CH. XIII. NATIVE PLA^"T COLLECTOES. 327 



chief public herbaria, and to the botanists who have 

 illustrated the flora of the Mediterranean region. To 

 avoid chances of future error, it was necessary to give much 

 care to the labelling and packing of our collections, which 

 we cjuld not expect to see again until some time after our 

 return to England. Fortunately our specimens were 

 nearly all quite dry, and in excellent condition ; and we 

 had not to complain of the moist condition of the air 

 which had given us so much trouble during our first stay 

 on the coast. The cool breezes from the N. and NE., 

 which make the climate of this region so agreeable and 

 healthful in summer, now steadily prevailed. The air at 

 this season is relatively dry and free from haze, and, as a 

 consequence, the daily range of the thermometer is greater 

 than at any other season. Yet, as compared with any 

 other place we know, the extremes are singularly moderate, 

 and never exceed the limits conducive to full health and 

 enjoyment. The thermometer, observed pretty frequently 

 by night as well as by day, only twice rose during our stay 

 to 77° F. At about 3 a.m. it usually fell to 63° F., and on 

 one occasion to 61°. 



On our return we found awaiting us a small addition 

 to our Marocco herbarium. With the kind assistance of 

 i\lr. Carstensen, we had arranged during our first visit that 

 two natives, who had received a first lesson in the art of 

 drying plants, should start for Agadir early in May, and 

 should bring back whatever plants they could then find in 

 flower. The collection, which we now shared between us, 

 was not of much importance, including, as it did, but a 

 single species not found by us. "We doubted, at the time 

 whether the men had, as they solemnly asserted, really 

 reached the neighbourhood of Agadir ; but we have now 

 reason to believe that the vegetation of the coast region 

 from Mogador southward to about the twenty-ninth par- 

 allel of latitude is very uniform. 



Since our return from Marocco our friend M. Cosson, 

 with' the active assistance of the late M. Beaumier, has 



