586 EEPOKT— 1882. 



tropics would then have been described. At present it has been carried as far as 

 Canipamilaeeffi. 



Turnin<^ from our colonial floras, we have a work of very great importance, to 

 which I have already made allusion ; I mean the 'Flora Orientalis,' by M. Edmond 

 Boissier. Since 1874 two more volumes (viz. the third and fourth) have made their 

 appearance, bringing the description of the species down to the end of ' Apetalse.' 

 This work, roughly speaking, includes all that tract of land which lies between the 

 northern tropic and the forty-fiftli parallel, and between the twentieth and seventieth 

 degrees of longitude. It takes in the following countries: — Greece, Turkey, Upper 

 Egypt, Northern Arabia, Sj'ria, Asia Minor, Caucasia, Persia, Afghanistan, Belooch- 

 istan, and the greater portion of Turkestan ; and, as I have pointed out before, its 

 1)0undaries on the east are in the greater portion of their extent identical with the 

 westein boundaries of the Flora of British India. 



(3. Coming to Europe we have had a most valuable contribution towards the 

 future writing of a flora of the whole continent in 0. F. Nyman's ' Conspectus Flor.e 

 Europseae,' the third part of which was puljlished last year, and completed the 

 Dicotyledons and Gymnosperms. Although the Conspectus gives no descriptions, 

 the chaotic mass of synonyms, with which many of our European floras abound, 

 has been carefully investigated ; and the distribution of each species O'N-er the 

 continent has been minutely recorded. So tliat the conversion of the conspectus 

 into a flora would not entail any very large amount of labour. Indeed, may we 

 not hope that seeing with what universal approbation the conspectus has met with. 

 Dr. N}'man may Ije induced to enter upon the conversion himself? Such a flora 

 has never existed. The nearest approach to such a one was Mr. "Wood's ' Tourist's 

 Flora.' But tliis took in a portion oid}' of Europe, and was in many other respects 

 an unsatisfactory production. 



7. Among the smaller territorial floras which have appeared, I may mention 

 the ' Compendio della Flora ItaHana,' by Giovanni .Vrcangeli, which gives a complete 

 account of the Phanerogams and Vascular Cryptogams of the Italian Peninsula. 



8. In North America we ha'S'e several works of note to remark iipon. First, 

 we have had a volume containing the botany of that portion of California which is 

 now included among the United States ; the PolypetaLoj of which are from the 

 pens of AV. II. Brewer and Sereno Watson, and the Gamopetalae from that of 

 Professor Asa Gray. 



From Professor ,\,sa Gray we have also the first part of the second volume of a 

 work entitled, ' Synoptical Flora of North America.' It is intended that this shall 

 take the place of the ' Flora of North America,' by ToiTey and Gray, but which was 

 stopped thirty-five years ago at tlie end of the order of Compositse. The present 

 work begins where the old flora left off, and concludes the description of all the 

 Gamopefalfe after Compositte. The remaining parts of Vol. II. will include the 

 Apetalte, Gymnospermfe, Monocotyledons and Vascular Cryptogamia. It is then 

 intended to rewrite the old flora, adding the new material, which has come in since 

 its date, and to Issue the new production as Vol. I. of the ' Synoptical Flora.' 



These two volmues will describe the plants which grow in that part of Nortli 

 America which includes Canada and the United States, together with their 

 adjoining islands, Greenland excepted. The number of species to be described 

 from this ^ast and Aaried tract of country will probably not fall ftir short of 12,000. 



9. Joining on to this we have the ' Botany of the Biologia Centralis Americani,' 

 by Mr. W. B. Ilemsley. Two large volumes are already published, while the third 

 and last one is rapidly progressing. Mr. Hemsley's Flora will include some 15,000 

 .species, which grow south of the United States, and north of Panama. These two 

 floras with that of Professor Grisebach's ' Flora of the West Indian Islands,' will 

 include all that is known of North and Central America with their adjacent 

 islands. 



10. In Soutli America, Martins' magnificent 'Flora of Brazil' has been advanced 

 by various authors, who have monographed orders or portions of orders. The 

 length of time over which this vast work has been spread will render a liew edition 

 necessary, on account of the earlier volumes having become antiquated. When 

 any such edition is brought out, it is to be hoped that it may partake more of the 



