BY J. H. MAIDEN. 1279 



Much yet remains to be done in regard to the classifi- 

 cation of the Eucaljpts. We have the anthereal systems 

 of Mueller and Bentham, which have been modified by 

 the former botanist, and the cortical system of Baron 

 Mueller. But unfortunately their usefulness is limited, since 

 they do not sufficiently^ break down this very large genus. 

 No classification yet suggested is entirely satisfactory, through 

 no fault of their authors. My "Kino system" is an aid in 

 this work of scientific classification, and, as I have worked at 

 all the authentic material I can obtain, I publish it, even in its 

 incomplete state, in order to awaken the interest of botanists in the 

 matter, as the accumulation of the necessary material is beyond the 

 opportunities of one institution or of one individual, even in a 

 life-time. I am sanguine that, by combining the three systems 

 (and perhaps others to be formed), a series of tables to aid in the 

 diagnosis of Eucalypts will in the future be constructed, whose 

 precision will be comparable with that of a chemical table for 

 discriminating the metals. 



The great drawback to the classifications hitherto propounded 

 (and I by no means make any extravagant claims for my unde- 

 veloped system at this early stage), is that they are not natural^ 

 that is to say they sometimes bring into juxtaposition plants which 

 have no strong affinities (as far as we know), and the reverse. 

 Bentham (B.Fl. iii. 186) was alive to the value of a natural 

 system, though he felt that the time had not then arrived for 

 making it. " In the meantime," said he, " as far as I can gather 

 from the information supplied, it appears to me that among large 

 trees, the majority of the Stringybarks are to be found in my 

 first series with reniform anthers, and of the Ironbarks and 

 Box-trees in the following three series." . . . I have already 

 f ragmentarily alluded to this point. 



Characteristic of the Gummy Group. — The one characteristic 

 is the presence of gum, a very simple matter to determine. This 



X" 



/S- 



