May.j Williamson, CewsMs of Victorian Plants. is 



1919 J 'J * J 



parcels. We know that Mueller did a great deal of his 

 systematic work at his private house, but he was very careful 

 with specimens and labels, and I was surprised to see so many 

 of the scraps I sent to him placed in their proper parcels, with 

 correct dates and localities, for I had considered them scarcely 

 worth keeping. Just one exception may be mentioned. A 

 Pultensea I had sent him was labelled " Wannon R., Port 

 Fairy " ! The fact that so many that are missing are 

 " boundary " plants seems to me significant. Some of the 

 missing specimens may have been put into what are known 

 as supplement parcels, and may turn up yet. These parcels 

 contain specimens which require further examination to 

 determine the species. Some, of course, I may have missed, 

 but my lists need not be condemned on that account, for I 

 intend them to be considered as merely tentative. 



If, on looking over the lists, some collector notes any that 

 he has had determined by an authority, it is hoped that he 

 will communicate with Prof. Ewart. A specimen gathered in 

 Victoria would, however, be required for the species to be 

 recorded ; and here I may express the opinion, shared by other 

 workers, that observers and excursionists have had plants 

 recorded in the NaUtralist on the strength of a passing glance 

 or of hearsay, without any specimens being secured for determ- 

 ination. On looking over accounts of excursions of our 

 Club — valuable and interesting as these outings are — I have 

 come across mention of plants which, I feel sure, cannot have 

 been seen on the occasion, and for which probably some 

 commoner species has been mistaken. And this brings me to 

 a point worthy of the consideration of the committee — the 

 desirability of having accounts of excursions placed before a 

 small committee of botanists before publication, with a view 

 to preventing errors in scientific records occurring in print. 

 Certainly I think that no record of any of the plants in my 

 lists should" be allowed unless a specimen has been submitted 

 for determination and for placing in the Herbarium. Our 

 journal is recognized as a scientific one, and it is a pity to see 

 in it these inaccuracies, which stand uncorrected, but for which 

 the hon. editor is in no way responsible. Surely writers would 

 not mind the editor, at the instance of the " censors," deleting 

 or querying any doubtful species name. 



As to the claims of the National Herbarium, I consider that 

 if the lists referred to were noted and made use of, two good 

 purposes would be served : correct records would be established, 

 and the Herbarium would be furnished with a supply of fresh 

 specimens, which are always acceptable for replacing those 

 damaged or sent away in exchange. The least collectors should 

 do in exchange for information received is to supply good 

 specimens fresh from the field. 



