98 1.8.C. Proceedings of the Ninth [N.S., XVIII, 
r s. Thanks to them and to their successors, we have 
excellent floras for the whole of the country, as HooKkrr’s' 
monumental work, the Flora of British India, Branpis’* Indian 
Trees, Prain’s? Bengal Plants, Cooxr’s* Flora of Bombay, 
BampBer’s® Plants of the Panjab, Gamsin’s® Flora of Madras, 
Durutr’ s’ Flora of the Upper Gangetic Plain, and Brppomr’s * 
Ferns of British India. 
There is at the present time considerable activity in taxon- 
omic work. Manuals are being prepared for more restricted 
areas and of more restricted material, as PARKeR’s* Forest 
Flora of the Panjab, Fyson’s '° Flora of the Nilgiri and Pulney 
Hill Tops, and Rane@a AcuariaR’s |! South Indian Grasses. 
There are many monographic studies of orders, families, and 
genera, and studies and descriptions of new species. 
Taxonomic works require revision as new species are added 
conceptions of relationships Such work must be more and 
more based on extensive observations in the field, and in many 
cases on analyses of hybrids and species complexes under ex- 
perimental conditions. We cannot hope to arrive at stable 
taxonomy till we have greatly increased knowledge of our 
plant material. It is obvious that such studies can be carried 
out best in India. 
hile a vast amount of work has been done with vascular 
plants, there remains much more to be done with the lower 
the results finally incorporated into handbooks with illustra- 
tions and workable keys, so that the rank and file of botanists 
throughout the country could use them. This is undoubtedly 
a large and monotonous task. It may first necessitate the 
sending of collections abroad for identification. A fungus flora 


; sie Hooker, J. D. Flora of British India, 7 vols. London, 1875- 
7. 
. Branpis, D. Indian Trees. London, 1907. 
: Poca i a 2 vols. Calcutta, 1903. ’ 
Pa e r f th ; . 2 vols. 
London, 1901-1908, ora o e Presidency of Bombay Vv 
; BamBer,C. J. Plants of the Panjab. Lahore, 1916. 
GamBte,J.S. Flora of the Presidency of Madras. 2 pts. London 
and Calcutta, 1915-191] 
UTHIE, J. F. Fl : - 1° Swole 
Calcutta, 1903. ora of the Upper Gangetic Plain 
en BO itish India. 
Calcutta, 1883. andbook to the Ferns of British 
* Parker, R. N. A Forest Flora of the Panjab. Lahore, 1918. 
10 Fyson,P.F. Fl ilpiri j 3 vols. 
Sliees ore, ora of the Nilgiri and Pulney Hill Tops. 
. a aren Acnariar, K. Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses- 
