474 



NA TURE 



[Sept. 



the conditions which permitted or inhibited its invasion. He 

 treated the problem, whether on the side of the host or of the 

 parasite, as a whole — as a biological problem, in fact, in the 

 widest sense. It is this thorough grasp of the conditions of the 

 problem that gives such a peculiar value to his last published 

 book, the "Lectures on Bacteria," an admirable translation of 

 which we owe to Prof. Balfour. To this I shall have again to 

 refer. I must content myself with saying now, that in this and 

 all his work there is that note of highest excellence which 

 consists in lifting detail to the level of the widest generality. 

 To a weak man this is a pitfall, in which a firm grasp of fact is 

 lost in rash speculation. But when, as in De Bary's case, a true 

 scientific insight is inspired by something akin to genius, the 

 most fruitful conceptions are the result. Yet De Bary never 

 sacrificed exactness to brilliancy, and to the inflexible love of 

 truth which pervaded both his work and his personal intercourse 

 we may trace the secret of the extraordinary influence which he 

 exerted over his pupils. 



As the head of one of the great national establishments of the 

 country devoted to the cultivation of systematic botany, I need 

 hardly apologize for devoting a few words to the present position 

 of that branch of the science. Of its fundamental importance I 

 have myself no manner of doubt. But as my judgment may 

 seem in such a matter not wholly free from bias, I may fortify 

 myself with an opinion which can hardly be minimized in that 

 way. The distinguished chemist, Prof. Lothar Meyer, perhaps 

 the most brilliant worker in the field of theoretical chemistry, 

 finds himself, like the systematic botanist, obliged to defend the 

 position of descriptive science. And he draws his strongest 

 argument from biology. " The physiology of plants and 

 animals," he tells us, "requires systematic botany and zoology, 

 together with the anatomy of the two kingdoms : each speculative 

 science requires a rich and well-ordered material, if it is not to 

 lose itself in empty and fruitless fantasies." No one, of course, 

 supposes that the accumulation of plant specimens in harbaria is 

 the mere outcome of a passion for accumulating. But to do 

 good systematic work requires high qualities of exactitude, 

 patience, and judgment. As I had occasion to show at the Linnean 

 centenary, the world is hardly sensible of the influence which the 

 study of the subject has had on its affairs. The school of Jeremy 

 Bentham has left an indelible mark on the social and legislative 

 progress of our own time. Mill tells us that " the proper 

 arrangement of a code of laws depends on the same scientific 

 conditions as the classifications in natural history ; nor could 

 there," he adds, " be a better preparatory discipline for that 

 important function than the principles of a natural arrangement, 

 not only in the abstract, but in their actual application to the 

 class of phenomena for which they were first elaborated, and 

 which are still the best school for learning their use." He 

 further tells us that of this Jeremy Bentham was perfectly 

 aware, and that his " Fragment on Government" contains clear 

 and just views on the meaning of a natural arrangement which 

 reflect directly the influence of Linnaeus and Jussieu. Mill him- 

 self possessed a competent knowledge of systematic botany, and 

 therefore was well able to judge of its intellectual value. For 

 my part, I do not doubt that precisely the same qualifications 

 of mind which made Jeremy Bentham a great jurist, enabled his 

 nephew to attain the eminence he reached as a botanist. As a 

 mere matter of mental gymnastic, taxonomic science will hold 

 its own with any pursuit. And, of course, what I say of botany 

 is no less true of other branches of natural history. Mr. Darwin 

 devoted eight or nine years to the systematic study of the 

 Cirrifedia. "No one," he himself tells us, "has a right to 

 examine the question of species who has not minutely described 

 many." And Mr. Huxley has pointed out, in the admirable 

 memoir of Mr. Darwin which he has prepared for the Royal 

 Society, that "the acquirement of an intimate and practical know- 

 ledge of the process of species-making ..." was "of no less 

 importance to the author of the ' Origin of Species ' than was 

 the bearing of the Cirripede work upon the principles of a 

 natural classification." 



At present the outlook for systematic botany is somewhat dis- 

 couraging. France, Germany, and Austria no longer possess 

 anything like a school in the subject, though they still supply 

 able and distinguished workers. That these are, however, few, 

 may be judged from the fact that it is difficult to fill the place of 

 the lamented Eichler in the direction of the Botanic Garden and 

 Herbarium at Berlin. Outside our own country, Switzerland is 

 the most important seat of general systematic study, to which 

 three generations of De Candolles have devoted themselves. The 



most active centres of work at the moment are, however, to be 

 found in our own country, in the United -States, and in Russia. 

