Some Genera of Rafinesque 



American zoologists duriug the last twenty years have been 

 finding so very much original matter in the line of systematic 

 55oology in the various papers of Kafinesque, that they have 

 created a demand more than equal to the supply in the book 

 market, for everytliiug which tliis sanguine, erratic yet highly 

 gifted naturalist ever printed. 



Botanists in our country, long behindhand in matters of 

 bibliography and nomenclature, are feeling now the necessity 

 of attending to these concerns ; and we are beginning to ran- 

 sack the neglected shelves of libraries and book stores, to see 

 what we have and what we lack of Eafinesque's botanical 

 papers. 1 should like to be assured that there is one botani- 

 cal library in all America which has every volume and pam- 

 phlet and magazine article which he wrote in relation to our 

 botany. In even the old editions of Gray's Manual a dozen 

 phanerogamic genera are recognized as having Eafinesque 

 for their author. To this number two more at least, Steiro- 



H, 



and 



I think that the number of fourteen will be almost doubled, 

 when all the genera of that region which have this botanist 



for their real first author, shall have found their places, ^'^^ 



they will find them, in some future Flora of the Eastern 

 States. 



Some of the following cases I have long had in mind. 

 Others are in the nature of more recent bibliographical dis- 

 coveries made by me last summer, while enjoying the librarv 

 privileges of the Department of Agriculture at Washington, 

 of the Philadelphia Academy, of Mr. :\lHrtindale's residence 

 at Camden, and of Columbia College, Kew York. 



