»J^ NOTE and. COMMENT [^« 



MoRK About Lourriro. — I notice an interesting article 

 in The American Botanist, Vol. XXV, No. 4, for November, 

 1919, page 129. entitled "A I jttle-Known Botanist," by j. C. 

 Xelson. It ma\- interest ^onr readers to know that the well- 

 known American botanist, Prof. E. D. Merrill, now acting- 

 Chief of the Bureau of Science. Manila, 1'. I., has been giving 

 very close attention to that monumental work, Loureiro's 

 "Flora Cochinchinensis," and lias gone over the whole work 

 in an attempt to identify the species named bv Loureiro. 

 Loureiro's work is of fundamental importance for the flora 

 of Indo-China and Southern China. L'n fortunately, Lourei- 

 r(»'s herbarium is a])parently lost. Only a small number of 

 specimens were sent to the herbarium in Paris and to the 

 British Museum in London. One other point perhaps deserves 

 mention — that Loureiro, as he himself states in the preface 

 to his "Flora Cochinchinensis," when he first began collecting 

 had no modern botanical books, Ijut later on, through the 

 generosity of Dr. Thomas Riddell, an English ship-doctor, 

 was presented with C(»pies (jf Genera Plantaruni, Systeina 

 Xaturae, and PhUosc^j^liia Botaniea of Linnaeus. Loureiro's 

 shorter and popular works were published in Portuguese and 

 not ill S])anish, as would ajjpear from thr title (|Uoted on page 

 \M, from Colmeiro's work. Tiie correct title of this work 

 is: "Loureiro, joao de. Da trasplantacio das arvores mais 

 uteis (le pai/.es remotos, in Menioi-ias econoniicas da Academia 

 real das sciencies de Lisboa, 1 :152-163, Lisb(ja,1789." — 

 Walter T. S-a'incjle. Hurean of Plant hulnstry, Department 

 of Ayrieultnre. Washington, IK C. 



