need not fear that I am going to tell you why. But I strenuously hope and request, as I said at the commencement of this epistle, that you will, for the present, keep it far away from your pages, and make Maga silent on the topic, until the time comes when it will become her to speak out unhesitatingly upon it. When this period arrives, Christopher, you will take a manly and decided part, very unlike Tickler on the present occasion, who flirts with it, as a monkey would with a hot potato; now "scouting it;" then "not against it;" and, at last, " trusting the time will come" when the vegetable will cool, and may be touched with safety. In conclusion, I need hardly say, that I am heartily vexed to see the old fellow's backsliding into humbug at this time of life. You should positively restrain him from scribbling, at least in public, until you have a doctor's certificate of his complete recovery. I am glad you were so prudent as to keep back the rest of his Essay on the Glasgow Dinner, for, if it were writ- DENIS BULGRuddery. P. S. I think it fair to state, that I have just discovered that Lawless was most boisterous in protesting against the personal attack made upon the editor of the Evening Mail. Tickler evidently was not aware of this, when he said the whole Whig press exulted at it. HISTORY OF THE GARDEN OF PLANTS.* In a recent number we presented an Historical Sketch of the Parisian Museum of Natural History, from its foundation under Louis XIII., until towards the termination of last century. The taste for the study of this branch of science has so rapidly increased of late years, that we shall deem no apology necessary for a somewhat lengthy article, containing a farther analysis of the volumes of M. Deleuze, and such observations as we may deem it necessary to make upon them. We shall, in the first place, however, with a view to exhibit at a single glance the immensely increased extent of our knowledge of nature within these few years, present the numerical amount of species in each of the great divisions of the animal kingdom, taken at three different periods within the memory of the existing generation. We do not, of course, pretend to perfect accuracy in such a calculation; but the general results may be relied upon, as closely approximating to the truth. In the year 1766, naturalists seem to have been well acquainted with only about 230 species of viviparous animals, among which were included such as are aquatic; 946 birds; 292 amphibious animals, and reptiles; 404 fishes; 3060 insects, and 1205 vermes or worms. 66 Rather more than 20 years after the above period, Gmelin published the 13th edition of the Systema Naturæ, an ill-digested compilation, it is true; but, as Cuvier has observed, necessaire comme la seule table un peu complete de ce qui a été fait jusques vers 1790." It contains descriptions of 557 quadrupeds, and other mammiferous animals; 2686 birds; 366 species of the amphibious class; 889 fishes; 10,896 insects, and 4036 worms. In this last division it may be observed, that both Linnæus and Gmelin included the molluscous and testaceous History and Description of the Museum of Natural History and Royal Botanic Garden of Paris. Translated from the French of M. Deleuze, assistant Botanist. By A.A. Royer. 2 vols. 8vo. with 17 plates. Price 21s. Sold by G. B. Sowerby, 33. King Street, Covent Garden, London. animals, of which later writers have formed a separate class. It is not so easy to estimate the known amount of the animal kingdom at the present day, because vast additions have been made in all its departments since the publication of the last General System of Zoology; of these additions the more recent are as yet undescribed, or at least unpublished; others form the subject of memoirs and monographs in the transactions of numerous learned societies throughout Europe; or, (renovare dolorem,) have contributed to increase the confused labours of a few unsettled and partial systematists, whose works are already useless, and will soon be forgotten. The following statement, however, will probably afford a tolerably accurate idea of the amount of the animal kingdom, as at present known. Quadrupeds or mammiferous land animals, above 500; birds according to Temminck, about 5000. Reptiles, 600; fishes, 3000; molluscous animals and shells, forming part of the vermes of the preceding enumerations, 8000. Insects, about 25,000. Vermes properly so called, zoophytical animals, &c., forming the remainder of the class called vermes by the older writers, 4000. The preceding statements shew an increase in the amount of zoological objects, from 6137 species, to at least 46,100 species, within little more than 50 years. There can be no stronger or more conclusive proof than this, of the rapid progress, and successful cultivation, of natural history in recent times. Now this great increase of knowledge has been owing, no doubt, in a great degree, to the liberal establishment and judicious administration of public Museums; a subject which brings us again in contact with our friend M. Royer, and the Garden of Plants. No foreign animals had for some years been added to the menagerie, and if we except the lions which had produced young, and the elephants from Holland, it contained few that were of much value. Several were said to