90 THE ATLANTIC. [ CHAP. I. 
The other, to making observations upon life, history, and structure in 
the case of plants where special knowledge is concerned. 
In the first of these the botanist must necessarily be largely helped 
by the assistance to be obtained on board ship from the officers and 
erew, working under his guidance and close supervision. When time 
and opportunity are wanting for making complete collections, prefer- 
ence should be given to the phanerogamous vegetation. 
In the second he will have to depend upon his own resources, and 
will therefore require that the mere process of collection does not make 
too great demands upon his time, although in itself exceedingly impor- 
tant, and by no means to be neglected. 
The general directions for travelers, printed in the “Admiralty Man- 
ual of Scientific Inquiry,” will of course be kept in view. 
Especial stress must, however, be laid upon the necessity of obtain- 
ing information about the vegetation of oceanic islands. These are, in 
many cases, the last positions held by floras of great antiquity; and, as 
in the case of St. Helena, they are liable to speedily become extermi- 
nated, and therefore to pass into irremediable oblivion when the islands 
become occupied. 
Of many that lie not far from the usual tracks of ships, absolutely 
nothing is known, while of the flora of a vast majority we possess most 
imperfect materials. The following are especially worth exploring ; and 
to the list is added an indication of the least-explored coast-lines of the 
great continents. As far as possible, complete dried collections should 
be made, not only of each group, but of each islet of the group; for it 
is usually the case that the floras of contiguous oceanic islets are won- 
derfully different. Of those in italics the vegetation is absolutely un- 
known, or all but so. 
1. Artantic Ocran.—Cape de Verde, Tristan d’Acunha, Fernando 
Noronha, Trinidad, and Martin Vaz (off the Brazil coast), Diego Ra- 
mirez, 8S. Georgia. The African coast between Morocco and Senegal, 
the Gaboon, and Damara Land offer the most novel fields. On the 
American coast, Cayenne, Bahia to Cape Frio, Patagonia. 
2. West Inpies.—The Bahamas and St. Domingo and the Antilles 
have been very imperfectly explored, except Dominica, Trinidad, and 
Martinique. On the main-land, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the coast re- 
gion of Mexico, the Mosquito shores, and Guatemala offer rich fields for 
botanical research. 
3. Inp1an Oczan.—The Seychelles, Ammirantes, Madagascar, Bour- 
