802 



ledge myself under a sort of obligation to carry out and act up to the 

 promises so given. Hence I have remained a member ; and during 

 the past year I have devoted considerable time to the distribution of 

 the foreign specimens ; many of which, indeed, had been originally 

 the duplicates from my own herbarium. 



In respect to the British specimens for distribution in 1850, my in- 

 terference and responsibility are only the same as they were last year. 

 Early in January, I very rapidly looked through all the British par- 

 cels that had been received between Michaelmas and Christmas ; di- 

 viding the specimens into three assortments, as heretofore ; namely : 

 firstly, novelties and varieties not included in the second edition of 

 the ' London Catalogue of British Plants,' together with doubtful spe- 

 cies or specimens requiring some more special explanation than their 

 labels can convey ; secondly, those labelled under incorrect names, 

 or sent (contrary to regulation) not labelled ready for distribution ; 

 thirdly, the great mass of the specimens that I saw no reason for 

 placing in either of the two former assortments, while passing them 

 hastily under view; although it is far from improbable that some of 

 these last would have been separated also, if I could have spared 

 time to examine the specimens and labels more closely and com- 

 pletely. 



It is on the specimens placed in the first of the three classes men- 

 tioned, that I now propose, as in several preceding years, to make 

 some explanatory comments addressed to the members who may 

 shortly receive the plants. Divided into sets, these specimens will 

 be made up into small packets, as far as they will go ; leaving only 

 three or four of the species for introduction separately into the desi- 

 derata parcels of those members whose names may stand lower down 

 in the return-list. 



This winter, unfortunately, the supply of " Novelties, &c," is not so 

 good as might have been expected, either in number of species or 

 number of specimens. But not unlikely I may, in my haste, have 

 passed over some of the novelties without recollecting at the moment 

 that their discovery dates later than the last edition of the Society's 

 Catalogue. Indeed, Anacharis Alsinastrum is left out of the " No- 

 velty " group in this way ; for, having heard so much about this plant 

 and its localities in 1848 and 1849, I did not recollect at the time of 

 looking through the parcels, that the first announcement of it in Bri- 

 tain had occurred while the Catalogue was in the press. I presume, 

 however, that almost every member received a specimen last year. 



