68 THE JOURNAL OF BOTANY 



BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES. 



XLI. — The " Illustrations of Australian Plants. 



?» 



My attention has been called to a notice by Mr. J. H. Maiden 

 I Journ. Proo. Roy. Soc. N. S. Wales, xxxix. 31-39) of the Illustration* 

 of Australian Plants which perhaps calls for some comment. Mr. 

 Maiden speaks appreciatively of the importance of the work and 

 kindly of my share in its publication, and not unreasonably takes 

 exception to certain proposed changes of nomenclature, some of 

 which would not have been suggested had the decisions of the 

 Vienna Congress been arrived at at the time the Illustrations was 

 issued. 



I think, however, that some of Mr. Maiden's remarks show a 

 somewhat imperfect appreciation of the facts of the case. For 

 example, he says : 



II That the copper plates of the present work should have 

 remained in the British Museum unpublished for nearly 130 years 

 is a remarkable occurrence, and shows how leisurely the progress 

 of British science can be. While grateful for its belated appearance 

 it seems difficult to believe that this most regrettable delay has 

 been unavoidable. " 



Mr. Maiden does not seem to have realized that, as I have 

 explained in the introduction to the work (reproduced in this 

 Journal for 1905, pp. 284-290) the preparation of the plates was a 

 private undertaking on the part of Banks, who spent upon them 

 large sums of money. u British science" officially was in no way 

 responsible for the delay during Banks's life-time, and when the 

 plates became the property of the British Museum, no condition as 

 to publication was attached to their acquisition. The plates only 

 came into the possession of the British Museum in 1820, so that 

 the period named by Mr. Maiden must be reduced by at least fifty 

 years. Mr. Carruthers, during his keepership of the Department 

 of Botany, more than once urged upon the Trustees the desirability 

 of publishing the plates, but financial considerations prevented the 

 undertaking until 1900. And, although I am probably the last 

 person to depreciate the value of a work in which I have taken the 

 greatest interest, it seems to me that on many grounds it may be 

 doubted whether the actual scientific value of the book, apart from 

 its historical interest, is equivalent to the expense necessary to its 

 production ; and this reason has so far weighed with the Trustees 

 that the remainder of the plates of the plants of Cook's Voyage will 

 not be proceeded with. 



Mr. Maiden ends his notice with the following paragraph : 

 "In conclusion, the publication of these fine folio volumes 

 simply whets the appetites of Australians for more. We yearn for 

 the publication of Solander's and Brown's manuscripts, and trust 

 that they will not be kept back from any considerations of nomen- 

 clature of species. Such a reason, if advanced, seems to us in- 

 adequate in the case of priceless historical documents of the deepest 



