PRESIDENTIAL ADM<ESS — SELTiUN C. 0/ 



which, aided by small grants Iroiii the Govcninicuts of the 

 Cape, i\atai ana tlie Transvaai, planned, organized and carried 

 out tlie hea\y task of gatliernig logetner ail the avadaDle uifor- 

 mation on the flora of South Africa and published the same in 

 the form of the " Flora Cai)ensis. This work is but one of a 

 series oi Colonial Floras (mcludmg those of British India, Aus- 

 tralia, Hong Kong, Mauritius and the Seychelles, JNew Zealand, 

 Tropical Atrica and South Africa), planned and carried out by 

 Kew, with a truly broadminded and Imperial policy. It is in- 

 structive to note that the preparation and publication of thai 

 classical work, the " Genera Plantarum " of Benthani and 

 Hooker, was undertaken as the hrst ste]) toward the preparation 

 ot these Colonial floras. 



Lack of funds, and still more the lack of enough trained 

 men on the Kew staff, has delayed the completion of the " Flora 

 Capensis," but with dogged British pertinacity, in spite of delays, 

 drawbacks and difficulties, Kew has persevered in this work 

 until it is now near completion. 



The *' Flora Capensis "' was commenced in i860, and is onl\ 

 now Hearing completion. Up to the time of publication of the 

 third volume (1865) but little plant-collecting had been done in 

 the interior of South Africa, and there vvas scarcely any material 

 available from the Orange Free State or the Transvaal. The 

 first three volumes are therefore almost entirely out of date, 

 and are of comparatively little use to workers on the floras of 

 these two Provinces. Volume VI, comprising the large and im- 

 portant families sometimes grouped under the name " Petaloid 

 Aionocotyledons," is also badly in need of revision before it can 

 be of assistance to local workers. Not only so, but in every 

 group of plants Transvaal botanists are constantly meeting with 

 puzzling or undescribed S])ecies. 



Though much has been accomplished, there is therefore 

 still a great deal of spade work to be done before 

 we can discuss our flora intelligently. The publication 

 of a revised edition of the " Flora Capensis " has been 

 suyofested, but it is scarcely likelv that this will be under- 

 taken ; apart from any question of cost, or of diffi- 

 culty in getting the work done, the book would be so cumbersome 

 and so expensive that it would not meet the needs of working 

 botanists and students ; owing to the price of such a large work, 

 not enough copies would be sold to cover cost of publication, 

 let alone cost of preparation ; the work would be unnecessarih- 

 cumbersome, including descriptions of so many plants found in 

 only one of the four Provinces of the Union. Our flora is too 



" assisted in devising the plan on which it should be moulded ; he also 

 introduced the authors to many of tlie valued South African correspon- 

 dents ; and lastly, liis strong recommendation of the undertaking to Sir 

 George Grey was mainly instrumental in obtaining the grant from the 

 Colonial Parliament." When Harvey died in 1866. "practically nothing 

 available" relating to the succeeding volume was found among his papers; 

 " nor did his coadjutor. Dr. Sonder, who died in i88t, undertake anv 

 further ]Kirt in the work." It was Kew that gathered up the dropped 

 threads, and has brought the work practically to completion. 



