DKPARTMKXT OF BOTANY. 151 



materia] of Pcnicce has been revised and rearranged, and 

 some time has been spent on that of Acanthacew and certain 

 other natural orders. The genus Kaias has been revised, and 

 the specimens compared with those in the Berlin and Calcutta 

 Herbaria, kindly lent for the purpose. In addition to those 

 referred to above, the following collections have been selected, 

 laid out and incorporated : Gymnospermce, Monocotyledones, 

 and Apctalca from J. Macoun (Canacla), Heller (Sandwich Is.), 

 Budge (Brit. Guiana), Volkens and others ( Eastern Tropical 

 Africa), Bornmiiller (Persia), Ridley (Malaya), Macowan 

 (South Africa), Christ (Europe), and from Minnesota ; Gym- 

 ■nospermcE and Monocotyledones ivova G. Hansen (California), 

 Marcus Jones (Utah Co.), Zenker and Stadt (Cameroons); 

 Cyperacece from C. B. Clarke (Indian), and others ; grasses 

 from Pringle (Mexico), and others. He has also superintended 

 the removal of tree-ferns, Cycads, Palms, &c., from the large 

 central cases in the Public Gallery, and their rearrangement, 

 including the preparation of maps, sketches, &c. 



Mr. Gepp has continued the revision of the Moss-Flora of 

 the British West Indies, and the determination of collections 

 received from those islands, and also from India and West 

 Africa. In connection with this work the followino- 

 genera were revised : — Barbula, Fissidens, Isothecium, 

 Xeucobryum, Macromitrium, Nanonfiitriuni, Fhilonotis, 

 Forotrichum, Rhizogonim, Schlotheimia and Thuidium. 

 Considerable progress has been made in the mounting 

 and incorporation of specimens in the collection. These 

 additions amounted to 650 Mosses, 5,450 Hepatics, and 5,550 

 Lichens, and came from the Herbaria of Wilson, Spruce, 

 Stephani, Nolte, Ravenel and others. 



Mr. Blackman has been engaged in sorting and laying 

 out the large collection of drawings of British Fungi, by 

 Edwin Wheeler, some 2,200 in number ; and in incorporat- 

 ing them with the collection of similar drawings by Mr. 

 Worthington Smith and others. He has also been en- 

 gaged in arranging and superintending the ajrrangement 

 of that part of the Index Museum in the Central Hall 

 which is devoted to Botany. The case designed to exhibit 

 the distinctive characters of Monocotyledonous plants 

 lias been begun with a series showing the differences 

 between Monocotyledons and Dicotyledons, and a large 

 collection has been made of other specimens, which will 

 shortly be placed in the case. The series of large coloured 

 drawings placed in the upper part of these cases, and 

 exhibiting the microscopic structure of the chief organs of 

 the higher plants, has been continued under his direction. 

 He has been assisted in this work by Mr. J. Lloyd Williams 

 and Miss Mitchell. 



The Keeper of the Department has continued to take 

 charge of the collection of Algse, to which a considerable 

 number of additions have been made. He has also superin- 



0.125, tended 



