786 president's address. 



Dr. Thomas L. Bancroft, the son of Dr. Joseph Bancroft, 

 appears to have followed in his father's footsteps. 



In Victoria, too, the study of botany has been greatly en- 

 couraged by Mueller and the numerous publications from time to 

 time issued under his authorship, but New South Wales, South 

 and Western Australia and Tasmania have not been far, if at 

 all, behind. 



I cannot here refrain from mentioning, in terms of the highest 

 commendation, two books published by the Department of 

 Agriculture of New South Wales, under the authorship of Mr. 

 Fred. Turner, F.L.S., F.R H.S., who succeeded Mueller as con- 

 sulting botanist to Western Australia : " The Forage Plants of 

 Australia" and "Australian Grasses." These books have 

 attracted most favourable notice in many parts of the world, 

 have led to the cultivation of Australian forage plants and 

 grasses in many foreign places, and have induced persons, 

 interested in pastoral pursuits, to devote their attention to our 

 native pasturage, instead of, as heretofore, endeavouring to 

 supersede it by imported and unacclimatised plants, generally 

 worthless and often absolutely injurious. 



The only other Australian book, and that a small and unpre- 

 tentious one, which I shall mention here, is " Australian Botany, 

 Specially Designed for the Use of Schools," which was written by 

 Mr. W. R. Guilfoyle, F.L.S., Director of the Melbourne Botanic 

 Gardens, and supplied a much-felt want, especially because it had 

 been prepared from an Australian standpoint, and was illustrated 

 by figures of common Australian flowers ; it is to be hoped that 

 our Government will shortly issue a similar handbook for the use 

 of our public schools. 



It would hardly be right, after mentioning Bentham's complaint 

 of the shelving by the British Museum of valuable herbaria, some 

 of which were collected more than a century ago, without also 

 mentioning the fact that, during the past year, the publication of 

 the botany of Cook's First Voyage has at last been commenced, by 

 the issue of Part I., which includes 100 plates of Australian 



