ANNALS OF THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN, CALCUTTA. 157 



Dr. King has overlooked one species, viz., Kadsura Wattii C. B. 

 Clarke in Journ. Linn. Soc, v. 25 [Feb. 1889], p. 4, tab. 1. This 

 plant is of no economic importance ; but, whether a good species or 

 not, has some interest as marking the incursion of the Chinese 

 Flora into Eastern Assam. 



The genus Gomphostemma, according to Dr. Prain, contains 

 25 species, whereof 19 extend from Nepal to Singapore, 2 are 

 endemic in South Madras, 2 in Java, 1 in China, 1 in the Philip- 

 pines. The memoir follows nearly the form adapted for Pediculans, 

 but is less heavy. The diagnoses are shorter, and punctuated. 

 The descriptions are, as in the Pedicularis paper, put in the ablative, 

 and stopped only with commas. There is a map appended, which 

 shows at a glance the distribution of the species. The genus com- 

 prises only undershrubs and herbs of no economic use, so far as 

 known at present. There is a misprint (p. 271) of Jheria, for 

 which Theria should be read. This is the Terrya of Hooker's 

 Himalayan Journals, v. 2, p. 266, well known as the gate to the 

 Khasi Hills. 



Dr. King describes and figures 67 Indian species of Myristica ; 

 the Nutmeg of the Spice Islands (Myristicafragrans Houtt.) is added 

 as cultivated. The great mass of these species are in and about 

 the Malay Peninsula ; two species extend northwards to Assam, 

 and a few are found in Ceylon and South India. Of the 67 species, 

 arranged in 5 sections, 25 are here described for the first time — a 

 very large number, considering that Sir Joseph Hooker's account of 

 the Indian Myristica in Flora of British India was published so late 

 as 1886, and admitted only 30 Indian species. The great additions 

 to our knowledge made by King are founded on the very fine and 

 extensive collections he has got in of late years from the Malay 

 Peninsula — especially from Penang, Perak, Malacca, &c. 



In this memoir Dr. King follows closely the form he had adopted 

 for the Magnolias. Here also he has a splendid order of economic 

 value to deal with ; the species are trees, most of them large trees 

 50-100 ft. high. They are still more difficult to deal with than the 

 Magnolias, inasmuch as that they are dicecious, and female flowers 

 very rare ; while in many cases there is so great a similarity in 

 habit and leaf between the different species that it is exceedingly 

 difficult, when a female specimen has been secured, to be at all sure 

 to what male it belongs. Dr. King speaks with great modesty 

 concerning his own attempts to grapple with these difficulties. His 

 work will be the guide of the Forest Department, and the starting- 

 point for all future investigation of the order. The specific name, 

 "sucosa" (p. 301) may be carped at. It is true that sucosa is the 

 preferable classical form, and one letter less ; but " succosa" is not 

 wrong, and is the established familiar form to botanists. It is 

 hardly worth while disturbing them from botanic reflections for a 

 moment by reminding them of the superior purity of sucosa; espe- 

 cially while botanic literature teems with absolute blunders, such 

 as he vis for smooth, ochreae, &c. 



The present notice is an attempt to give those who have not seen 

 this book some notion of its size, importance, and contents. A few 

 remarks have been ventured on matters of form at once catching 