 And the reason is, in each case, no doubt the same. The enor- 

 mous area of the earth's surface over which each country holds 

 sway brings to them a vast amount of material which peremptorily 

 demands discussion. 



No country, however, affords such admirable facilities for work 

 in systematic botany as are now to be found in London. The 

 Linnean Society possesses the Herbarium of Linnaeus ; the 

 Botanical Department of the British Museum is rich in the col- 

 lections of the older botanists ; while at Kew we have a constantly 

 increasing assemblage of material, either the results of travel 

 and expeditions, or the contributions of correspondents in 

 different parts of the Empire. A very large proportion of this 

 has been worked up. But I am painfully impressed with the 

 fact that the total of our available workers bears but a small 

 proportion to the labour ready to their hands. 



This is the more a matter of concern, because for the few official 

 posts which are open to botanists at home or abroad a practical 

 knowledge of systematic botany is really indispensable. For suit- 

 able candidates for these one naturally looks to the Universities. 

 And so far, I am sorry to say, in great measure one looks in vain. 

 It would be, no doubt, a great impulse to what is undoubtedly an 

 important branch of national scientific work if Fellowships could 

 occasionally be given to men who showed some aptitude for it. 

 But these should not be mere prizes for undergraduate study, 

 but should exact some guarantee that during the tenure of the 

 Fellowship the holder would seriously devote himself to some 

 definite piece of work. At present, undoubtedly, the younger 

 generation of botanists show a disposition to turn aside to those 

 fields in which more brilliant and more immediate results can be 

 attained. Their neglect of systematic botany brings to some 

 extent its own Nemesis. A first principle of systematic botany 

 is that a name should denote a definite and ascertainable species 

 of plant. But in physiological literature you will find that the 

 importance of this is entirely overlooked. Names are employed 

 which are either not to be found in the books, or they are alto- 

 gether misapplied. I call to mind the case of an English 

 physiologist who wrote a highly ingenious paper on the move- 

 ment of water in plants. He was content to refer to the plant 

 upon which he experimented as the "bay-laurel." I ascertained 

 that the plant he really used was the cherry-laurel. Now the 

 bay is truly a laurel, while the cherry-laurel is a plum. Anyone 

 repeating his experiments would therefore be led wholly astray. 

 But if proper precautions are taken to ascertain the accurate 

 botanical name of a plant, no botanist throughout the civilized 

 world is at a loss to identify it. 



But precision in nomenclature is only the necessary apparatus- 

 of the subject. The data of systematic botany, when properly 

 discussed, lend themselves to very important generalizations. 

 Perhaps those which are yielded by the study of geographical 

 distribution are of the most general interest. The mantle of 

 vegetation which covers the surface of the earth, if only we could 

 rightly unravel its texture, would tell us a good deal about geo- 

 logical history. The study of geographical distribution, rightly 

 handled, affords an independent line of attack upon the problem 

 of the past distribution of land and sea. It would probably 

 never afford sufficient data for a complete independent solution 

 of the problem ; but it must always be extremely useful as a 

 check upon other methods. Here, however, we are embarrassed 

 by the enormous amount of work which has yet to be accom- 

 plished. And unfortunately this is not of a l<ind which can be 

 indefinitely postponed. The old terrestrial order is fast passing 

 away before our eyes. Everywhere the primitive vegetation is 

 disappearing as more and more of the earth's surface is brought 

 into cultivation, or, at any rate, denuded of its forests. 



A good deal, however, has been done. We owe to the 

 indomitable industry of Mr. Bentham and of Sir Ferdinand 

 Mueller a comprehensive flora of Australia, the first large area 

 of the earth's surface of which the vegetation has been com- 

 pletely worked out. Sir Joseph Hooker, in his retirement, has 

 pushed on within sight of completion the enormous work of 

 describing so much of the vast Indo-Malayan flora as is com- 

 prised within the British possessions. To the Dutch botanists 

 we owe a tolerably complete account of the Malayan flora 

 proper. But New Guinea still remains botanically a tirra 

 incognita, and till within the last year or two the flora of China 

 has been an absolute blank to us. A Committee of the British 

 Association (whose report will be presented to you) has, with the 

 aid of a small grant of money, taken in hand the task of gather- 



