192 BOTANICAL XEWP. 



Cowes ; Malnjria paludvsa from Groonfield, ubove Saddle worth, S.\,' 

 York; and J)'I>/s))iHS rulus from X. Linoolnshire. County catalogue:^ of 

 common plants for Montgomery and Merionethshire, two of the 

 counties for which no such lists were available for " Top. Botany," are 

 communicated by the llev. A. Ley. We are sorry to see that the 

 southern Durham lo(Mility record for Cyprtpedium in a previous Report 

 (which we reprinted at the time*) turns out to be a mistake. To avoid 

 such errors the Club will in future do well to insist on their second 

 rule (that a specimen of each plant wished to be recorded by members 

 be sent) being in all cases strictly carried out. 



The " Jardin Botanique de I'Etat" at Brussels has been pro- 

 visionally placed under the charge of M. Crepin, oonserpient on the 

 resignation of M. Dupont, the late director. MM. Cogniaux and 

 Marchal, " aides-naturalistes'' at the same establishment, will now 

 take the title of conservators. 



The Australian collections of Robert Brown will soon be accessible 

 to botanists generally. This important series of specimens, in some 

 respects the most interesting and valuable collection ever made by a 

 botanical traveller, was, as is well known to most of our readers, 

 formed by tlie celebrated R. Brown, in his capacity as naturalist 

 during the voyage of H /M S. Invedigator, commanded by Capt. Flindci '^, 

 on the coast of New Holland and Van Diemen's Land, in the yeais 

 1802-5. The number of s^pecies is stated in Brown's '• General remarks 

 on tlie bo'any of Terra Australis " to amount to nearly 3900. On tl e 

 death of Brown in 1858, his herbarium became b-'' .> .quest the properly 

 of his friend and colleague, the late J. J. Benr.jtt, and has been since 

 accommodated in a room in the British Museum, access, however, to 

 the specimens having been permitted by the owner to Mr. Bentliam, 

 author of the now nearly completed " Flora Australiensis," and to 

 other working botanists. By Mr. Bennett's direction to his executrix, 

 the officers of the British Museum Herbarium are now to select for that 

 institution a complete series of the plants, after which a second set mav 

 be chosen in like manner from the remainder by the officers of the 

 Royal Gardens at Kew, and finally a third set by the officers of the 

 University Garden at Edinburgh. 



The recently settled lawsuit in relation to Dr. Welwitsch's col- 

 lections has an interesting bearing on this destination of Brown's plants. 

 Both travellers were naturalists in the pay of their respective Govern- 

 ments, and the plants were collected during the course of their engage- 

 ments ; yet in the case of Brown the collection has been treated as pri- 

 vate property for more than seventy years and twice bequeathed by 

 will, whereas the claim of the Portuguese Government to the whole c.f 

 Welwitsch's collections was strongly supported by the authorities at 

 Kew. The trustees of the British Museum have gladly accepted the 

 valuable gift now oftered, since the Herbarium at present contains 

 only the very incompl'jte set given by Brown to Sir Joseph Banks ; 

 but it will, we should suppose, be difficult for the authorities of Kew 

 to consistently receive the plants of a Government expedition as a 

 gift from a private individual v.-ithout any recognition of the Kritisii 

 Government whatever. 



* Journ. Bot,, 1875, p. 50. 



