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specify the county and locality on their labels. I may also mention 

 here, that some would-be-thought botanists are guilty of the repre- 

 hensible practice of mingling specimens and loose labels from diffe- 

 rent and even distant localities ; by which means it may frequently 

 happen that a label specifying one locality, becomes attached to a 

 specimen really brought from a different locality. Very serious errors 

 or falsifications have arisen through this and similar bad practices, 

 especially where two species have been mixed and mistaken one for 

 the other. One lady-botanist, of well-known name, has done this to 

 a great extent ; and thus has thrown into circulation numerous errors, 

 some of which have appeared in print also. 



As to the Botanical Society's foreign specimens, I am very sorry 

 to say, almost the whole work of exchange and distribution falls to 

 my lot, and sadly troublesome and time-stealing 1 find it to be. 

 Most heartily do I wish that other botanist, in and near London, 

 would relieve me from this heavy tax on time ; which requires an 

 union, in the same party, of ample leisure and a considerable familia- 

 rity with the Botany of various countries. As numerous specimens 

 come from different and distant parts of the world, often only par- 

 tially labelled or wholly unlabelled, the head-work in making out the 

 species, and the hand-work in labelling them when made out, are both 

 great consumers of time, too great indeed, for accuracy and complete- 

 ness ; besides all the other work of sorting, arranging, selecting, pack- 

 ing, &c., &c. Here, then, " the pompous sanction of scientific au- 

 thority," under the sounding designation "Botanical Society of 

 London," is in truth often only the hurried opinion of the individual 

 member who subscribes the present paper. To sum up in conclusion, 

 we should distinguish three periods of the Society's existence, in 

 which the degree of trust or distrust, attaching to the labels and spe- 

 cimens has been shown to vaiy. First, those distributed previous to 

 1841 having been largely mingled with error, are to be distrusted. 

 Second, from 1841 to 1844, although the probability of correctness is 

 considerably increased, there was still a want of sufficient care and 

 exactness ; so that, in cases of doubt, the labels are to be received 

 with caution or suspicion. Third, from 1844 to the present time, 

 touch more attention has been bestowed upon the labels towards in- 

 suring correctness of name and locality ; and the arrangements in 

 general have been such as to combine accuracy and facility to a de- 

 gree which has probably not been attained elsewhere. Accuracy and 

 tardiness, or quickness and incorrectness, are combinations not diffi- 

 cult to make. But where specimens are annually received in thou- 



