for the year 1883. xv 



Government. This famous collection was commenced early 

 in the present century by Dr. Sonders, of Hamburg, who died 

 about two years ago ; he was a leading authority upon Algae 

 and on European and North African botany. This collection 

 is a most important addition to the Victorian Botanical 

 Museum, which has been formed by the Government Botanist 

 from his collections extending over nearly forty-four years. 

 Some valuable additions illustrative of the flora of the 

 western coast districts of Australia have also been added 

 through the instrumentality of Mr. John Forrest, who has 

 recently been engaged in a trigonometrical survey of the 

 Gascoyne River district. Some new publications have been 

 issued during the year by the Government Botanist. 

 Additions to the Fragmenta Phytographioe Australis have 

 appeared, as also a continuation of the Systematic Atlas of 

 the Eucalypti. A new edition of his volume on Select 

 Plants for Industrial Culture is now in preparation, 

 specially adapted for this colony. I called your attention 

 last year to a very important work upon which Baron von 

 Mueller was engaged — viz., A Systematic Census of 

 Australian Plants. This has now been published. .It 

 enumerates 8646 Australian vascular plants ; and the 

 classification is on a simple and somewhat novel method. I 

 am informed that all the collections in the museum are now 

 classified in a similar manner, which will not only make 

 them more readily accessible, but must also materially aid 

 the student as well as the scientific collector. A second 

 volume of the vegetable fossils of the auriferous drifts has- 

 been completed, and in its pages are described and compared 

 most of the fossil fruits of the pliocene period. Still, in our 

 miocene deposits, with the masses of fossil foliage, a vast 

 field still remains for exploration and for comparison with 

 miocene plants in other parts of the world, and for the 

 acquisition of more light in connection with the history of 

 our globe; and I hope our talented botanist may be able to 

 do for this what he has so thoroughly and ably accomplished 

 for fossil fruits of the pliocene remains. 



