AMERICAN MIDLAND NATURALIST, 193 
had then one standard book in which Senico was treated of 
and that for the whole of North America, north of Mexico. 
Gray’s Synoptical Flora has of this genus, for the whole coun- 
try only about fifty species. Of this number, by the way, one- 
tenth are therein credited to the present writer. They con- 
stitute the sum of all the senecios which, up to 1884, I had 
published; and Dr. Gray, above all American botanists, ab- 
horrent of imaginary or feeble species, questioned the validity 
of ae of them. 
ming down now from 1884 to 1906, a period of 22 
years, XD. Rydberg in his Colorado book, has 66 species of 
Senecio, a dozen or fifteen more than Gray d admitted for 
all North America. I note also here that not barely one-tenth 
but one-third of the Colorado senecios are mine according to 
Rydberg. But now, to the whole of Colorado, plus almost or 
quite thrice as much territory adjoining it, Dr. Nelson ac- 
cords only about 40 species to the genus: two- thirds as many 
only, for the trebly extended area as for Colorado alone; and in 
he process of reduction of them for the Rocky Mountain Man- 
ual, some 15 of my senecios have fallen decapitate, and some 
25 of those of my colleague Rydberg. The Senecio genus may 
be a not unfair example to have chosen by which to demon- 
strate how this book for almost the whole Rocky Mountains 
should not have been made a smaller volume than the one em- 
bracing Colorado only. Other large genera in families in 
PRA the bulk of later work has been done either by Dr. 
Rydberg or by myself, or by both, would probably yield simi- 
lar statistics. Also, as somewhat in criticism of the able author 
of the Colorado Flora, I am bound to note here, what I have 
observed through many years, that he is too impatient, ap 
parently, of studying gg ee On this account he 
published over again, as new, ather long list of inis 
which I had clearly published at "earlier dates. Not a few of 
Dr. Nelson's reductions of Rydbergian species qoe in ^ 
mere showing that I had published de same plant befor 
Senecio one such case has remained undetected hs. the author 
of the later Manual. Both he and Rydberg hav 
altus Rydb. It is precisely the same as my S. Pe BARS AM at 
which was published four years earlie 
e we have still in mind this matter of the suppres- 
sion of Adr for which the book is so conspicuous, let us not 
fail to note one circumstance that may seem to ameliorate the 
situation, or at least to mitigate in some degree the offense 
against men as able and as conscientious as any who have 
worked in this field. The writer of this Manual, quite unlike 
some of his contemporary authors, is careful to cite the place 
of the publication of such species as he suppresses. y 
