87 



quite unable to ]irncnre tliom by purdiasc the lil)crality of such members 

 as could present tliein would always be very gratefully acknowledged. 



Attention having been called to the Herbarium recently arranged by the 

 Rev. W. W. Spicer, of New Town, the following letter to the Secretary, 

 from Mr. Spicer, was read : — 



" Jutland, New Town, 



" Oct. t)th, 1875. 



" Dkar Sir, — Some months ago I undertook to arrange and classify the 

 collection of dried ]>lauts presented to the Royal Society by l3r. J. 

 Milligan. My task being completed I now return the collection to the 

 Museum. I found the specimens to be well preserved as regards freedom 

 from mould and the ravages of insects ; but they were in a state of thorough 

 disorder, the species being in many cases mingled together, and no care 

 having been taken to keep them under their respective natural orders. 



" The collection consists of 468 species and varieties, comjirised in 244 

 genera and 69 orders (a small pi-oportion this of the whole of our native 

 Flora, which, as at present known, contains nearly 1000 species, ranged 

 under about 420 genera and 93 orders), but the jilants inckuled in it have 

 a special value, ha^^ing had the advantage of passing under the inspection 

 of Baron von Mueller, and many of them, I believe, having served as 

 types to Hooker and Bentham, in working out the Flora of Tasmania and 

 the Flora Australieusis. I should on this account propose that this collec- 

 tion of our indigenous plants, though small, be kept separate from all 

 others ; any futm-e additions being made supplementary to it. I hope 



myself to add a good many before the end of the summer 



But why should not an appeal be made to all who are interested in 

 biological investigations to contribute to the Society what they can spare 

 from their private collections ? Many, no doubt, would be glad to do so, 

 for the sake of the scientific purposes involved, were their attention drawn 

 to the subject. There are two or three botanists of note in the north of 

 the island. A gentleman in Hobart Town has offered me a number of 

 dried plants which have been for a long period in his house, and are of no 

 service to him. I mention this circumstance as leading one to hope that 

 other collections now hidden away in dusty closets might be brought to 

 light, if it was known that the presentation of them to the Society would 

 be acceptable. And if it was thought expedient to extend the appeal 

 beyond the limits of Tasmania, I should imagine that Melbourne, Sydney, 

 and New Zealand would be willing to aid us in forming a Herbarium 

 more worthy of a Royal Society than the one we at present possess. Such 

 an appeal, moreover, might be made to embrace other objects generally 

 included in the desiderata of a Museum. 



" In arranging Dr. Milligan's plants 1 have followed the scheme employed 

 by Baron von Mueller in his " Census of the Plants of Tasmania, 1875 ;" 

 and to a great extent, though not entirely, I have adopted his nomencla- 

 ture. I have also placed within the upper cover of each fascicle that 

 portion of the Census which relates to the ordei-s contained in it, 

 marking with a cross the species to be found therein, so that the student 

 may ascertain at a glance the presence or absence of the plant he is in search 

 of. I have been careful also to preserve the labels and other notes which I 

 foimd in the original sheets. It has happened occasionally that the name 

 I have bestowed differ.'? from that given at first ; in such cases I have 

 thought it better to leave the original title intact, and then future botanists 

 can determine which is the more correct. 



" With regard to the remaining botanical specimens in the museum, Mr. 

 Eoblin has brought them together, and I have given them a cursory 

 examination. Speaking roughly the different collections (of which there 

 are nearly thirty) amoimt to about 2000 species, of which some 1200 to 



