thus acquired a certain status among men of science, which encouraged him to prosecute the studies which he had so successfully begun, and at the same time afforded him the means of doing so in a more efficient manner. Another important advantage was derived by Lamarck from the friendship of M. de Buffon. When the son of the latter had completed his studies, and was about to make a tour through various parts of Europe, Lamarck was invited to accompany him as tutor; and in order that he might enjoy greater privileges by appearing in a kind of official character, Buffon procured for him a commission as botanist to the king, for the purpose of visiting foreign gardens and cabinets, and opening a correspondence between them and similar establishments in Paris. In this double capacity he travelled through various countries in the year 1781 and 1782; visited Gleditsch at Berlin, Jacquin at Vienna, Murray at Gottingen, and many other celebrated naturalists; greatly extending his acquaintance, not only with botany, but with many other branches of natural history. The extent and accuracy of his botanical knowledge was evinced by the important works in which he engaged shortly after his return, which have conferred on him a high reputation in this department. These consisted of voluminous contributions to the _Encyclopédie Methodique_, forming a _Dictionary of Botany_, and an extensive series of _Illustrations of Genera_. Of that portion of the Encyclopædia known by the former name, Lamarck wrote the whole of the two first volumes, and a part of the third, fourth, and fifth. The object of the work is to give a detailed history of plants, accompanied with descriptions, remarks on their synonymy, an account of their uses, and peculiarities of their structure. The Illustrations profess to afford “an exposition of the characters of all the plants established by botanists, arranged according to the sexual system of Linnæus, with figures displaying the characters of these genera, and a table of all the known species referable thereto, the description of which is found in the Botanical Dictionary of the Encyclopædia.” This laborious work contains no fewer than two thousand genera, illustrated by half that number of quarto plates, executed with great care, and generally representing one or two of the typical species, with a view to afford a knowledge of their general appearance and habit. The flower and parts of fructification are carefully delineated, and the precision and accuracy of the whole work, renders it one of the most valuable that can be named for conveying a speedy knowledge of the extensive and interesting subject of which it treats. The zeal with which Lamarck laboured to produce works of such research and interest, is characteristic of the temperament of his mind. He seems for a time to have allowed the subject wholly to engross his thoughts; to have occupied himself with nothing but plants, and to have associated almost exclusively with