r 



ON TUE FLORA OF CHINA. 113 



Cliina in aid of the work, more especially from Dr. Augustine Henry, late 

 of Ichang. The novelty and richness of the material obtained by this inde- 

 fatigable botanist far exceeds any expectations the Committee could have 

 formed. It is to be regretted that his duties as an ofhccr of the Chinese 

 Imperial Maritime Customs have necessitated his removal to Hainan. 

 It is probable, however, that he had practically exhausted the immediate 

 neighbourhood of Ichang, and that without opportunities of travelling 

 over a wider radius, which the Committee regret tliey were unable to 

 ])rocure for him, he would not have been able to add much of material 

 novelty to the large collections already transmitted by him to Kew. 



The Committee have met with the kindest sympathy and assistance 

 In their labours from Dr. C. J. de Maxiinowicz of the Academic Imperials 

 of St. Petersburg, who has long been engaged on the elaboration of the 

 collections made by Russian travellers in China, and from M. Franchet 

 uf the Museum d'Histoire Naturello .at Paris, who is describing and 

 publishing the extremely rich collections made by the French missionaries 

 in Yunnan. 



The Committee have received striking proofs of the appreciation of 

 their labours by botanists of all countries. They permit themselves to 

 quote the following passage from a letter received early in the present 

 year from Baron Riehthofen, than whom no one is more competent to esti- 

 mate the value of work connected with the scientific exploration of China: — 



' It 13 of great value to have, now, a Flora of China, embodying all 

 the species known from that country. You have evidently succeeded at 

 Kew in' getting a very complete collection. At the same time, in looking 

 over the localities mentioned in the book, it strikes me that large portions 

 of China are still unexplored botanically. There remains a splendid 

 field for a good collector in the Tsingling Mountains, the province of 

 Sz'chuen, and chiefly its elevated regions west of Ching-tu-fu. Work 

 in those parts will be greatly facilitated by the solid foundation laid 

 through the work of Forbes and Hemsley.' 



The Committee derive an independent existence as a Sub-Committee 

 of the Government Orant Committee of the Royal Society. They are at 

 present in possession of sufficient funds to enable them to carry on the 

 work. They do not therefore ask for their reappointment at the hands 

 of the British Association. 



Report of the Committee, consistincf of Professor A. Xewton (Chair- 

 man), Mr. W. T. Tiiiselton-Dyer, Professor iNI. Foster, and 

 Mr. S. F. Harmeu (Secretary), appointed for the piayose of 

 talcing steps for the investigation of the Natural History of the 

 Fnendly Islands, or other Groups in the Pacific, visited by 

 H.M.S. 'Egeria: 



The Committee have not yet received information which puts them in a 

 position to give any detailed report of the work which is being done in 

 connection with the above subject. The grant has been paid to Mr. J. J. 

 Lister, who reached Tonga on March 19. After devoting two mouths to 

 the investigation of the natural history of that group, Mr. Lister joined 

 H.M.S. Eijeria, on her arrival at Tonga, with the intention of visiting 

 Samoa, where, by the latest accounts, he was carrying ou his researches. 

 1889. I 



