In the Philosophical Transactions for 1796, NI. Correa da Serra, a Portuguese naturalist of merit, published his remarks on the fructification of those foci which are fur nished with distinct receptacles. In the following year, Dr Albert William Roth of Bremen published his Berner kungen user das Studium der cryptogamischen Wasserge wachse, in which he divided cryptogamic water plants into new genera, to be afterwards mentioned. In the Catalec ta Botanica of the same writer, considerable additional light has been thrown on marine plants, particularly by the communications of Professor Mertens of Bremen, charac tetised by Mr 'ruiner as one of the most able algolo7,-ists of the present day. Professor •sper's hones Fucorum curt characteribns slistenzaticis, cc. in 4to. appeared in 1799. It is a useful work, though, as the author describ ed and figured from dried specimens only, both his de scriptions and representations are occasionally imperfect and unsatisfactory. Professor Weber and the late Dr Mohr, in their Beitriigc zur Xaturkunde, have edcavourcd to subdivide the genus Fucus by the character and dispo sition of the seeds ; and in the course of this attempt, have made many excellent observations on this tribe of plants. In 1803, Baron Xavier du Wulien published a little work, entitled Cryptogan2ia Aquatica, containing some useful in formation concerning foci. In the Flora Danica, publish ed in folio, at the expellee of the Danish government, (a lesson to governments that are more rich and powerful,) a number of foci, from the shores of the Baltic, and likewise from the distant settlements of that industrious nation, have been figured and described by the successive editors, 0e der, Vahl, and llornemann. Several other foreign writers have, at various times, contributed to a general knowledge of fuci ; particularly the Count Ginanni Ravennate, Bishop Gunner in his Flora .Vorvegica, Rumphius in his History of ?mboyna, Seba in his Thesaurus, and Forskael in the Flora iEgyJitiaco-4rabica.
The French have of late distinguished themselves in this branch of natural history. The labours of Decandolle de serve much praise. There is a very good general ac count of foci given by M. Poiret, in the botanical part of the Encyclopedie Methodique. The Flora ?tlantica of Des fontaines is a work of great merit. But above all, M. La mouroux of Agen, now Professor of Natural History at Caen, has studied the fuci with uncommon diligence and success. He published, in 1804, dissertations on several new or rare species; and in 1813 he gave a new arrange ment of the family, in the twentieth volume of the 4nnales du Museum d' Histoire Naturelle. Of this arrangement we think it right to give a pretty full account, because at pre sent it is the best. NVe must however confess, that in our opinion there has been some precipitancy in bringing it before the public. It would certainly have been far bet ter, first to have published descriptions and figures of the many_species inedit cc referred to by the author, and to have left the classification to the last. This is the plan wisely adopted by Mr Turner ; and circumstances seem to inti mate, that the French naturalist has not been entirely free of a wish to anticipate our countryman. But, in any case, it may be deemed fortunate for Mr Turner, that M. La moureux has actually given his views to the world ; for while the candour of the former will induce him to bestow all due honour on any rival arrangement, we confidently trust that he will not suffer his own sound judgment to be shackled, but will proceed, unembarrassed, on the founda tion which he has so well laid, to rear a system worthy of his name; and we are therefore not displeased to find it announced as his opinion, that previously to any permanent classification being established, it will be proper to reduce the present genera, Fucus, Ulva, and Conferva, into one mass, and to proceed in arranging de novo.
The first fasciculus of the Historic Fuco•um, or Gene ral History of Fuci, by Mr Turner, was published in 1807. Above forty fasciculi have now (1815) come out ; in which about 240 species have been described and illustrated. We speak the opinion of very competent judges on the Conti nent when we say, that both the descriptions and the co loured engravings are admirable, and do honour to the country. The latter are chiefly from drawings from the masterly pencil of Mr William Jackson Hooker, well known for his Tour in Iceland, and his beautiful mono graph of the JunIermahhi,e Yr as retmi ked l,y (NA.
James Edward Smith, was thcr.t a more pet fect corn don of the skill of the painter and the Clan in thi.i work. It meant to include s of an tl.rse plants NV fah have, by Linna:us and botan,!-Is, ar ranged under the genus Furns. Many new specie, have already been added, communicated by distingni•,hed bota nists and travellers, particularly Zlr llobeit Brown, (the associate of the unfortunate Flinders), who remained for more than a ear abcut Van Dienum's Land and Kent's Islands, and had thus a precious opportunity of collecting the marine plants of those distant countries, which he did not fail to improve. The fuci collected by Lord Valentia and Mr Salt, in the Red Sea, also enrich the Work; and Professor Mertens has communicated the Asiatic fuci col lected in the first Russian voyage round the world, in the ships Neiva and Nadeshda. The distinguished Dr Wil liam Wright of Edinburgh, freely communicated those he had gathered on the shores of Jamaica, during his resi dence in that Island. The illustrious Presidents of the Royal and the Linnean Society (Sir Joseph Banks and Sir J. E. Smith) are likewise contributors. The descriptions by Mr Turner arc ample and luminous, and are given both in Latin and English. Particular care is bestowed in illus trating the physiology and fructification, and on this ac count the work is doubly interesting. In no botanical pro duction was there ever greater attention paid to minute ac curacy ; and some very general allegations of occasional incorrectness, thrown out by Lamouroux in the Annalee du Museum, are perhaps sufficiently confuted by this fact— that not one instance of real error is specified by the critic. The names at present attached to the plants by Mr Turner, may, in some measure, be considered as temporary ; at least new generic names must be adopted. It is probable, how ever, that, in the arrangement with which he is to conclude his work, few of the specific or trivial names will need to be changed. Every classification of fuci must, in the pre sent state of our knowledge of them, be to a certain extent artificial ; but from this author, as near an approach to a natural arrangement as possible, may confidently be ex pected.