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Co. Kerry, and P. lusitanica from Valentia Island, by the late 
Miss Susan Lecky, have been presented to the Royal Botanic 
Gardens, and have been added to the collection of water colour 
drawings now exhibited in the North Gallery. 
The drawings were made by Miss Lecky about 55 years ago, 
when she was living on Valentia Island, Co. Kerry, and have been 
presented by her brother, Mr. John Lecky, of 17, Hazlewell 
Road, Putney. Miss S. Lecky was born in Cork, in 18387, and 
died in London in 1896. She received much advice and encour- 
agement in her, work from the late E. W. Cooke, ; 
Darwin Letters.—Sir William Thiselton-Dyer has presented 
to the Library a collection of about a hundred personal letters 
addressed to him by Charles Darwin between the years 1873 and 
1881 ost of these are entirely in Darwin’s own handwriting. 
Several, apparently dictated, are signed by Darwin, and some 
of these contain autograph postscripts. Those of more general 
interest have been published in ‘‘ The Life and Letters of 
Gender of Sabal—Good authorities regard it as neuter, while 
others equally good make it feminine. Adanson, who founded 
the genus, gave no indication as to the origin of its name, and 
having made no species supplies no help as to the gender. The 
first specific name showing gender was neuter (S. carolinianum). 
Sprengel, Steudel, the Index Kewensis, with a few exceptions 
apparently due to oversight, and the second edition of the Kew 
Hand list of Tender Monocotyledons (the first edition had 
feminine terminations) have neuter terminations. Martius 
(Historia Palmarum), 0. F. Cook, and, amongst many others, 
Beccari, the author of the most recent and most important work 
