STANDLEY TREES AND SHRUBS OF MEXICO. 13 



could have been published as prepared would doubtless have been of 

 much greater value. 



In recent ^years Mr. W. E. Safford, of the U. S. Department of 

 Agriculture, has spent much time in identifying the plants treated by 

 Hernandez, He has published numerous papers upon the subject, 

 and references to some of these will be found in the body of the 

 present paper. 



EXPEDITION OF CHARLES III. 



The most elaborate botanical undertaking in the history of Mexico 

 was undoubtedly the famous expedition of Charles III of Spain. 

 That ruler decided to institute a survey of the natural resources of 

 his extensive dominions beyond the sea, and for the execution of the 

 project explorers were chosen from among the most learned scien- 

 tists of Spain, parties of whom were sent to several of the Spanish 

 possessions. One of these expeditions was dispatched to the Philip- 

 pines and another, headed by Ruiz and Pavon, to Peru. Since 

 Mexico was one of the two most important of the Spanish possessions, 

 the party sent to that country. New Spain, as it was then known, 

 was chosen with particular care. 



It was headed by Dr. Martin Sesse y Lacasta, who was to have 

 charge of a proposed botanical garden. The other members of the 

 commission were D. Juan Diego del Castillo; D. Jose Longinos; 

 D. Juan Cerda, a draftsman; and Dr. Vicente Cervantes, who 

 was to establish a chair of botanj' in the City of Mexico. The mem- 

 bers were chosen by D. Casimiro Gomez Ortega, the director of the 

 botanical garden of Madrid. 



The commission arrived in Mexico in 1788, and on the 1st of 

 May at 5 in the evening there was inaugurated wdth great solenmity 

 a department of botany in the University. Sesse delivered an in- 

 augural dissertation which was preceded by the installation of the 

 men chosen for the various professorships, conducted b}- the rector of 

 the University. There were present the royal audience, the doctors, 

 all of the religious societies, the regidores, military officials, and 

 many members of society. The viceroy was unable to be present, 

 but he was represented by D. Francisco Xavier Gamboa. 



The University was illuminated at night and after a brilliant 

 concert, according to a contemporaneous newspaper account, '* there 

 were lighted magnificent fireworks, ingeniously executed by that 

 pyrotechnic artist, D. Joaquin Gavilan. Three trees, known in this 

 kingdom under the name of papayo, closely imitating nature in the 

 delineation of their leaves, flowers, and fruits, gave a clear picture 

 of the sex of plants, which, being separated in this genus, was 

 represented in the following manner: Two female trees, clothed 

 with their respective flowers, and fruits of different stages of devel- 



