COLONIAL FLORAS. 259 



sum at which a publisher would undertake to print and sell it ; a price 

 unfortunately fixed in the prospectus, before the amount of materials 

 could be accurately ascertained. In other respects, the Flora of the 

 British AVest Indian islands is highly creditable to its author and the 

 Government. 



Soon after this, a second Colonial Flora — the " Flora Capensis" 

 of Drs. Harvey and Sonder, which will embrace the plants of all 

 Africa south of the Tropic of Capricorn — was begun on the same 

 general plan, but under very different auspices, and without any cer- 

 tain prospect of Grovernment aid. This was also brought about by the 

 representations of Sir AVilliam Hooker, who urged its prosecution on 

 its originator, Dr. Harvey, Professor of Botany at Dublin University, 

 and keeper of the Herbarium there, as a work of great utility, which 

 he was well qualified to undertake from his general attainments and 

 personal familiarity with the Flora of the Cape.* Dr. Harvey's 

 principal objection arose from the want of authentic specimens, some 

 of the most complete and best published South African collections 

 being on the Continent ; this was fortunately easily overcome, for 

 Dr. Sonder, of Hamburgh, the possessor of the best of these collec- 

 tions, a good botanist, and author of several valuable memoirs on 

 Cape plants, gladly accepted Dr. Harvey's offer to share the 

 authorship with himself. Dr. Harvey undertook to print and pub- 

 lish the Flora at his own risk and cost, trusting chiefly to colonial 

 subscriptions for a repayment of the outlay. These were liberally 

 accorded, and thanks to the exertions of the Governor, Sir George 

 Grey, and the Colonial Secretary, Eawson Eawson, Esq. a Parliamentary 

 grant was made by the Colony towards the expenses of the first 

 volume, and hopes were held out of its being continued to the suc- 

 ceeding ones. 



The first volume of the Flora Capensis appeared in 1860, containing 

 all the Thalamifloral orders and the Calycifioral, down to Connaracecd ; 

 thus including some of the largest and most difficult Cape genera, 

 Pelargonium (containing 163 species), Oxalis (108), Agathosma 

 (97), and Hermannia (70), all apparently skilfully elaborated, much 

 improved by expunging bad species and reducing others to varieties, 

 and rendered comparatively easy of study by good analytical tables. 

 The volume includes about 1200 species, so that, as extratropical South 

 Africa is said to contain at least 12000, the work will be a very 

 extensive and laborious one : and but for the timely assistance of the 

 Colonial Government it could not have been proceeded with, the 

 authors having put a price on the volumes so low as to fall below the 

 cost of their production. 



The scientific and typographical arrangements of the Flora 

 Capensis are for the most part excellent ; though in respect of loose- 



* . Dr. Harvey held the office of Colonial Secretary of the Cape Colony between 

 1837 and 1S40, during which time he published, at Cape Town, his " Genera of 

 South African Plants/' a work now out of print. 



