30S THE JOURNAL OF BOTANY 



ingly rich in novelties ; upwards of 500 new species are described, 

 and 11 new genera — Pa^frnzilla Eidl. (Crncifergfi) ; Pocillaria Ridl., 

 Leucocorema Ridl., and Pentastira Ridl. (Icacinese) ; Pyrsonota 

 Ridl. fSaxifraf:(ace3e) ; Creinnobates'Ridl. (Lef?notideae) ; MiscJiopleura 

 Wernh. (Ericaceae Rhodoreae'l ; Neowollastonia'W ernh. (Apocynaceas 

 Plumerieae); Thylacophora Ridl., Eriolopha Ridl., and Psychanthiia 

 Ridl. (Scitamineoe). Amon^ the genera most largely represented are 

 Driinys (of which New Guinea appears to he the headquarters) 

 with 8 new species, Eugenia with 16, Medinilla (10), Begonia (7), 

 Vaccinium (10), Bliodod endron (17), Dendrohium (26), Bulbo- 

 phyllum (27), Phreatia (12). The new genus Eriolopha contains 

 plants referred by authors to Alpinia, which are indicated as 

 belonging to it but not named under it, as Mr. Ridley has seen 

 none of them and hence avoids making new combinations : ten 

 new species are described : he observes a similar wise reticence 

 under Psychantfnis, under which he places certain other plants 

 previously assigned to Alpinia. 



It is we think to be regretted that new genera were not 

 selected for figuring on the plates accompanying the memoir, in 

 preference to new species of such well-known genera as Saurauia, 

 Medinilla, and Pilea : only three of these — Papuzilla, Pyrsonota, 

 and ThylacoijJiora — are represented. The plates indeed are open 

 to criticism on other grounds : that they are reproduced by some 

 process is only too intelligible in these days of stress ; but the 

 general flatness of the figures reminds one of the productions of 

 Indian artists, and their arrangement might have been improved. 

 As they stand, the dissections and whole figure of a species some- 

 times appear on separate plates — an inconvenience which might 

 surely have been avoided, and which is accentuated by the arrange- 

 ment of the " explanation of the plates " : a reference to that of 

 plates 3, 4, and 6 will illustrate our meaning. The plates, instead 

 of bearing as they should do the names of the plants figured 

 upon them, are all lettered " Plants from Dutch New Guinea" — 

 which in the case of t. 5, representing only one species, is not 

 even literally accurate — thus necessitating constant reference to 

 the '• explanation." 



By a curious — and, for those who may wish to consult the 

 types, a serious — omission, it is nowhere stated where the 

 specimens are preserved : we understand that these are in the 

 National Herbarium. It will have been noted that the officers of 

 the Department of Botany have taken a considerable share in the 

 working-out of the plants. 



Botanists who use the Beport must be careful not to overlook 

 the " corrections and additions " which appear on its last page. 

 In these are supplied the references to plates, which are omitted 

 from the text, as well as to the earlier publication of two of the 

 new genera and nine of the new species in Hooker's Icones Plan- 

 tarum, vol. i, part 3, which appeared in June, thus antedating the 

 Beport by about two months. In the Icones these are referred to 

 "Trans. Linn. Soc. ser. 2, ix, ined" : it is surprising that an 

 analagous correlation was not supplied in the Beport ; this 



