76 PK1£S1UKNT1AL ADDKESS SECTION C. 



expended uii duplication of work, unless such is specitically 

 proved to be necessary- Having- accepted this principle, how 

 essential it is that Governments should see that it is carried 

 into effect while existing war conditions prevail ! 



This applies to botanical just as much as to other scientitic 

 work. It is a great pity that there should be a number of insti- 

 tutions strtiggling aloni;- with inadequate equipment and support, 

 each working on the same lines and endea^•ouring to cov-er the 

 whole field of investigation in Systematic, Geographical, Eco- 

 logical and other branches of botany, where each could accom- 

 plish so much more by concentrating on a single line of research. 



At present 1 fear there is too much duplication of the work 

 being carried on by existing instittitions. colleges, musemns and 

 Government departments. It is as important from the point 

 of view of efficiency and economy of i)ul)lic funds that a definite 

 policy for a botanical sur\'ey should be laid down by agreement, 

 and that the same be conscientiously adhered to by the institu- 

 tions concerned, as it is to have a carefully defined policy for a 

 geological survey, irrigation programme, or for agricultural in- 

 vestigation. In the past, when i^ractically nothing had been 

 done, collections were welcomed from every part of the country, 

 and the chances of du])lication were more remote. We have 

 now reached a stage in our development when an organized 

 botanical survey is called for, in order to take stock of our 

 natural resources. 



Means of Gark\'ing out the Survey. 



A botanical sur\ey of .South Africa could be carried out 

 largely with the assistance of existing institutions, aided In' 

 small grants irun\ ( iovernment for tra\el and other specific 

 purposes, thus obviating, at least for the present, the necessity 

 for a large Go\ermncnt stait engaged purely on survey work, 

 which, however desirable it may seem to us, is wholly out of the 

 question under existing conditions. My object to-day is to 

 outline a workable scheme rather than an idealistic one. 



The programme of such a survey should be broad enough 

 to deal with all of the branches previously enumerated. Let us 

 consider for a nionK-ni the treatment of each, as far as it con- 

 cerns our survey ; whether the plan here outlined cotild be carried 

 out in its entirety would de]>end on the co-operation of the in- 

 stitutions and workers referred to. 



Prei'Akatiox of Region .\i. Floras. 



For the i)re])aration of the suggested Regional Floras, good 

 collections are required from all parts of the country. These 

 specimens must be i)roi>erly dried, pressed, classified, mounted 

 and stored in herbaria accessible tt) workers. There should there- 

 fore be one good and well-ecjuipiied herbarium in each of the 

 six areas for which it is proposed to prepare handbooks. Her- 

 baria more or less representative of the local floras are in exis- 

 tence at Capetown, .^tcllenbosch. Grahamstown. Pretoria, and 



