1890-91.] A "ColoniaV Herbarhun Specimen. 469 



XIIL— ^ ''COLONIAL" HERBARIUM SPECIMEN, 

 By JOHN H. WILSON, D.Sc, F.R.S.E. 



{Read April 22, 1891.) 



To many people a herbarium specimen is the symbol of soul- 

 lessness : it pertains to the osteology of botany. Eecently a 

 German author spoke of such specimens as " Mumien des 

 Herbars." I hope, however, to show that the epithet is mis- 

 applied, — that one may vitalise the " mummies " of the herbar- 

 ium, and find material for stimulating research and far-reaching 

 reflection. 



The specimen now to be described measures only an inch 

 and a half in height, and about the same across, and was 

 recently added to the Herbarium at the Eoyal Botanic Garden 

 from a private collection. The locality it was gathered in is 

 not given, but for the purposes of this paper it may well be 

 considered British. It bears evidence of some antiquity ; 

 indeed it may safely be set down as fifty years since it 

 assumed the handy flat form characteristic of herbarium 

 specimens in general. Age is a minor matter with these, 

 further altering their form and texture very little indeed. 



It will be remembered that Eobert Dick had pleasure 

 in thinking of the preservation of one specimen for a much 

 longer period than fifty years, thereby perpetuating to a cor- 

 responding degree the memory of his friend, Charles W. 

 Peach, long a respected member of this Society : — 



" Oh, gin ye were an alpine plant 



That grew iipon the mountains high, 

 An' I a-wanderin' found the phint 

 The little mossy burnie by ! 



How I wad joy, if ye did 'scape 



The wintry winds and storms severe, — 



I'd pu' and put ye in my cap. 

 An' dry ye, for a thousand year ! " 



Our specimen will be found to present a more complicated 

 economy than the poetic naturalist's alpine plant. It is 



