42 



THE YICTOEIAN NATUBALIPT. 



if these ladies knew wliat a far higher interest ther woukl feel in 

 every walk they took if they wtuild only study a little hotany, we 

 should find them come to us in numbers for assistance and advice. 

 Of course tliere is the njd obipptinn to hota,nY^_t hn,t it uses such 

 terribly ugly names to describe pretty flowers, but no science exists 

 without its o''>'n terminology. A little steady application, however, 

 renders the difficulty much less in reality than it appears. The 

 committee might well consider the propriety of giving elementary 

 lectures in the various sections of the club, so as to encourage 

 beginners, and I trust to see something of the kind attempted at 

 an early date. Having seen the immense good done by publishing 

 a dichotomous key for the botany of Tasmania, I must regret that 

 we having nothing of the kind here. Such keys, which have been 

 published in Europe, have helped botanical students over what 

 appeared to be insurmountable difficulties. But as some of ynu 

 probably do not know what a dichotomous key means, I will explain 

 it in the words of my late respected friend, the Rev. W. W. Spicor , 

 of whose abilities as a botanist the Baron von J^iueller once spoke 

 in the highest terms. Mr. Spicer com piled the small book which I 

 hold in my hand. He was a man who desired to bring his 

 favourite science within the reach of everybody, and he adopted, as 

 far as it was possible to do so, familiar English words in his 

 descriptions. He therefore naturally feared to use so alarming a 

 title for his book as " pichotomous Key. " and modestly called it 

 '' A handbook of the plants of Tasmania." It contains a short 

 explanation of the only long words he uses, and the explanations 

 are further explained by reference to drawings of the objects 

 referred to. These drawings are from the pencil of his daughter, 

 who I grieve to say died under very sad circumstances about a year 

 after her marriage to a well known naval officer formerly on this 

 station. The lithographs executed in Hobart do not do justice to 

 the talents of the artist. ISTow let me explain in Mr. 8picer' s own 

 words how the key works, and how by means of it, anyone who has 

 mastered the four or five pages of glossary , can find out the name 

 of any plant he may pick up in Tasmania. I may mention that 

 I never take a walk in the bush in this colony without my Spicer in 

 my pocket. Even when loaded with gun and cartridges I always 

 find room for this little volume. Mr. "Spicer, in a chapter entitled 

 " Method of using the system," writes : — 



"The vegetable kingdom is. by common consent, divided into 

 two sub-kingdom s, known respectively as phrenogams and cry],ito- 

 gams, or flowering plants and flowerless plants, 'i'he latter sub- 

 kingdom embraces an almost countless host of ferns , mosses , sea- 

 ^veeds, &c., of which the first only, the ferns, come within the 

 compass of the present work. Flowering plants fall into two 

 classes, exogens and endogens . In the former the veins of the 

 leaf are netted . and the numbers 4 and 5 prevail in the corolla and 

 other parts of the flower ; whereas in endogenous plants the leaf 

 veins are parallel, and the flower with its organs is generally 



