with their present. In the early times of a colony there is com- 

 paratively little difficulty in distinguishing the colonists from the 

 native species. But as the surface of the land becomes artifi- 

 cially disturbed, the habits of all its plants are influenced ; the 

 endemic species are driven from their native places, and take 

 refuge in hedgerows, ditches, and planted copses, and, from their 

 associating with the introduced plants, are apt to be classed in the 

 same category with them ; whilst the introduced wander from the 

 cultivated spots, and eject the native, or taking their places by 

 them appear like them to be truly indigenous"'^. " 



Indeed already, though the colony is not yet a century old, the 

 difficulty of discriminating between an Alien and a native is far 

 from easy. If we find a plant persistently hanging about the 

 precincts of the Koyal Society's Garden, or, for the matter of that, 

 any other garden, but not putting in an appearance elsewhere, we 

 may safely conclude that it cannot claim civic rights, but is indebted 

 for its first establishment in the colony to the fostering hand of 

 the cultivator ; though now it may have partially escaped from his 

 grasp. 



But what if we meet with some obscure British weed in a remote 

 part of the island, where cultivation is almost unknown ? In what 

 category shall it find a place ? Does it owe its origin to an 

 accidental importation, which we cannot now trace back to its source 

 — or were its ancestors in possession of the soil long before the 

 white man set his foot on the island ? 



I am afraid that practically it is impossible to answer this ques- 

 tion satisfactorily. We can only weigh probabilities, and balance 

 the opinion of those who have had the best opportunities of studying 

 the plants in situ. 



Zoologists, and more particularly ornithologists, are wont to cut 

 the gordian knot in a much simpler fashion. Instead of taking 

 pains to ascertain whether a bird has a right to the title of native 

 or not, an hour's residence in any given country suffices to confer 

 upon it all the privileges of domicile. Hence it is, that the 

 catalogue of British Birds is encumbered with such names as the 

 Egyptian Vulture of North Africa (Neophron percnopterus), the 

 Redwinged Starling of the United States (AgelcBus phoeniceios), and 

 even our Spinetailed Swift {Acanthylis caudacuta) — animals, which 

 have no more claim to be called British, than would the monkeys 

 of the lately exhibited menagerie have to be called Tasmanian, had 

 they escaped from their confinement and been shot in the bush. 



I cannot but think that the method of those who study the Flora 

 of a country, is to be preferred, viz. : to be very jealous of 

 admitting doubtful species, to investigate carefully the claims of 

 each, and to rigidly exclude all such as they are morally certain 

 have no real connection with the region under observation. At the 

 same time it is right, for the benefit of those who come after us, that 

 the names of the intruders should be carefully preserved, and, if 

 possible, the date of their introduction registered. 



I may as well state that I am unable to make any practical appli- 

 cation of this last suggestion. I have searched our Transactions and 

 similar sources of information, but with little efi"ect. No one seems 

 to have taken the trouble to place on record the first appearance or 



* Hooker. Fl, of Tasm,, 1 p., cv. 



