August 9, 1864. ] 



JOURNAL OP HOETICTJLTTTEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



109 



■ A beautiful series of specimens, illustrating the mode of 

 growth of the Mistletoe on Maple, Poplar, Hawthorn, &o. 

 Prom Dr. JohnHarley, P.L.S. 



Many curious and interesting tropical African vegetable 

 products from Mr. Mann, Drs. Livingstone, Kirk, Meller, 

 Captains Speke and Grant, &c 



A large collection of Barks used as drugs by the natives 

 of British Guyana, collected by Mr. Appun, under the orders 

 of the Colonial Government. 



HEEBABITJTSI AND LIBKABY. 



Our duties in this department have rapidly increased of 

 late, owing to the demands made upon this establishment 

 by the various departments of Her Majesty's Government ; 

 to the number of plants sent to us, almost daily, for naming, 

 and other information regarding them ; to the receipt of 

 large collections from several important government ex- 

 peditions; to the applications for assistance and advice on 

 the part of young gardeners and others proceeding to take 

 charge of plantations of Tea, Cinchona, Cotton, Coffee, &c, 

 in India and the colonies ; and the redoubled activity of the 

 Colonies in the publication of their Floras, which, though 

 paid for by the Colonial Government, can only be prepared 

 at Kew, or by persons in direct and constant correspondence 

 with its Herbarium and Museums. 



I have to commence my Beport on this head with the 

 announcement of the retirement of Mr. Allan Black, so long 

 and so well known, both here and on the Continent, as the 

 able, assiduous, and most obliging Curator of the Herbaria. 

 Owing to the failure of his health, brought about by over- 

 application to his duties, he has been obliged to seek a 

 warmer climate. Most fortunately, the curatorship of the 

 Government Gardens at Bangalore (held by a late foreman 

 in the Boyal Gardens) fell vacant at this time, and he was 

 at once nominated to the vacancy. Our inability to find a 

 person capable of filling Mr. Black's place at his salary, no 

 less than the increased duties of this department, have ne- 

 cessitated a rearrangement of the present wholly inadequate 

 staff, and a permanent addition to it. Professor Oliver, the 

 Librarian, will henceforth take the joint duties of Keeper of 

 the Library and Herbaria, and will have two assistants; he 

 will at the same time continue his voluntary courses of 

 lectures to the foremen and gardeners, which he has hitherto 

 conducted with so much credit to himself, and benefit to 

 our young men. 



It is impossible, within the limits of the present Beport, 

 to do more than allude to the chief public duties performed 

 at the Herbarium during the past year, which are as 

 follows : — 



Dr. Kirk, the surgeon and naturalist of Dr. Livingstone's 

 -expedition, arrived in England in October, and has been 

 much engaged in the investigation of his large and valuable 

 collections, both in the Museum and Herbarium. 



Mr. Mann arrived in June from his three years' arduous 

 and perilous botanical journey on the West Coast of Africa 

 (including two ascents of the Cameroon Mountains, which 

 he was the first to explore), as well as the Peak of Fernando 

 Po, St. Thomas, Prince's Island, the Sierra del Crystal, &c._ 

 His plants, amounting to about 3000 kinds, have been all 

 arranged and catalogued, and the duplicates distributed to 

 the Museums of America, Paris, Austria, Prussia, Bussia, 

 Holland, Hanover, &c. He has recently been appointed 

 assistant curator of the Government Cinchona Plantations 

 at Darjeeling in the Himalaya. His mountain plants have 

 been described by Dr. Hooker, and are being published by 

 the Linnsean Society. 



The British Herbarium of the late W. Borrer, Esq., pre- 

 sented in 1862, has been arranged by Professor Oliver. 



Captain Grant's interesting collection, made during Cap- 

 tain Speke's expedition to Central Africa, have been brought 

 to Kew, and have been named by Dr. Thomson, P.B.S., and 

 published in the Appendix to Captain Speke's Travels. 



Dr. Welwitsch, of Lisbon, the distinguished botanist, and 

 explorer of the interior of Angola and Loanda, in Western 

 tropical Africa, having been commanded by His Majesty the 

 King of Portugal to take his collection to Kew to be named, 

 has lately arrived with an immense Herbarium, in a most 

 beautiful state of preservation, from those hitherto totally 

 unknown parts of the world, and the first set is to be pre- 

 sented to this Herbarium. 



