REPORT ON THE HERBARIUM. 133 
sented (I mean species, not specimens) is about 1375, which form 
a large proportion of the British flora. In fact, the condition 
of the Herbarium raises Dumfries to a position only inferior to 
Edinburgh and Glasgow, though it is possible we have not quite 
so good a collection as Perth. This matter ought to afford the 
Society a great deal of gratification. But it is a matter of great 
regret both to the Misses Hannay and myself that, with material 
such as scarcely one county town in England possesses, a very 
slight attempt has been made to use material which has been col- 
lected. The botanists of the district are still at work, and continue 
to assist us, but they do not consult the Herbarium habitually and 
regularly as I could have wished. This is, no doubt, largely due 
to the fact of its existence being unknown to many, but perhaps 
chiefly to its residing in a private house during winter. It isa 
matter of regret to me that some means should not be found of 
placing the Herbarium where it can be admired and advertise itself, 
On its being thoroughly known will follow two results—first, its 
use by a greater number, and, second, its receiving additions from 
strangers visiting the district. 
The first addition I shall mention is one which may be the 
to first raise it from a county town collection to one on a much 
higher level. Mr Wylie, a native of Moffat, now residing at Dur- 
ban, Natal, wrote to Miss Hannay, and sent by the same mail a 
parcel of thirty-six Natal ferns, asking for British species in return. 
After my own little experience, I believe that such exchange 
could be carried out on an enormous scale, for there is no county 
in Great Britain whose natives are so generally prevalent through- 
out the world as Dumfriesshire. It rests, however, with the 
Society to decide as to whether this idea should be carried out. 
Besides Mr Wylie’s plants we have thirty-six rare British 
specimens from London, but without any clear address, so that 
they have not been acknowledged. Mr P. Gray has sent us a dozen 
varieties; Mr J. M‘Andrew a very interesting set of eighteen 
species. Mr A. Somervile has sent us thirty interesting forms, and 
our local friends, including Miss Hannay, continue to supply us 
with additions. 
There are also in the herbarium specimens of mosses, hepatics, 
fungi, alge, &c., mostly from the county, which are a nucleus for 
those who will undertake the cryptogamy of Dumfriesshire. 
Immediately after the Flora had gone to press, I received the 
