12 ESS A YS. 



plants collected by the venerable Menzies in Vancouver's voy- 

 age, are preserved at the British Museum, the one incorpo- 

 rated with the Banksian herbarium, the other forming a sepa- 

 rate collection. Those of this country are of the Northwest 

 Coast, the mouth of the Oregon River, and from California. 

 Many of Pursh's species were described from specimens pre- 

 served in this herbarium, especially the Oregon plants of 

 Menzies and those of Bartram and others from the more 

 southern United States, which Pursh had never visited, al- 

 though he often adds the mark v. v. (vidi vivarn) to species 

 which are only to be met with south of Virginia. 



The herbarium of Walter still remains in the possession of 

 the Fraser family, and in the same condition as when con- 

 sulted by Pursh. It is a small collection, occupying a single 

 large volume. The specimens, which are commonly mere 

 fragments, often serve to identify the species of the " Flora 

 Caroliniana," although they are not always labelled in accord- 

 ance with that work. 



The collections of Pursh, which served as the basis of his 

 M Flora America? Septentrionalis," are in the possession of Mr. 

 Lambert, and form a part of his immense herbarium. These, 

 with a few specimens brought by Lewis and Clark from Ore- 

 gon and the Rocky Mountains, a set of Nuttall's collections 

 on the Missouri, and also of Bradbury's so far as they are ex- 

 tant, with a small number from Fraser, Lyon, etc., compose 

 the most important portion of this herbarium, so far as North 

 American botany is concerned. There is also a small Cana- 

 dian collection made by Pursh subsequently to the publication 

 of his Flora, a considerable number of Menzies's plants, and 

 other minor contributions. To the general botanist, probably 

 the fine herbarium of Pallas, and the splendid collection of 

 Ruiz and Pavon (both acquired by Mr. Lambert at a great 

 expense) are of the highest interest ; and they are by no 

 means unimportant in their relations to North American bot- 

 any, since the former comprises several species from the North- 

 west Coast and numerous allied Siberian forms, while our 

 California plants require in some instances to be compared 

 with the Chilian and Peruvian plants of the latter. 



