicates the proximity of the plant to Montpellier: it sometimes happens that the nearest locality is in the Cevennes mountains; one plant (Potentilla monspeliensis) is even a North American species, and is not, that I know of, at all naturalized in this neighbourhood. The climate of Montpellier seems to have been much misunderstood at present, however, I believe physicians are more aware of its insalubrity. It is surprising that any person who was not accustomed from infancy to the climate, and who had A simple inspection of this table will shew how closely allied several of these species are to each other, if we pay no regard to the silicule. How far one ought to pay attention to it, is another question. At Montpellier and Avignon B. ambigua and B. saxatilis ß, are found promiscuously; and in Ma jorca and Minorca, B. auriculata is so intermingled with B. erigerifolia, that every specimen gathered requires to be closely examined. In the second section, De Candolle has placed less reliance on the abovementioned structure, and I therefore prefer arranging the clavis in another way: not a strong constitution, could survive a single year at Montpellier. He has to contend with a burning sun, which, even although he keeps within doors, heats the air so, that he is thrown into a violent perspiration, injurious and weakening to the patient. Nor is the climate free from damp: there is seldom' rain, it is true, perhaps not once a month on an average; but when the sea wind blows, which it not unfrequently does, it produces lassitude, weakness, difficulty of breathing, coughs and colds. It is here called the marain; in other parts it is called garbin and lebesche, and on the coast of Italy it is usually known by the names of libeccio or garbino. I have even no doubt of its identity with the pestilential sirocco: so damp is the marain, that the very doors are observed to swell exceedingly during its continuance. Even the fine weather makes one more liable to be injured by the bad the heats of the day seem to open the pores of the body, and render an attack of the damps more injurious. Few could be induced, I believe, to remain at Rome during the summer months. At Montpellier, the climate is not so bad; but surely it is not what an invalid ought to be exposed to. Account of a Visit to the Glaciers of Justedal, and to the Mantle of Lodal. By G. BOHR, of Bergen. THE journey to the Mantle of Lodal, the highest mountain summit amidst the splendid and stupendous glaciers which lie between Justedal and Olden, may be commenced either from the end of Lysterfiord, or from the farm-house of Rödnei, near the Church of Goupé. Mr Bohr chose the first of these routes, It will easily be seen, that B. obovata and B. raphanifolia are not distinct species; that B. ciliata and B. depressa ought not to be separated; that B. leiocarpa is scarcely to be distinguished from B. apula, &c. With regard to B. leiocarpa, De Candolle says, "fructu etiam nascente glaberrimo nec pube minuta scabro;" but through the author's kindness, I have been able to ascertain, that, in his own specimen, the fruit is exactly as in B. apula, except that in the latter it is scabrous also on the margin, whilst in B. leiocarpa, it is there perfectly smooth. A mountain in the interior of Norway, so called, from its being always covered with snow, It lies above 150 English miles NE. of Bergen. although in summer it is perhaps the most difficult of the two. Through the cultivated valley of Dahl, a side branch of the cheerful and rich valley of Lyster, you come to Storhaugen, about seven English miles from Lysterfiord. Five miles farther on, you reach a picturesque elevation, about 2513 feet above the level of the sea, from which you descend to a delightful restingplace, called Störksel. Here Nidal, the first valley in Justedal, inclosed on each side by lofty snow-covered mountains, has already begun to display its enchanting scenery, combining what is most beautiful with what is most fearful. Through green fields covered with corn and grass, with the houses of the peasants scattered over them, you advance along its grey coloured stream, with its banks shaded with trees, but overhung by dark naked precipices, which threaten to fall on your head. About three miles on you reach the Church of Justedal, 621 feet above the level of the sea. Between the farm-houses of Kiervig and Kieppé, opposite to the parsonage-house, the traveller discovers five small water-falls from the rock of Kiersdal, which, in their descent, unite into one, the velocity of which, before it reach the river, is so great that it rises again in vapours. Opposite to the farm-house of Kregé, the first large sky-blue coloured mass of ice begins to shine, called the Glacier of Berset, a branch of the huge mass which covers Lodal. Its lower margin is about 1440 feet above the level of the sea. There, where Kroudal, Krege Dal, and Melvirs Dal meet one another, is a fine and picturesque situation, abounding in all the beauties peculiar to the lower alpine regions. Every thing that nature does in these valleys is impressive. A little farther east and farther up, the road passes another majestic mass of ice, called the Glacier of Nigaard, which is at present larger, and in its former effects was more destructive than the Glacier of Berset. In addition to what Von Buch and Professor Smith have said, in their account of these glaciers, I shall quote an extract on this subject from the archives of N. Bergenhaus. "At the farm of Berset, on the 21st of August 1742, attended the Sheriff, the Bailiff of the district, and six chosen inspectors, to estimate the damage which the glacier had occasioned. Two old men declared, that, in their youth, the glacier had been high up in a cleft of the mountain, but that during the last ten |