1894. SOME NEW BOOKS. 227 



Kew Herbarium, more than five-and-twenty years ago, and three 

 volumes were issued: vol. i. in 1868, vol. ii. in 1871, and vol. iii. in 

 1877. In the production of these volumes Professor Oliver had 

 much assistance from other botanists ; in fact, the last volume, which 

 ends in the middle of the Gamopetalae, is largely the work of Mr. 

 Hiern. Since 1877 nothing has appeared, owing, says the Kew 

 Bulletin, to the Herbarium staff being fully occupied in " keeping fresh 

 accessions determined scientifically and incorporated," while " such 

 extraneous aid as was available has been mostly absorbed in assisting 

 Sir Joseph Hooker in his ' Flora of British India,' . . . and 

 in other undertakings." Why so important a work as the " Flora of 

 Tropical Africa " has had to await the pleasure of these other under- 

 takings is not explained. Recent exploration and the development 

 of commercial enterprise have at last suggested to the Government 

 the desirability of pushing forward the work (in proof of which some 

 three-year-old letters are quoted), a fresh start has been made, and 

 vol. iv. is now "in active preparation." As German botanists are 

 meanwhile rapidly describing all the novelties they can secure, it has 

 been thought advisable to publish brief diagnoses of two new species 

 in the Bulletin during the progress of the work, and the January 

 and February numbers contain those of the orders Apocynaceae, 

 described by Dr. Stapf, and Gentianeae, Boragineae, Bignoniaceae and 

 Convolvulaceae, by Mr. J. G. Baker, Professor Oliver's worthy 

 successor. 



Q 2 



