Ixxvi PROCEEDINGS OF THE 



* Investigator.' Mr. Seemann availed himself of these opportunities 

 to collect materials for a Flora of the extreme north-west of Arctic 

 America, and for the anthropology of the Esquimaux. The ' Herald' 

 returned to England on June 6th, 1851. On Sir W. J". Hooker's 

 recommendation, the Admiralty requested Mr. Seemann to publish 

 the results of this voyage ; and he accordingly produced, early in 

 1853, the ' Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Herald, being a 

 Circumnavigation of the Globe and Three Cruises to the Arctic 

 Regions in Search of Sir John Franklin.' This book was in two 

 volumes, and was translated into German, partly by Edward Yogel, 

 the African traveller, and passed through two editions on the Con- 

 tinent. The animals collected during the voyage were described by 

 the late Sir John Eichardson in a quarto volume, and in the years 

 1852-1857 the botanical results appeared in Seemann's ' Botany of 

 the Yoyage of H.M.S. Herald.' This contains accounts of the floras 

 of "Western Esquimaux-land, the Isthmus of Panama, I^orth-western 

 Mexico, and the island of Hongkong, with 100 plates by Fitch, In 

 the preparation of this book the author had the advantage of the 

 assistance of Sir "William and Dr. J. B. Hooker, the latter furnish- 

 ing the analyses of the plates. 



About this time the degree of Ph.D. was conferred on Seemann 

 by the Universit}' of Gottingen, and the Imperial German " Academia 

 Naturae Curiosorum " made him a member under the name of 

 *' Bonpland," — in accordance with the usual practice of the Academy. 

 A few years later he was elected Adjunct or Vice-President for 

 Hfe. 



In 1853 Dr. Seemann started, in conjunction with his brother the 

 late "W. E. G. Seemann, a quarto botanical journal, in German, under 

 the title ' Bonplandia.' This was published in Hanover, though 

 edited in London, and was well supported by botanists of various 

 countries. Its publication was closed on the completion of the 

 tenth volume at the end of 1862. The year 1857 took Dr. Seemann 

 to Canada as official representative of the Linnean Society at the 

 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science 

 at Montreal ; on that occasion he read a paper on " Parthenogenesis 

 in Plants and Animals," and took the opportunity of becoming 

 acquainted with British North America and the United States. 



In 1859, the Viti or Fiji Islands in the South Pacific Ocean were 

 formally ceded, by their king and chiefs, to Great Britain; but 

 before accepting the profiiered cession. Colonel Smythe, E.A., was 

 commissioned by our Government to draw iip an official report on 



