xciv . President's Address 



and in manuscript, as Ahe copies are so minutely exact as to 

 render it almost impossible to distinguish them from the 

 originals. By this means also copies were made of the 

 Chinese writings connected with the peculiar transactions of 

 the Chinese merchants with the Custom House here. 



I have dwelt now so long on the applications amongst us 

 of the Exact Sciences, that I have scarcely space to say a word 

 on the Natural Sciences : — Botany has always nourished 

 in this colony, from the early days before our independent 

 existence, when our noble Botanic Garden was laid out 

 and adopted as the favourite out of doors resort of the people ; 

 and since the appointment of Dr. Mueller, the late Secretary 

 and former President and Vice-President of our Society, as 

 Government Botanist, the more exclusively scientific branches 

 of the subject have been cultivated with a success which has 

 attracted marked attention and admiration. During the 

 past year, as in former ones, the collection of living plants in 

 the garden has considerably increased ; but the most impor- 

 tant recent addition is the establishment, by the liberality of 

 the Government, of a Public Herbarium close to the gardens, 

 which now numbers about 200,000 specimens from all parts 

 of the world. It is expected that the various fasciculi will 

 be arranged in the course of the year. 



Many of the new plants discovered by Dr. Mueller in 

 Australia, have been first made known through the 

 Transactions of our Society. The more extensive publi- 

 cations of his botanical labours for the Government 

 have made a marked advance during the past year, 

 in which part of the second volume of the "Plants 

 Indigenous to Victoria," and part of the" fourth volume of 

 the " Fragmenta Phytographice Australia?" have been 

 printed, so that they may be expected to appear this year. 

 The specimens and observations accumulated at the expense 

 of this colony during several years, and which were 



