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ROYAL SOCIETY. 



APRIL, 1892. 

 The first monthly evening meeting of the session of the Royal 

 Society was held at the Museum on Tuesday, April 12. Mr. C. H. 

 Grant presided. An apology lor absence was received from His 

 Excellency the Governor, Sir R. G. C. Hamilton, K.C.B., LL.D., 

 President of the Society. 



NEW MEMBER. 



The Secretary (Mr. Alex. Morton) introduced a new member of the 

 Society, Mr. John Goodall, civil engineer. 



BOTANY OF TASMANIA. 



The Secretary said that Mr. Leonard Rodway was preparing a 

 *' Handbook of the Botany of Tasmania," whieh he wished to bring 

 out under the auspices of the Sosiety. Mr. Rodway was present, and 

 would explain the purport of his work. 



Mr. Rodway said they had never possessed in Tasmania a really com- 

 plete handbook of the flora of the colony. They had Hooker's work, 

 certainly, but it was too expensive for the ordinary public. The only 

 other work was one including the whole of the flora of Australia, which 

 had the same drawback. The late Mr. Spicer brought out a handbook, 

 but it was really little else than a key to the works mentioned, and 

 was now out of print. It was so painfully artificial tkat in order to 

 work a plant out by it the student must be possessed of the first- 

 mentioned publications. When he first took up botany here he found 

 there was a necessity for a handbook ; and on mentioning the fact that 

 he was thinking of compiling one during the meetings of the Australian 

 Association for the Advancement of Science several members urged him 

 to go on with it at once. He had prepared a certain portion of the 

 work, an eighth or tenth portion of the whole manuscript. In what he 

 had prepared there were 190 species dealt with, which was about one- 

 fifth of the whole in Tasmania. The plan of the work was similar to 

 that adopted by Bentham in the "Flora of the British Isles." The 

 work would be divided into two volumes, and in the event of the Society 

 taking it up, the first volume could be published in twelve months, and 

 the second two years thereafter. He had done all he could to avoid 

 technicalities in preparing the work. What he would suggest was that 

 the Council of the Society would look over the portion he had drawn 

 up, and tell him whether, provided he produced the manuscript 

 according to their suggestions and their satisfaction, they would support 

 its publication. 



The Chairman said he had no doubt the Council would be willing to 

 assist in anything of that kind. He thought it would be a waste of 

 labour, however, to add to the proposed work an introduction on ele- 

 mentary botany, but he thought a handbook of the flora of Tasmania 

 would supply a much-felt want. 



Mr Rodway said what he proposed to do was to refer the student to 

 certain handbooks, and not exactly supply an introduction on elementary 

 botany. 



The Secretary pointed out that a work like Mr. Rodway 's could not 

 be published at the expense of the Royal Society, but the Royal Society 

 might take it in hand, and approach the Government and get it published 

 under similar conditions as Mr. R. M. Johnston's valuable woik. 



