Dr. Joseph Hooker, the accomplished author of the large work 

 on the plants of New Zealand, recognizing the importance of an 

 investigation of the Chatham-Islands, was anxious whUst attached 

 to Sir James Ross's antarctic expedition to visit this group ; but 

 the " Erebus" and " Terror ' when near the spot encountered such 

 foggy -weather as to prevent the oflScers from sighting the coast and 

 oblige them to abandon their plan of landing. But in the previous 

 year (1840) it fell to the share of Dr. Ernst Dieffenbach, the German 

 translator of Charles Darwin's excellent work on his travels, to ex- 

 plore these islands on behalf of the New Zealand Company; and 

 although mainly engaged in geographic, geognostic and agronomic 

 researches, of which a lucid account is given in the Journal of the 

 Royal Geographical Society of London (vol. 11, pp. 195-215), this 

 well-informed natural philosopher did not fail to render simultaneously 

 known some of the main features of the vegetation, and brought the 

 first plants from these islands to England ; the records of these have 

 been inserted in Dr. Hooker's work on New Zealand plants. How 

 far the examination of the plants collected during the voyage of the 

 frigate " Venus" has thrown light on the vegetation of the Chatham- 

 Islands, the writer is unable here to ascertain, not having had access 

 to the important publications which emanated from that expedition. 

 However, amongst the Chatham plants, illustrated by Monsieur 

 De Caisne in that work, solely Euiybia sjmidentata is quoted by 

 Dr. Hooker. In 1858 a temporary direct trade between Melbourne 

 and the Chatham-Islands brought within the reach of the author 

 several plants not embraced in Dr. Dieffenbach's collection ; these 

 were Idndly gathered and presented by Captain Anderson ; others 

 were received about the same period through the friendly offices of 

 the Honorable Dr. Featherstone,- Administrator of the Government 

 in the Province of Wellington, and in the same year the writer was 

 favoured by Mr. A, J. Ralston, at the time a citizen of Melbourne, 

 with a gift of flower- and fruit-bearing plants of the magnificent 

 Myosotidium nobile. Shortly afterwards an essay on that singular 

 plant, described then as Cynoglossum Chathamicum, was read before 

 the Philosophical Institute of Victoria, but was withdrawn from pub- 

 lication in the Transactions of that Society, because meanwhile the 

 venerable Sir Will. Hooker bad given an account of the same plant ; 

 moreover, it received simultaneously from Dr. Hooker the name 