exist in London, which the owner, Mr Penbrock, wished to dispose of, and in July, 1800, M. Chaptal, then Minister of the Interior, sent M. Delaunay to England on this errand. He purchased a male and female tiger, a male and female lynx, a mandrill, a leopard, a panther, a hyena, and a number of birds. For these he paid 17,500 francs. Sir Joseph Banks took the opportunity of presenting to the Museum several curious plants. At this period all the parts of the establishment were conducted with equal judgment and zeal, because each was confided to a separate chief, and its progressive movement was no longer retarded. Nevertheless, in October, 1800, the professors had reason to apprehend its ruin, from a measure which the minister of the interior, brother of the first consul, wished to extend to this, in common with other public institutions, viz. That of appointing, under the title of accountable administrator, a director-general, or intendant, charged with the general administration, and the correspondence with the government; thus reducing the officers of the Museum to the simple function of delivering lectures, and preserving the collections. The professors made the strongest representations to the minister on this subject; they proved that each part of the establishment required a separate director; that the administration was essentially linked with the instruction; that intendants were always inclined to favour particular branches; and that they could not be acquainted with all the parts of so vast a whole; that all those intrusted with the direction of the Garden, excepting Guy de la Brosse, Dufay, and Fagon, who were, in fact, its founders, had neglected it, and that several had checked its progress; that Buffon, the only person who had since taken pride in the institution, and employed his credit for its advancement, had felt the necessity of a different system; that Daubenton upon principle had refused the title of perpetual director, offered him by his colleagues through respect for his age, and gratitude for his services; that since the new organization the general order had not been an instant troubled, notwithstanding the vicissitudes of politics, and the public misfortunes; that the Museum being immediately dependant on the minister, it was sufficient that an account should be rendered by the annual director, and that no extraordinary expenditure should be made without permission; that the place of intendant, given at first to some person distinguished in the natural sciences, might at length be bestowed on a man destitute of any just idea of their utility; that the funds destined for the Museum might be converted to other uses; that the professors would be placed in a state of subordination, which would damp their zeal, and paralyse their efforts; and that some amongst them, who held eminent posts under government, could no longer preserve their chairs, when subjected to the control of a perpetual chief. Happily nothing was determined until M. Chaptal became minister of the interior, and he succeeded in persuading the first consul to yield to the representations of the professors. The steady progress, and harmonious concurrence of all parts of the Museum, demonstrate the utility of the present form of administration; and it is to be hoped that the project of concentrating an authority which has no connection with politics, will not again be brought forward under the existing government. At its foundation the Garden was of so small an extent, that a single person sufficed for its administration and improvement; and at that time, though botany, anatomy, and chemistry only were taught, with a view to medicine, it was often necessary to solicit the favour of the court. Its funds are now fixed by the budget, and it is for the administrators to consider how they may be the most usefully employed. Each proposes improvements in his own de partment, and all unite to justify the confidence of the government, and to ensure the prosperity of an establishment, the glory of which is their common property; a succeeding professor may present a science under a different form, but the administrative assembly is constantly animated by the same spirit; its progress is more or less rapid according to circumstances; but its motion is never retrograde, being always directed towards the same end. The ministry of M. Chaptal was of great advantage to the Museum. We must here speak of an enterprise which more than any other contributed to spread the fame of the establishment, and to diffuse the knowledge of which it is the source, viz. the publication of the annals, for the conception and execution of which a tribute should be paid to the memory of Foureroy. When this learned man saw the Mu VOL. XIV. per seum fixed upon a stable basis, he suaded his colleagues to unite in publishing their observations, with a de sign principally to make known the riches of the collections. The propo sal being adopted by the professors, they determined on publishing ten sheets every month, with five or six engravings, executed by the ablest artists, under the inspection of M. Vanspaendock. The first volume, consisting of six numbers, was published in 1802, and the work immediately acquired a reputation which it has constantly sustained. To the twentieth volume