8o PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS — SECTION C. 



The work of these investigators would be co-ordinated by 

 one of them, who would represent this branch of work on the 

 Executive Committee. 



Economic Botany. — This branch would be subdi\ided by 

 subjects rather than by areas. Thus : — 



Mycolog}' and Plant Pathology are being dealt with by the 

 several Mycologists of the Department of Agriculture. 



Noxious Weeds, by the Herbarium Assistant of the same 

 Department. 



Poisonous Plants are being collected by a field botanist allo- 

 cated to the staff of the Veterinary Research Laboratories. 

 Feeding tests are being carried out by the Veterinary Research 

 Officers, and the determinations are being made at the Herbarium 

 of the Department of Agriculture. This applies to plants pois- 

 onous to stock. Probably the same officers could deal with 

 plants poisonous to man, in conjunction with Dr. Rindl, of the 

 Grey University College, but an addition to the staff would 

 be required to study and classify the physical structure 

 of the roots and twigs which form such an important part of the 

 drugs used by kaffir witch-doctors and medicine-men. The 

 assistance of a cliemist should be secured to investigate their 

 chemical properties. 



A Handbook of the Economic Plants of South Africa is an 

 urgently needed work at the present time. During the last four- 

 teen years I have collected a mass of valuable data on the subject, 

 which is now being put in 'book form. 



Ph\siolog\ of Fann Crops. — This subject would probably 

 be dealt with at the several Government Schools of Agriculture. 



Genetics and Plant Breeding would probably be taken up at 

 the National Botanic Garden, and also by the Colleges or De- 

 partments of Agriculture of the several Universities. 



Taxonomy. 



Check-Lists. — Each Provincial Institution should prepare a 

 check-list of the plants known to exist within the borders as- 

 signed to it, with brief but comijlete notes on the distribution 

 of the species within their limits, and reference to the place 

 of pul>lication, or of a good description, of the species- 



Handbooks. — For the preparation of handbooks to the 

 regional floras, it might be desirable to place this in the hands 

 of one competent botanist, thus not only ensuring uniformity of 

 treatment, but saving duplication of descriptions where the same 

 genera or even species occur in more than one Province. 



Handbook of the Genera. — A revision of the families and 

 genera of South African Spermaphyta is much needed as a 

 basis for the Regional Floras. This, as already noted, has been 

 undertaken by Professor Moss. 



Where so much ground has to be covered, and there is so 

 much to be done, it is folly to delay matters bv waiting till 

 every rare species has been secured and every- locality has been 

 visited. The main object is to assist in the advanceinent of 



