THE LINNEAN HERBAlilUM. 



The Linnean herbarium itself is known at home and abroad 

 to many botanists, who have coDsulted it, but to the modern 

 «ystematist, accustomed to good specimens accompanied by full 

 information on the collector's tickets, it may be disappointing. 

 The paper is small, 12^ by 8 inches (32 cm. x 20*5 cm.), aud the 

 information afforded is often meagre, and usually absent. Linne 

 evidently trusted to a strong and retentive memory, so that his 

 notes are very brief, or little more than arbitrary signs to remind 

 him of the source of the specimen. The specimens are usually 

 authenticated by a number, namely, that prefixed to the species 

 in the first edition of tlie ' Species Plantarum ' in 1753, followed 

 by the specific or " trivial " name ; the species added to his 

 collection up to the 10th edition of his ' Systema Naturae,' vol. ii. 

 1759, are shown by capital letters, in the case of Iledysarum 

 extending from a to l. With the second edition of the ' Species 

 PJantarum ' in 1762-3, an entirely new series of numbering was 

 used, and in the latest (12th) edition of the 'Systema Naturae' in 

 1767, additional of the forms were numbered on, but put nearest 

 to their allies, disregarding their numerical order; this enlarged 

 numbering is not employed in the Herbarium. 



In small or moderately large genera, one cover suffices ; at 

 the bottom left-hand corner is the generic name written by Linne, 

 but in the case of monotypic genera, the number " 1 " is often the 

 only authentication on the species-sheets. I have in such cases 

 printed the name as being non-existent, but have put (pi.) after 

 it, to show that the type is there, though not verified under the 

 hand of the author. Similarly, all names in italic type are names 

 either not vouched for by Linne, or are absent from the collection ; 

 the names written by him are printed in ordinary Koman type ; 

 where the name has been written by an amanuensis, I have added 

 {m. Sol.) = manu Solandri, or other assistant as the case may be. 

 It is only where I am convinced by the special circumstances of 

 each case, that I have allowed myself this licence. Thus, we have 

 the distinct assurance from Sir J. E. Smith, that Solander wrote 

 all the specific names to Patrick Browne's specimens (Linn. Corr. 

 i. 43), and if corroboration be wanted, in the Linnean library there 

 is a copy of Browne's ' History of Jamaica ' with the Linnean 

 trivial names written in the margin by Linne himself. Other 

 amanuenses were Olof Sciderberg, Gabriel Elmgren, J.P.Ealk, Pehr 

 L6fling,Erik Gustaf Lidbeck, Anders Dahl, and the younger Linne, 

 As to the first and second, I am unable to assert that their writing 

 is in the herbarium ; but when the writer is, so far as I am 

 concerned, uncertain, I have shown it by adding (m. am.) = manu 

 amanuensis. The handwriting of the others is known, from some 



