so DR. E. P. PHILLIPS 



barium is being brought houie to me daily, now thai I am 

 engaged on economic research.'' 



The above are more or less general statements to the 

 effect that the herbarium is essential to all Botanical 

 progress but many specific instances can be given of the 

 direct connection between various vegetable industrie$^ 

 and the correct naming of plants. In 1915 Mr. N. E» 

 Brown, then on the Staff of the Kew Herbarium, undertook 

 the naming and describing of all the known species of the 

 genus Sansevieria, many of which are cultivated in the 

 tropics for their valuable fibre. The quality of the fibre 

 produced from the different species varies and as the 

 market value of the fibre varies several pounds per ton 

 in accordance with the quality, it follows that it is of 

 the utmost importance to know and recognise the species 

 producing the best quality. Many species of ^ansevieria 

 • resemble one another so much that only a trained botan- 

 ist w^ith the resources of a herbarium and library at his 

 disposal is able to distinguish them. His knowledge 

 then becomes of great interest to the planter who will 

 be saved perhaps large sums of money and much valu- 

 able time if he first ascertains from the herbarium that 

 he is cultivating the best species. One of the lari>e in- 

 dustries of Australia is the production of Encalyptol 

 oils from the native species of Encalpytus. Although 

 this industry has been long established in Australia, the 

 authors of a work on ^' A Research on tlie Eucalyptus'' 

 published in 1902 state that '' although this research 

 covers such an extensive range in regard to the Eucaly|) 

 tus yet, if one thing more than another is brought out. 

 it is that the study of these trees is only commencing. 

 The enormous amount of work necessary to follow up 

 the clues already obtained points to the necessity of many 

 more workers, both botanical and chemical, entering this 

 field of research." This is also an illustration of the im- 

 mense practical value of the correct classification and 

 naming of economic plants; a work which can only be 

 done in the herbarium. Tlie close association of chemists 



