MINUTES OF EVIDENCE. 



95 



\Tho, when attached to the Geologiivil Survey, took 

 much interest in Fossil Botany. As tliey appeared to 

 possess little signilioanc* at Kew, they wore trans- 

 ferred in accordance with the principle laid down on 

 paragraph 55 of the fourth report of tho Royal Cominis- 

 3ion°on Scientific InstBrnction to the British Museum. 



The subject of vegetaible paleontology is one of in- 

 creasing interest and importance. The extraordinary 

 preservation of the tissnes in most palaeozoic and many 

 mesozoic vegetable fossils offers peculiar facilities for 

 their study ^in the light of our modern knowledge of 

 plant anatomy. As no other botanist appeared willing 

 to take up the detailed investigation of palceozoic 

 plants, the Honorary Keeper of the Jodrell Laboratoiy 

 did so with the assent of the Director. By a personal 

 arrangement, Dr. Scott was enabled to examine syste- 

 matically the important Williamson collection, which 

 has now become the property of the Natural History 

 Museum, and has based upon it a series of important 

 memoirs, which he proposes to further continue. 



6. The arrangement and generic nomenclature of all 

 the' collections throughout the establishment, as well 

 as of its publications, follows the Genera Plantarum of 

 Bentham and Hooker. No attempt is made to depart 

 from this in view of new taxonomic theories. The 

 mere sequence of orders and genera in a herbarium is a 

 matter of little practical moment so long as the 

 material which it is desired to consult can be readily 

 found. To perpetually rearrange the herbarium on some 

 more fashionable but probably not more permanent basis 

 would serve no practical purpose, and would waste much 

 time needed for more serious purposes. 



The species in large genera are, however, arranged 

 from time to time in accordance with some accredited 

 monograph. The principle in every case is to make 

 some standard work serve as a catalogue for a larger 

 or smaller part of the herbarium, as the case may be. 

 Widely distributed genera and species are arranged 

 geographically according to the annexed scheme : — 



Geooraphical Divisions for the arrangement of the 



herbarium, 1892. 

 No. 



Geographical Divisions for the an-Kngenieiit of tlie 



herl)ariuni, ISQ-I—cmUinucd. 

 i^o. 



1 I Europe 



North Africa and 

 Orieat. ■ ';;=■ 



Northern Asia 



Cliiua and Japan 



India - 



Malaya 



Australia - 

 New Zealand - 



Polynesia - 

 Tropical Africa 



Europe. 



Madeira, Canaries, Azores, 

 extra-tropical North Africa 

 and Orient, including Balu- 

 chistan and Afghanistan, 

 and Arabia south to tropic. 



Central and Northern Asia, 

 country north of Indian 

 Tibet and China, including 

 Mandshuria and Sa>ihalien. 



China and Japan, Hainan, 

 Formosa, Luchu Archi- 

 pelago, Bonin Islands, 

 Corea and Kurile Islands. 



India, including Ceylon and 

 Burma, the ilalayan ])enin- 

 sula to Singapore, Anda- 

 man, Nicobars, Laccadi\e 

 and Mahlive Islands, and 

 Southern Tibet-watershed 

 of the Indus and Brahma- 

 pootra. 



Tonquin, Anam, Siam, 

 Cambodia, Saigon, Ma- 

 layan Islands (including 

 the Philippines), Keeling 

 Islands, and New Cuinea. 



Australia, including Tas- 

 mania and Lord Howe's 

 Island. 



New Zealand, Norfolk and 

 adjacent islands, Kerma- 

 decs, Auckland, Campbell, 

 Chatham, Antipodes and 

 Macquarie, westward to 



- Kerguelen and Marion. 



Polynesia, including Ha- 

 waiian Islands (Sandwich 

 Islands) and New Cale- 

 donia. 



Tropical Africa, including 

 St. Helena, Ascension and 

 Cape Verds, Tropical 

 Arabia and Socotra. 



11 



12 



13 



14 

 15 

 16 



17 



18 



Mascai-ene Islan4s 



South Afi ica 



Norlh America- 



Central America 



West Indies 



E. Tropical, South 



America. 