it bore the title of Annals of the Museum, and has since been continued under that of Memoirs : it now forms twenty-six quarto volumes. Communications from foreign and other Naturalists, not connected with the Museum, are occasionally admitted. About this period the superb collec tion of minerals, formed in Paris by a German named Weiss, was offered for sale, and purchased by the Govern ment. In a report upon it by the council of mines, it was valued at 150,000 francs. The same year (1802,) M. Geoffroy presented to the Cabinet a collection of objects in Natural History, formed during a four years' residence in Egypt, in which were found several of the sacred animals preserved for thousands of years in the tombs of Thebes and Memphis. It was on this occasion that the true Ibis of the ancient Egyptians was ascertained. Previous to the researches of MM. Cuvier and Savigny, the Senegal species, or Tatalus Ibis, was looked upon as the sacred bird. It is not even found in Egypt. The sacred Ibis may be seen in the fine ornithological collection of the Edinburgh Museum. About the same time the French Cabinet was greatly enriched by some very precious geological collections. The Emperor Napoleon presented that of fossil fishes obtained from the Count Gazola, that offered him by the city of Verona, and that of Corsican rocks, received from M. Barral, an officer of the island; these fill one of the largest rooms of the Cabinet. The anatomical preparations were continued with such activity, that in 1805 one hundred and one quadru→ peds, five hundred birds, and as many reptiles and fishes, were placed in the Cabinet. The male elephant from 4 D Holland having died the preceding year, M. Cuvier undertook its dissection, assisted by his pupils in zoology and anatomy, and by the painter Marrechal. Since that period two other elephants have died in the Menagerie, so that the anatomy of that animal is now as well known as that of the horse. In the year 1804, the Museum was enriched by the most considerable accession in Zoology and Botany that it had ever received. In the beginning of 1800, the Institute had proposed to the first Consul to send two vessels to Australasia, for the purposes of discovery in geography and the natural sciences. The project was embraced, and twenty-three persons were named by the Institute and the Museum to accompany the Expedition. The two ships, the Geographer and the Naturalist, the first commanded by Captain Baudin, and the second by Captain Hamelin, sailed from Havre on the 19th of October, 1800. They touched at the Isle of France, where the greater part of the persons embarked with scientific views remained-reconnoitred the western shore of New Hol, land, and repaired to Timor, where they lay six weeks. They then revisited the same coast, made the circuit of Van Dieman's Land, and steering northwards to Port Jackson, lay by in that harbour for five months: thence they resumed their course to Timor, by Bass's Straits, and returning to France, entered the port of Lorient on the 25th of March, 1804. Of the five Zoologists who went out in this expedition, two remained in the Isle of France, and two, Maugé and Levillain, died on the passage. Peron, the only survivor, attached himself intimately to Lesueur, the painter of Natural History, an excellent observer; and these two indefatigable men amassed an infinite variety of subjects. 66 Every day," says Cuvier in his report to the Institute, "affords new proofs of the value of this collection, consisting of more than one hundred thousand specimens of animals of all classes. It has already furnished several important genera; and the number of new species, according to the report of the Professors of the Museum, exceeds two thousand five hundred. Everything that it was possible to preserve, has been brought home, either dried, carefully stuffed, or in spirits; nor has the preparation of skeletons been neglected, whenever it was practicable; of which that of the crocodile of the Moluccas is sufficient proof." The botanical collection was not less important. It is worthy of remark that the plants of New Holland, from Port Jackson to the Straits of Entre Casteaux, do not require to be placed in hot-houses like those of the tropics, but pass the winter in the open air in the southern parts of France, and many of them even in Paris. Thus the metrosideros, the melaleuca, and the leptospermum, which at first excited so much admiration by the beauty of their flowers, have been introduced into the French gardens. The magnificent eucalyptus, which is one hundred and fifty feet in height, and seven or eight in diameter, is also beginning to be propagated in the southern departments. The season at which they bloom requires that they should be preserved in the orangery, but their habits in this respect may be changed by raising them from the seed. In December 1805, M. Frederic Cuvier, brother to the Professor, was appointed Keeper of the Menagerie, and a set of regulations framed, in consequence of which the animals are observed in all the circumstances of their habits, gestation, &c. If an animal dies which is not in the galleries of zoology and anatomy, its skin is stuffed, the skeleton is prepared, and the soft parts are preserved in spirits ; thus besides the advantages of studying