Sir Charles Wood, Secretary of State for India, having 

 directed the Flora of the British possessions in India to be 

 proceeded with on the same plan as the Colonial Floras; 

 this work (which will contain descriptions of at least 12,000 

 species of plants), has been commenced in the Herbarium by 

 Dr. Thomson, F.E.S., late Director of the Eoyal Gardens at 

 Calcutta. 



Of Drs. Harvey and Souders' Flora of our South African 

 possessions, the second volume is completed, and the third 

 is in progress. 



Of the Australian Flora mentioned in my last report (and 

 which will extend to six or seven volumes, containing as 

 many thousand species), the first volume has been published 

 by its author, G. Benthani, Esq., F.B.S., and the second is 

 making rapid progress. 



The Flora of the British West Indian Islands, by Dr. 



Grisebach, has been completed during the past year, all but 



the Index. It contains descriptions of 3000 species of plants. 



Mr. Thwaites' Enumeration of Ceylon Plants is nearly 



completed, and embraces upwards of 2500 species. 



The " Genera Plantarum " of Mr. Bentham and Dr. Hooker 

 is progressing as fast as the authors' other duties permit, the 

 second part being half completed. 



Dr. Hooker has been desired by the Colonial Government 

 of New Zealand to prepare a Handbook of the Flora of that 

 interesting group of plants. One volume is now in the 

 press, and will bo published early in the spring. 



The "Species Filicnm" is finished in five volumes, con- 

 taining upwards of 300 plates ; but a Supplement is about 

 to appear, containing the new species that have been dis- 

 covered since the commencement of the publication, together 

 with a synopsis of all known species. 



The Botanical Magazine has been conducted as formerly ; 

 the 89th annual volume, containing 72 coloured figures, and 

 descriptions of new, rare, or interesting cultivated plants, is 

 published. 



Various papers by Mr. Bentham, Professor Oliver, Dr. 

 Thomson, Dr. Hooker, &c, on some of the most interesting 

 contributions to the Herbarium, especially African and 

 Indian Plants, have been published by the Linnajan Society 

 of London. 



Other botanists who have worked in the Herbarium during 

 the past year are Professor Babington, of Cambridge (British 

 Bubi) ; the Bev. W. W. Newbold (British Plants) ; "Mr. Edge- 

 worth (North-West Indian Plants) ; Dr. Aiteheson (Panjab 

 Flora), &c, &e. 



The principal contributions to the Herbarium have been : — 

 An extensive collection of Borneo Palms, collected by Hagh 

 Low, Esq., and presented by Messrs. Low, of Hackney. 



Large collection of Mauritius and Madagascar Plants, 

 made by the late Judge Blackburn, and presented by 

 Admiral Sir W. Bowles, K.C.B. 



The most extensive Herbarium of Indian Plants, made 

 by Dr. Wight, F.E.S., during thirty years residence in the 

 Madras Presidency, Nilghiri Mountains, and other parts of 

 the western Peninsula of India ; and containing the original 

 specimens from which his numerous and most important 

 botanical works have been written. Presented by himself. 



Very large and important collections made in all parts of 

 extra-tropical and sub-tropical Australia and in Tasmania, 

 by A. Oldfield, Esq. 



The Portuguese and Azorean Herbarium of the Baron do 

 Castello de Paiva, presented by that nobleman. 



Hatjteois. — I believe Mr. Knight is right about the deri- 

 vation. It is Fragaria elatior (higher in its stalk), and 

 hence it is called Hautbois. The name may also be derived 

 from the plant being found in high woods and deep forests. 

 — W. F. Badclyite. 



Wood Pigeons. — I hope you will suggest some prac- 

 ticable means of getting rid of a plague of wood pigeons, 

 which light upon the Gooseberry bushes in scores, breaking 

 the branches, and strewing around all the Gooseberries. 

 Query, Are they in search of caterpillars? The most cunning 

 sportsman cannot shoot them, they are such wary birds. — 

 A.B. 



