374 Systematic Botany. [ZOE 
expressed his positive opinions upon this gestae’ We called attention to 
‘Ww 
this in our Journal (1892, 254) i in these words: hen, in the exercise of 
to publish] that this was because we were ‘‘apparently afraid of the argu- 
ment therein contained.’’ We shall await with interest Dr. Britton’s state- 
ment of the reasons which have induced him to suppress the last utterances 
‘Dr. Britton’s explanation Lees in the Aotanical Gazette for August, 
892, p. 254. He speaks of the letter as ‘ personal,’ and, having eae 
the accuracy of Dr. nee $ Saesectiou as to nomenclature, procee ‘Phe 
letter did not come to me as editor of the Azl/etin of the Torrey Sainte 
lub, for I was not then "olitfng that journal. I did a realize that it was 
intended for publication, and do not think that it was.’ Moreover, having 
sent the letter to Cambridge, in accordance with a request, and having 
accepted a copy in exchange, he soitiseesion never had any right to publish 
it after it had passed from [his] possession.’ 
‘‘Commenting on the above, we said (/ourn. Bot., 1892, 318): ‘These 
reasons may or may not be considered satisfactory, but we think that all 
botauists ae regret that Dr. Gray’s last utterances on a subject in which 
he is known to have taken a special interest were not made public.’ These 
utterances are now before botanists, who must form their own conclusions 
as to the motives which have hitherto prevented their publication.—Ed, 
Journ. Bot.]”’ 
SYSTEMATIC BOTANY. 
BY MARCUS E. JONES, 
To my mind the proper definition of the Systematic Botany, of 
the day and for the most part, is The Study of dried Plants in a 
few isolated localities remote from the Home of the Plants. 
This kind of scientific work is systematic and botanical, but it is 
not within gunshot of Systematic Botany. To claim that it is 
the real thing requires as much assumption as when the zoolo- 
gists arrogate to themselves the term biology or natural history- 
For a long time it has been the custom of western botanists 
to provide themselves with the necessary literature and then 
study their home plants, naming such plants as accord with the 
descriptions given, the rest they send with such notes as they 
consider valuable to certain persons in the East who have been 
regarded as authorities. The authorities compare them with 
the types of species or with their notions of the types, and if 
February 21, 1834. 