living nature from the menagerie, the cabinet and collection of drawings are daily enriched. While occupied in making certain arrangements in the cabinet, M. Cuvier discovered that the greater proportion of fossil bones have no specific identity with those of existing animals; and wishing to pursue his researches, he neglected no opportunity of assembling a collection of remains. Some very remarkable ones were found in the quarries of Montmartre ; others were sent him from Germany and other countries. In a series of memoirs in the Annals of the Museum, he made known several species of quadrupeds which existed before the last revolution that changed the surface of the globe, far more ancient than those found amongst the mummies of Egypt, and differing from those that now inhabit the earth in proportion to the remote ness of the periods at which they lived, His investigations, in this department, form an era in the history of modern science, and, upon the whole, may be regarded as among the most signal productions of the age. M. Cuvier has since presented his fossil treasures to the Museum, accepting in exchange only the duplicates of books on natural history in the Library. This collection, with that of fishes from Mount Bolca, fills one of the saloons of the cabinet. The botanical department was also greatly increased during this period. Many botanists enriched it with the plants which they had discovered or described, and Mr Humboldt in particular, presented the Herbarium of his travels in the Equinoxial regions of Ame rica, consisting of 5600 species, 3000 of which were new to the Museum. Be sides the additions of 1801, three new galleries were planned in 1807, by pro longing those of the first and second floors. These important works being terminated in 1810, the interior arrangements were made with such celerity, that the new saloous, as they at present stand, were occupied in 1811. The necessity of these additions to the buildings must be obvious, from the enumeration of those made to the cabinet. Besides the collections already mentioned, the Corsican rocks of M. Rampasse were purchased by the Emperor to complete the series of M. de Barral. In 1808, M. Geoffroy brought from Lisbon a very beautiful collection in every branch of natural history. In 1809, the minister procured the samples of North American wood, collected by M. Michaux, author of a valuable history of the forest trees of that country; and also a herbarium, containing the original specimens for the Flora of his father, who died in Madagascar. In 1810, twenty-four animals arrived from the menagerie of the King of Holland; animals were sent from Italy and Germany, by M. Marcel de Serres; and presents of several animals, and a beautiful herbarium from Cayenne, by M. Martin, superintendant of the nurseries in that colony.. In the disastrous year of 1813, the budget of the Museum was reduced, and important enterprises were deferred till better times. Even the expenses of the menagerie were curtailed, all correspondence with foreign countries was interrupted, and the number of students was diminished by the calls of the army. In 1814, when the Allied troops entered Paris, a body of Prussians was about to take up its quarters in the garden; the moment was critical, and the Professors had no means of approaching the important authorities; the commander consented to wait two hours, and this interim was so employed as to relieve them from all farther apprehension. An illustrious son of science, whose name does honour to the country which gave him birth, and to that which he has chosen for the publication of his works, obtained from the Prussian General á safeguard to the Museum, and an exemption from all military requisitions; and although no person was refused admittance, it sustained not the slight est injury. The Emperors of Austria and Russia, and the King of Prussia, visited it to admire its riches, and to request duplicates of objects in exchange, and information regarding the best means of promoting similar insti tutions in their own dominions. In 1815, when Paris was condemned a second time to receive the visit of those military strangers, returning with more hostile intentions, there was reason to fear, that the Cabinet would be emptied of a great part of its contents; and that the Museum of Na tural History, like that of the fine arts, would be obliged to restore most of the objects obtained by contribu tion from conquered countries. In fact, the magnificent Cabinet of the Stadtholder was reclaimed; and M. Brugmann was sent to Paris, to receive and transport it. This mission caused the liveliest solicitude to the administrators of the Museum. By the restoration of those objects the series would have been interrupted, and the collection left incomplete. M. Brugmann was too enlightened a man not to perceive that they would no longer possess the same value when detached; and that in the galleries of Paris they would be more useful even to foreign naturalists. But he was obliged to execute the orders of his Sovereign, and could only observe the utmost delicacy in his proceedings; listen to any plan of conciliation, and 'plead the cause of science in defending that of the Museum. In this dilemma the professors addressed themselves to M. de Gagern, Minister Plenipoten |