316 . Transactions. — Botany. 
Banks and Solander, 1769.—These botanists examined a large number of 
rich and interesting localities between the “ Bay of Islands and Otago, 
including the shores of Cook Strait.” The expedition spent five months in 
exploring the coast, and the number of flowering plants and ferns collected 
or recorded during its stay is larger than that of any other botanist named by 
Mr. Travers, yet it is under 380 species. _ 
The Forsters and Dr. Sparrman, 1772.—Their collections were remarkably 
small, numbering only 160 species. 
Anderson, 1777.—Dr. Hooker states that this collector obtained “ very 
little indeed, and nothing of any importance.” 
Menzies, 1791, devoted himself to the collection of mosses and LHepatice. - 
D’Urville, 1822, and Lesson, 1827, collected in the Bay of Islands, the 
Thames River, Cook Strait, and other rich botanical localities, yet their joint 
collections numbered only 200 species, which were described with 60 or 70 of 
the Forsters’ plants by Professor Richard. 
Fraser, 1825.—Dr. Hooker writes : “ Mr. Charles Fraser, the Superinten- 
dent of the Sydney Botanical Gardens, landed for one day in the Bay of 
Islands, and made a small collection of dried plants. He, however, procured 
more living ones.” 
Allan Cunningham, 1826.—After deducting the vast number of spurious 
species described by this energetic explorer the total number of plants collected 
by him will be found somewhat less than that of Banks and Solander. 
Notwithstanding Mr. Travers’ opinion on the singularity of no mention of 
the knot-grass having been made by Anderson and Menzies, I am sure that 
most observers will agree with me in considering that the extremely limited 
collection of the one, and the almost exclusive attention paid to Cryptogams 
by the other, afford excellent reasons for neither having made special mention 
of so common a plant. Neither could it be supposed that Fraser would have 
collected it during his single day’s exploration at the Bay of Islands. 
Leaving out of consideration, on account of their extremely fragmentary 
character, the small collection of 160 species made by the Forsters and Dr. 
Sparrman, by D’Urville and Lesson, of 200 species during two voyages, the 
very few plants collected by Anderson, and the mere names (so far as Mr. 
Travers’ views are concerned) of Menzies and Fraser, the only collections of 
any extent are those of Banks and Solander, and of Cunningham. As the 
remarks I shall have to make apply with almost equal force to each I shall 
confine myself more particularly to that of Banks and Solander. 
As already stated the recorded number of species of phenogamie plants 
and ferns observed by these botanists is between 370 and 380, collected 
during five months in “ Poyerty Bay, Tegadoo, Tolaga, Opuragi, the Thames 
River, Bay of Islands, Queen Charlotte Sound, and Admiralty Bay.” -Does 
