[xviii] 



to remain in the colony of New South Wales, until his return, or, if that 

 should not take place, for a period not exceeding eighteen months. 

 During this time vve added very considerably to our collections of plants, 

 within the limits of the Colony of Port Jackson and its dependent settle- 

 ments; the banks of the principal rivers and some part of the mountains 

 bounding the colony were examined; I visited also the north and south 

 extremities of Van Diemen's Land, remaining several months in the 

 vicinity of the river Derwent; and repeatedly landed on Kent's Islands, 

 in Bass' Strait, on the shores of which the principal part of the Sub- 

 marine Algae contained in our collections were found. 



The reader of captain Flinders's narrative is already acquainted witli 

 the unfortunate circumstances that prevented his revisting Port Jack- 

 son within the expected period, soon after the expiration of which we 

 embraced an opportunity of returning to England, where we arrived in 

 Oktober 1805, with the greater part of our collecions, and without 

 having absolutely lost any one species; though many of our best speci- 

 mens of the South Coast, and all the living plants collected in the voyage 

 perished in the wreck of the Porpoise. 



The collection of Australian plants thus formed amounts to nearly 

 3900 species. But before embarking in the voyage of captain Flinders, 

 I enjoyed no common advantages, through the liberality of Sir Joseph 

 Banks, in whose Herbarium I had not only access to nearly the whole 

 of the species of plants previously brought from Terra Australis, but 

 received specimens of all those of which there were duplicates. Of these 

 plants, exceeding 1000 species, the far greater part were collected by 

 Sir Joseph Banks himself, in the voyage in which New South Wales 

 was discovered. The rest were found at Adventure Bay in Van Diemen's 

 Land, by Mr. David Nelson, in the third voyage of captain Cook; at 

 King George's Sound on the south-west coast of New Holland, by 

 Mr. Menzies, in captain Vancouver's voyage; and in the colony of 

 New South Wales by several botanists, especially the late colonel 

 Paterson and Dr. David Burton. Since my rerurn from New Holland 

 I have had opportunities of examining, in the same Herbarium, many 

 new species, found in New South Wales by Mr. George Caley, an 

 acute and indefatigable botanist, who resided nearly ten years in that 

 colony; and have received from the late colonel Paterson several spe- 

 cies discovered by himself within the limits of the colony of Port Dal- 

 rymple; which was established under his command. 



I have also examined, in the Sherardian Herbarium at Oxford, the 



