‘‘ BOTANY IN ENGLAND ”’ 811 
impar 
will enable the student to follow up any line which may have a 
special attraction for him, including of course systematic botany. 
But the flourishing existence of herbaria depends very little upon 
‘‘the schools.” The students of botany both at the British Museum 
and Kew are suffici numerous to show that Prof. Oliver’s 
fear of “atrophy through disuse”’ is groundless, although, according 
to him these herbaria “stand apart from the ordinary botanical 
present.” It may be that besides the “‘ ordinary botanical current” 
with which Prof. Oliver is acquainted, there is another of whose 
course he is ign ‘ 
Having, however, satisfied himself that the “ general position of 
systematic botany” requires “alleviation,” and that atrophy is 
the British Museum nor Kew ‘has any connection, direct or in- 
her position to the ‘ideals and methods” acquired as a student in 
the Department of Bo ; Mr. Hiern, whose monograph of Lbe- 
nacee (1878) was but the first of a long series of contributions 
to systematic botany, first became ‘ interested ” ew, and h 
since, at both herbaria, availed himself of the “ facilities ’—for 
may be remarked en passant that this ‘ old proposal” 
was first made in the course of Brown’s own evidence before the 
Royal Commission on the British Museum in 1848, and rebutted by 