 W. Tropical, South 



America. 



Temperate, 

 America. 



South 



Sir W. 'I. 

 ThUcUoH- 



Dyar, 

 ic.C.M.a 

 K.R.S. 

 Madagascar, Mauritius, Boui - 



hon, Seychelles and islets, lTi Nov. 1900. 



including Comoro Islands. 



South Africa, including 



Tristan d'Acuidia, (jough, 



St. I'aul and Amsterdam 



Islands. 

 Canada, United States, 



Greenland, Bermudas, and 



Lower California. 

 Mexico and Central America. 

 West Indies. 

 Brazil, the Guianas and 



Paraguay. 

 ^'enezuela, Colombia (New 



Grenada), Ecuador, Peru, 



Bolivia, Galapagos, and 



Cocos Island. 

 Chili. Argentina, Uruguay, 



Patagonia, Juan Fernandez, 



Falklands, and South 



Gcoriria. 



Some redundancy is inevitable if the study of geo- 

 graphical distribution is to be kept in view. It would, 

 however, be rash to assume that the absolute amount of 

 actual redundancy is considera»ble, as probably no species 

 exhibits uniformity over a large area. And this is per- 

 haps true even of cosmopohtan weeds of recent dispersion. 



The living collections are arranged according to their 

 cultural requirements. These only accord with a geo- 

 graphical arrangement if the areas in view a-re very large. 



In the museums the arrangement is for the most part 

 strictly taxonomic. The contents of the Timber Museum 

 (No. III.) are, however, arranged geographically. 



7. The cabinets employed at Kew are inexpensive, and 

 made of painted deal. They have fixed shelves. There 

 appears to be no advantage in the use of movable trays, 

 which increase the expense, and take up room unneces- 

 sarily. It would be an advantage if the cabinets in use 

 were more dust proof, but with the precautions which are 

 taken there is little evidence of injury to the collections 

 in this respect. It may be a question whether it would 

 not be desirable in the future to replace the cabinets by 

 presses of sheet-iron or steel. 



8. The standard size sheet for the Herbarium is I62 x 

 IO2 inches. I'or palms and a few other small groups 

 paper of a larger size 20| x 14| inches is employed, 

 necessitating the use of correspondingly larger cabinets. 



9. It will be inferred from what has been said above 

 as to the Kew system of Herbarium administration, that 

 the preservation of separate subsidiary collections is, as 

 far as possible, avoided. Where a collection is acquired 

 by purchase, gift, or bequest, it is at once broken up, 

 and so much as it is desirable to preserve is sorted into 

 the general series, each specimen being accompanied with 

 a printed label indicating its history and source. The 

 rest is distributed. The few subsidiary herbaria which 

 are kept separate are mostly already mounted on paper 

 of a different size ; such are Lindle/s type collection of 

 orchids, Hewitt Cottrell Watson's British Herbarium, 

 and Carey's North American Herbarium, etc. Sub- 

 sidiary collections are in eveiy way objectionable ; their 

 contents get out of sight ; a monographer requires all 

 his material to be brought together, and not to have 

 to seek it in different places. 



10. Specimens can be prepared by boiling for d.Li- 

 section in the keeper's room, Aviiich is cut off from the 

 Herbarium proper by fireproof doors. This is a necoi- 

 sary precaution against fire, as no light, under any cir- 

 cumstances, is permitted in the herbarium building itself. 

 The performance of the necessary operations under the 

 keeper's eye is a guarantee against undue waste of 

 material which could not be readily replaced. 



For anatomical investigation and fungus-cultures re- 

 quiring more elaborate anpliances, recourse must be 

 had to the laboratory, wh'.ch is amply provided with 

 microscopes, etc. 



11. Neither the Herbarium nor the Museums (except 

 perhaps No. HI.) are even approximately fireproof, Thlw 

 was a constant source of anxiety to the late Director, Sir 

 Joseph Hooker. Soon after my own appointment he 



