110 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



duty it was to paint subjects of natural history, was Mr. Sydney Parkinson, 

 the subject of this memou', on whom (through the death of his colleague) 

 the whole work of drawing, delineating, and painting now devolved. 



Most, if not all, of us are conversant from boyhood with the many and 

 varied figures in Cook's voyages ; of tattooed chiefs and great personages in 

 extraordinary dresses ; of processions and dances ; of canoes and imple- 

 ments ; and of peculiar and romantic scenery ; and these are still being 

 continually republished in various sizes to suit many modern works. Many 

 of these were executed by our Mr. Sydney Parkinson ; but these are as 

 nothing when compared with the hundreds of coloured drawings of plants 

 faithfully and beautifully made by the same person, which, though unpub- 

 lished, are still preserved in the Banksian collection in the British Museum. 

 Dr. Hooker, when preparing his "Botany of New Zealand," examined 

 those drawings, and says: — "For the earliest account of the plants of 

 these islands we are indebted to two of the most illustrious botanists of 

 their age, and to the voyages of the greatest of modern navigators ; for the 

 first and to this day the finest and best illustrated herbarium that has ever 

 been made in the islands by individual exertions, is that of Sir Joseph 

 Banks and Dr. Solander during Captain Cook's first voyage in 1769. 

 Upwards of 360 species of plants were collected during the five months 

 that were devoted to the exploration of these coasts, at various points 

 between the Bay of Islands and Otago, including the shores of Cook Strait ; 

 and the results are admirable, whether we consider the excellence of the 

 specimens, the judgment with which they were selected, the artistic draw- 

 ings by which they are illustrated, and above all the accurate MS. 

 descriptions and observations that accompany them. That the latter, 

 which include a complete flora of New Zealand as far as then known, 

 systematically arranged, illustrated by 200 copper-plate engravings, and 

 all ready for the press, should have been withheld from publication by its 

 illustrious authors, is (considering the circumstances under which it was 

 prepared) a national loss, and to science a grievous one ; since, had it been 

 otherwise, the botany of New Zealand would have been better known fifty 

 years ago than it now is. This herbarium and MS. form part of the 

 Banksian collection, and are deposited in the British Museum. I feel 

 that I cannot over-estimate the benefit which I have derived from these 

 materials, and it is much to be regretted that they were not duly consulted 

 by my predecessors. The names by which Dr. Solander designated the 

 species have in most cases been replaced by others, often applied with far 

 less judgment ; and his descriptions have never been surpassed for fulness, 

 terseness, and accuracy. The total number of drawings of New Zealand 

 plants is about 212, of which 176 are engraved on copper, but the 



