374 proceedings of section d. 



Akmit, William E. D. M. — 



An extract from a letter of the Secretary, Commissioner of 

 Police, to Mr. W. C. Brennan, Secretaiy, Public Seivice Board, 

 Brisbane, says : — 



Mr. Armit's name appears as William E. D. M. Armit, but the full 

 christian name cannot be given, nor is it known where and when he was born 

 and died ; the last communication from him is dated April, 1883. He was 

 apjDointed a sub-inspector on 5th June, 1872, and served at Murray River,. 

 Waterview, Cashmere, Geors;etown, Dunrobin, Brisbane, Bynoe, and Carl 

 Creek. He left the service on the 14th April, 1882. 



He was an officer of the Queensland Mounted Police. He became 

 a New Guinea official. 



He collected largely in Nortlieni Queensland for Mueller — e.g., on 

 the Gilbert River, Lynd River, Herbert River, head of Burdekin, &c. 

 His botanical papers include " Notes on certain Plants of North- 

 western Queensland possessing- valuable Medicinal Properties," which 

 was published in abstract in Journ. Linn. Sftc, xx., 69. He read a 

 paper, " List of Plants noticed on Moresby, Basilisk, O'Neill, and 

 Margaret Islands, S. Eastern New Guinea," on 19th March, 1885, Proc. 

 Linnean Society (1883-86), p. 74 ; but it was not published. 



His ethnological papers include — " Notes on the Philology of the 

 Islands adjacent to the South-eastem Extremity of New Guinea " 

 (Proc. Roy. Soc, Queensland, ii., 2); "The Papuans: Comparative 

 Notes on Various Authors, with Orig:inal Observations " {ih., 78). 



He is commeinorated by the following plants : — Bossiaea Armitii, 

 F.v.M. (Fragm. ix. 44) ; Goodenia Armitiana, F.v.M. ; Eriachne 

 Armitii, F.v.M. ; Sarcoclnlus Armitii, F.v.M. 



Back?toltse, James (1794-1869). See (6)— 



He was a Quaker missionary who visited Australia on a philan- 

 thropic mission. He arrived at " Brisbane Town" 29th March, 1836; 

 and in chapters xxxii. and xxxiii. of his " Narrative of a Visit to the 

 Australian Colonies " are interesting notes on the botany of Moreton 

 Bay. 



Bancroft, Joseph (1836-1894) — 



Born at Stretford, near Manchester, England, Februaiy 21st, 

 1836. Ai'rived in Brisbane, 1864. Died at Brisbane, June 16th, 1894. 

 M.R.C.S. Eng., M.D. St. Andrews', 1859. 



He worked at the pharmacology of some Queensland plants — e.g., 

 Duhoisia myoporoides and D. Hojnvoodii. He also worked at the 

 hybridisation of plants; produced new varieties of the grape, castor 

 oil plant, strawbeny, &c. He discovered a mst-proof wheat. He 

 proved that wheat, barley, and rice could be grown ih Southern 

 (.^>ueensland on poor coast countiy. Was interested in diseases of 

 plants — e.g., Banana (Tylenchus), Sugar-cane, &c. 



Following are some of his papers : — " Fitnri and Dti,hoisia,'' Bris- 

 btme, 1877, 8vo. "Further remarks on the Pituri group of plants, &c." 

 {Ih. 1878), 8a^o. "Contribution to Pharmacy from Queensland" 

 (1886). "Duhoisia Pituri" (Wing's Southern Science Record, ii. 221). 

 "Food of the Aborigines of Central Australia" (Proc. Rov. Soc, Q., 



