PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 317 



occurred in the death of Dr. Ethel de Fraine. She investigated the seedling 

 structure of the Cactaeese and the rare fossil stem Sutcliffia. She was also deeply 

 interested in ecological work, and correlated the structural features of plants with 

 morphological and ecological problems. 



Professor Pearson, the founder of the National Botanic Garden at the Cape, 

 accomplished much valuable work in a short life. He was an exceptionally good 

 explorer, and his contributions to botany ranged over a wide field. His important 

 investigation of W elvntschia enabled him to amplify and extend Sir Joseph 

 Hooker's classic memoir on that genue. He also threw much new light on the 

 Gne'tales. 



In the death of Philippe de Vilmorin the cause of science and genetics has 

 lost a good friend. He was the grandson of Louis de Vilmorin, one of the first 

 who had inklings of the work of heredity, and rendered great service in the 

 improvement of the sugar beet. 



Mr. F. Ducane Godman, in his great work ' Biologia Gentrali-Americana, 

 comprising sixty-three large quarto volumes, for which he bore the whole expense, 

 ha« an enduring monument of his learning and generosity. He belonged to the 

 small but distinguished class of Naturalists who devote their time and resources 

 to promote research from pure love of Science. 



Sir Edward Fry's life-long interest in British Botany ranged in later years 

 over the wide field of cry.ptogamy. He is said to have ' wished, at times, that 

 men of science could be induced to state and argiie the debatable matters with 

 nil due forms and production of evidence as matters of fact are debated in a 

 court of law.' 



Apart from those who have passed away in what may be called the course of 

 nature, a sad aspect of the losses sustained in the great war is the death of so 

 many brave young men for whom it was anticinated that a bright and successful 

 career was open in the domain of Science. Their names are inscribed on the 

 Roll of Honour, and we gratefully bear them in memory. I ask you to stand 

 for a moment to renew our fellowship with the immortal dead. 



From the point of view of the scientific exploration of the resources of the 

 Empire it is satisfactory to note that the -publications dealin? with the floras of 

 tropical and tub-tropical countries have been continued. These involving, as 

 they do, so much labour and forethought are of more than pa,ssing interest from 

 the fact that they serve to reveal the distribution of plants that may eventually 

 prove of great economic value. A close investigation of tropical plants is neces- 

 sary, as allied species or varieties of one and the same species sometimes differ 

 greatly as regards their economic value. An instance of this kind has been 

 observed in the case of the so-called ' bastard logwood ' of Jamaica. The botanical 

 characters of this are almost identical with those of the common logwood, but 

 its physiological properties are so different that it is worthless for commercial 

 purposes. A parallel case is furnished bv Rohinin jjarudo-acacia, the wood of 

 which is described by Sargent as being reddish, greenish -yellow or white< accord- 

 ing to the locality, but the yellow and white varieties occur side by side in at 

 least one locality. The carefully prepared ' Flora Capensie,' of which eight 

 volumes have been issued under the auspices of Kew, is now nearing completion. 

 In this connection it is interesting to learn that the Government of the Un'on of 

 South Africa has Tecentlv appointed an Advisory Committee for a systematic 

 survey of the characteristic botany of that portion of the Empire. Another very 

 important contribution to systematic botany is the ' Flora of Tropical Africa.' 

 Of this six volumes have been published. The grasses, which will occupy the 

 ninth and last volumei, comprise a description of 400 species, or a little over one- 

 third of the srrass flora of tropical Africa. 



In the Western Tropics the 'Flora of Jamaica,' containing a systematic 

 account, "irith illustrations, of the flowerinar plants of that interesting island and 

 published bv the Trustees of the Briti-sh Museum, is making good progress. A 

 'Flora of Bermuda,' with all genera illustrated bv text figures, as in the 'Flora 

 of Jamaica,' was issued last year by Dr. N. L. Britton. of thp New York Botanical 

 Gardens. About 8-7 per cent, of the total native flora of 709 species is regarded 

 as endemic. 



To supplement Hooker's great 'Flora of British India' the second part of 

 Gamble's ' Flora of Madras ' appeared last vear. Duthie's ' Flora of the 

 Gangetic Plain" is still in hand. Of Maiden's comprehensive monograph ' .^ 



