BOTANY OF VICTORIA. 239 
faction. By the papers you will have observed that the once flourishing 
financial state of this Colony, which gave birth to so many useful insti- 
tutions, has—for a time at least—entirely changed, and the abolishment 
of the scientific institutions (excluding however the University) was 
decided upon; great retrenchments were made in every direction and 
were necessary, and amongst others my department. The Legislative 
Council however took a different view, and a petition was moved for by 
Dr. Greeves, to be presented to his Excellency, for putting an adequate 
sum on the estimates for this year to enable me and several others to 
continue in office. I cannot doubt that the measure of the Legislative 
Council will receive his Excellency’s sanction. 
Before entering upon the details of your letters, to which I will 
refer point by point, I beg to acknowledge most thankfully the trans- 
mission of the books and seeds. The latter, a valuable acquisition, are 
already in the ground; and the former, for which I will remit by Mr. 
Archer, have proved already useful to me in many ways. The * Musei 
Exotici’ contain charming drawings, which must render muscology at- 
tractive to any botanist. Your Journal is always a pleasing recreation, 
and Dr. J. Hooker’s * Flora of New Zealand’ will, to judge from the 
introductory number, be a guide to direct roads and correct directions 
through the labyrinth of Systematic Botany. It will open the eyes of 
many of our best botanists, and especially of the continental ones, to 
what are the real limits of species. This highly important work will 
be most instructive to me. I have already seen that probably my 
Caltha will prove identical with Caltha Nove-Zelandie, and certainly 
it approaches closely to Caltha sagittata: but thereon hereafter. 
- Lhave further to express my thanks for the trouble you have already 
taken in regard to a flora of this Colony, and for your writing purposely 
to our Governor and Colonial Secretary. The exertions also of our noble 
kind old Governor (Latrobe) will ever leave a deep impression on my — 
mind, and I will write to him either by this vessel or by Mr. Archer, — 
the Van Diemen's Land botanist, who goes for some years to England, . 
bringing all his plants to you. He leaves in a few weeks, and I shall 
feel great pleasure in forwarding a set of alpine plants with him. I 
would have sent them with this vessel, but they vill --— arrive from 
Gipps Land at the very time when the * Lightning leaves. Dr. 
Greeves, member of the Legislative Council, and an ardent promoter of 
science in this Colony, will, upon my recommendation, transmit to you 
