The following elections were announced : — 



Associates : — C. K. Marr, Esq., London ; Alex. Leslie, Esq., London ; 

 Eobert Gordon Orr, Esq., Madras ; Eev. Granville E. Pike, M.A., 

 United States. 



The following paper was then read by the author : — 



THE POLYNESIANS AND THEIR PLANT- 

 NAMES. By H. B. GuPPY, M.B. 



IT is possible that we may fiud in the plant-names of 

 Polynesia a clue to the mystery that hangs like a 

 clone! over the origin of its inhabitants. Yet such an 

 inquiry is beset at the commencement by many difficulties, 

 not merely linguistic, but also botanical and ethnological, 

 and a number of questions at once present themselves. 



We ought at first to inquire into the worth of tlie materials 

 at our disposal, and into the extent to which they can be 

 legitimately employed. Then after discussing the methods 

 of employing such data, we ought to define with some 

 precision the particular view we entertain of the vexed 

 question relating to the ethnological position of the Poly- 

 nesians amongst the other Pacific peoples. It would then 

 be requisite to determine to what extent the Polynesians at 

 the time of the early voyagers were isolated from the rest 

 of the world, and to notice the amount of intercourse that 

 then prevailed betAveen the diiferent groups. But even 

 then we would only be on the threshold of the inquiry. It 



