IS of a kind which benefits no one, and is sure to be detected. 

 If a book should appear on the market now, bearinr,^ on its title- 

 page the date 1905, anyone into whose hands it might come 

 during the next few months could detect the error. Similarly, 

 if Pursh's Flora, dated 18 14, was offered to botanists in its 

 entirety before the end of the year 18 13, the fact would surely 

 have caused comment at the time. On the contrary, various 

 contemporary botanists refer to Pursh's work as published in 

 1 8 14, with no hint that it appeared earlier. 



Turning now to the pages of the Botanical Magazine, we find : 

 that a manuscript name of Pursh, Iris prismatica, was published 

 under plate 150^ (N 181 2), but with no reference to his Flora; 

 that under plate /JJ/ (My 18 13) the Flora is cited for the first 

 time, but without any page-number ; that under various plates 

 {1566, 1372, 1374, 1579 ^"*^ ^5^3) '" ^^ numbers for July, 

 August and September, 1813, the Flora is cited by page, but with 

 the addition of "inedit." or "nondum evulgata," showing that up 

 to the first of September, 1813, at least some portions of the 

 work had not been published ; that, beginning with plate 138^ 

 (i O 18 1 3), the Flora is cited by page, without any reference to 

 its unpublished condition. Under plate 1383 (i S 18 13), how- 

 ever, as early a page as 163 is still cited as " inedit." ; and under 

 plate 1392 (i N 1813) is a reference to "Pursh, whose valuable 

 Flora, speedily to be published, we have been favored with the 

 opportunity of consulting"; under these circumstances, there- 

 fore, and in the absence of direct contemporary testimony, there 

 is no reason to suppose that Pursh's work was issued in parts. 



If we examine Pursh's Flora, we shall find further interesting 

 evidence bearing upon the case in hand. Under Iris prismatica, 

 on page 30, there is no reference to plate 130^ of the Botanical 

 Magazine, and it is not improbable that these early pages of the 

 Flora were in type before the appearance of that plate (N 1812). 

 At the end of the F'lora, after the index, is a supplement, con- 

 taining descriptions of plants that had become known to Pursh 

 while his volumes were going through the press ; and following 

 the supplement were seven pages (744-751) of "addenda et 

 corrigenda." These were the final pages of the work — the 



