52 3 _REPORT—1874. 
without doabt, botanical Latin for the technical descriptions; French or 
English might be better suited for the occasional notes and geographical 
distribution. 
This geographical distribution would be a most essential feature in the 
general flora of Europe, which exemplifies the gradual extinction southwards 
of the arctic plants, and eastwards of a very interesting western flora, whilst 
a certain number of Asiatic plants enter its eastern limits, but fail to reach 
the western States ; and much interest attaches to the botanical connexion of 
the Pyrenean and Alpine floras with the north and with each other. Accu- 
rate data are much wanted for the inquiry into the history of the dispersion 
of plant-races, their origin, progress, decline, and final extinction ; and to 
supply these data all general floras will be expected to record for each species 
the area it occupies within the flora, distinguishing the localities where it is 
most common and the direction in which it becomes rare, and its ultimate 
limits if within those of the flora, or if not, noting generally its extension 
into adjoining regions in identical or representative forms. For the European 
flora the limits are well marked on three sides: —To the westward, the Atlantic 
opposes an insurmountable obstacle to any gradual extension of European 
plants, except in the extreme north. To the south, the Mediterranean and 
Black Seas and the ridge of the Caucasus give a good natural boundary ; for 
though many of the European forms are still prevalent on the African coasts 
and in Asia Minor, yet they are very soon arrested southwards by climato- 
logical conditions. To the north, the limits of the European flora are those 
of all vegetation. To the east only is there no definite limit, and an arbitrary 
line must be drawn to separate it from the North-Asiatic region ; that of the 
Ural, though no better marked botanically than physically, is on the whole 
the most convenient. 
For the Russian, or rather the North-Asiatic, flora (for it ought to include 
or to be drawn up in close connexion with that of Japan) a methodical and 
geographical work, by one who should have the intimate acquaintance with 
the vegetation and the sound views of Maximowitz, would be a great boon. 
Here, again, the northern limits are those of all vegetation, and the southern 
ones at present fairly defined by the comparatively unexplored mountain- 
masses of Central Asia, beyond which the northern plants are replaced by a 
totally different vegetation ; but besides the actual continuity with the Euro- 
pean flora to the westward, there is a close connexion with that of North 
America to the east, notwithstanding the definite limits interposed by the 
Pacific—a connexion which has been already exhibited by Asa Gray from an 
American point of view, and by Maximowitz on the part of East Russia and 
Japan, but still requires a much fuller development. Ledebour’s ‘ Flora 
Rossica’ would form a very good basis for the new work: it is the best 
complete flora of so large a tract of country which we possess; but it now 
requires a thorough revision, with the insertion of the numerous additions 
made by recent explorations, and the geographical data must be entirely 
remodelled and extended to meet the above-mentioned requirements. With 
regard to the Japanese flora, abundant materials have been collected and 
published in various works, chiefly by Dutch botanists; but the absence of 
all method in Miquel’s ‘ Prolusiones,’ where they profess to be enumerated, 
renders that work of little use to the general botanist, and a geographical 
flora is very much needed. The connexion, indeed, between Asia and America 
cannot be studied without constant reference to Japan. 
For the North-American flora we must look to AsaGray. The Americans 
have for many years past been most active in the exploration of their vast 
