1861.] HERBARIA SALE. 17 



as it is, it affords a most interesting relic of some early botanist's labours. 

 The dates on the tickets, the handAvriting, and other circumstances, appear 

 to point to the elder Tradescant as the collector and owner of this, I 

 suppose, the very oldest herbarium now existing, certainly the oldest 

 I have ever seen. This lot was purchased at the sale of Dr. Buckland's 

 library, 16s. 



19-i. Welwitsch's Plants of Portugal, an excellent set of the second 

 section (Estremadura, etc.), above four hundred and fifty species, in the best 

 condition, 17s. 



195. British, rare and interesting, collected by Babington, Borrer, 

 Christy, and others, 2s. Qd. 



196. Miscellaneous, chiefly British (1), and two other bundles. Botanic 

 Gardens, Strasbourg, etc., three bundles, 4s. 



197. European, mostly rare British, 3s. Qd. 



198. Autographs. A collection of twenty-five botanical pamplilets, each 

 of which bears a presentation inscription in author's own handwriting, 

 5s. 6^. 



199. A similar lot, 3s. M. 



200. Ditto, 3s. 



201. Ditto, 6s. 



202. Twelve autograph letters or memoranda of distinguished botanists, 

 Endlicher, etc., 4s. 



203. Twelve ditto, Steudel, etc., 4s. 

 20 k Ditto, Sprengel, etc., 25. 6r/. 



205. Ditto, Martius, etc., 3s. Qd. 



206. Ditto, Fischer, etc., 2s. 6d. 



The publication of the sale and the prices of the above few lots 

 of botanical specimens will be subservient to two purposes : in 

 the first place, they will show our readers that such things are so 

 utterly worthless, as marketable commodities, that the sum 

 realized by their sale would not pay for the labour, time, and 

 paper necessarily spent- in preparing them for the auctioneer. 

 There were about two hundred lots at this sale, some larger, 

 some smaller than the examples here reprinted, and on an average 

 they did not fetch above a penny for each species, duplicates and 

 mounting included. The paper to which they were attached 

 would have cost more originally, without taking into account 

 the charge for work and labour, than the sum realized by their 

 sale. 



Those who want specimens of plants, both British and Foreign, 

 may have their wants supplied by a very moderate expenditure. 



The second object is to inform collectors generally, whether 



N. S. VOL. VI. D 



