IMPORTANCE OF STATE HERBARIUM 19 



liardl V Deeds asserting •'. One does not agree whoHy 

 witli the latter part of this statement as every day 

 experience goes to sliow that there is a huk of 

 sympathy with, and of appreciation of the work done 

 by the systematic botanist. The prevalent idea appears 

 to be that he is a man useful enough to send an odd plant 

 to for naming, but beyond this he is useless from a 

 practical point of view. There is just an element of 

 truth in this which obscures the other aspects from 

 which he should be regarded, and as the " man-in-the- 

 street " usually has not the time or the inclination to 

 study the work done in a herbarium in relation to other 

 branches of botanical science this erroneous idea 

 will persist until the real value of a plant collection is 

 proved to him. 



The writer has attempted to do this in the following 

 pages by first of all outlining the various economic 

 results which have accrued as the direct result of 

 botanical investigation, and then to show that the 

 investigators in each case have had to approach the 

 .systeraavist before their results can be given to the 

 world. In other words, to show that systematic botany, 

 i.e. the correct naming of plants, is the foundation upon 

 which all botanical knowledge must be built. It 

 naturally follows that if this foundation is to be secure, 

 the 8tate should possess at least one well-equipped, 

 scientifically conducted herbarium in which the native 

 flora can ])e studied and whei-e also representative 

 collections of plants fronj other countries are kept for 

 reference and comparison. 



In compiling this paper the AA^riter has drawn freely 

 upon data scattered in various botanical publications, 

 a list of which is appended, and has sometimes quoted 

 verbatim the remarks therein, but this needs no apologv 

 as the scope of this i)aper is to bring together and place 

 before the public facts not generally available to the 

 •<jrdinarv man. 



