50 REPORT—1874. 
more extended, and the local language may be admitted or preferred accord- 
ing to circumstances. The more botany is cultivated in a country, the more 
yariety mey be given to its floras—a scientifically morphological one for a 
text-book in classes, an easy descriptive one for the beginner and amateur, a 
very fully detailed one for study at home, an abridged synopsis for a com- 
panion in the field. In all, correctness and clearness of method and language 
are the first qualities requisite ; and wherever any instruction or information 
beyond the means of determining plarts is the object, geographical distribu- 
tion (without as well as within the special area of the flora) is a most essen- 
tial point to be attended to. It is to local floras that the general botanist 
must hare recourse for most of the data he requires for the investigation of 
the history and development of plant-races; and his reliance upon the cor- 
rectness of the facts supplied depends much upon the intrinsic evidence of a 
careful comparison on the part of the author of his plants with those of coun- 
tries adjoining to or otherwise connected with his own. It tends also very 
much to enlarge the ideas of a local botanist to learn how very widely spread 
are species which he has been accustomed tacitly or expressly to consider 
rare local creations, and how very differently plants may be distributed or 
varied in other countries from what he has observed at home. Exotic dis- 
tribution is, however, a point very little attended to in many of our best 
modern floras. I well recollect the interest that it gave to the firstin which 
T met with it, Cambessedes’s enumeration of the plants of the Balearic 
Islands, published in 1827; but his example was but rarely followed. More 
recently, I believe, I was the first to introduce it into British floras. Dr. 
Hooker has paid particular attention to it in all his systematic works ; it is 
one of the conditions introduced by the late Sir William Hooker in his plans 
for the series of Colonial Floras, and has been partially attended to by some of 
the contributors to the great work on Brazilian plants. We may hope, there- 
fore, to see it gradually included in the standard continental floras, as well as 
in more local ones. It is gratifying to observe that in that of Dorsetshire, 
just published by Mr. Mansel-Pleydell, special indications are given of the 
species which extend to the opposite coast of Normandy. 
In seyeral of my Linnean Addresses, especially in those of 1866 and 1871, 
as well as in two articles in the ‘ Natural-History Review’ (one on Maxi- 
mowitz’s ‘Amur Flora” in April 1861, the other on ‘ South-European 
Floras”’ in July 1864) I had occasion to enter into many details relating to 
the Floras recently published or in progress, which it would be superfluous 
now to repeat. I may only state generally that those of the central and 
northern States of Europe are well kept up, Lange and Willkomm’s 
Prodromus of Spanish Plants has very recently made a.step in advance by 
the issue of the first part of the third and last volume, which it may be hoped 
will be now soon complete, Parlatore’s Italian Flora gives no such pro- 
mise, thovgh it still drags its long pages slowly on. The vegetation of the 
eastern portion of the vast Russian empire is being thoroughly and scienti- 
fically investigated by Maximowitz. Boissier’s much-wanted ‘ Flora Orien- 
talis ’ has reached the end of Polypetale in its second volume, and a third is 
said to be far advanced. The still more important ‘ Flora Indica’ is at 
length fairly afloat; two parts, by various authors, under the enlightened 
editorship of Dr. Hooker, are on sale, and a third is nearly ready. The 
‘Flora Australiensis ’ reached its sixth volume last summer ; and if health and 
strength be spared me, I hope to complete the seventh and last next summer. 
Weddell is, I understand, preparing the third and last volume of his ‘ Chloris 
Andina ;’ and that splendid monument to systematic botany, the great ‘Flora 
