56 FLORA INDICA. 



accuracy in the determination of the known species and dis- 

 crimination of those which are new, was obviously impossible 

 without a considerable general knowledge of Indian botany, 

 and a comparison with English herbaria, of which Dr. Miquel 

 had not the opportunity of availing himself. 



M. De Vriese's labours include various memoirs on Malayan 

 Island plants ; and his recent monograph of Marattiacem is 

 a work of gTcat labour, but his views of the limits of species 

 are wholly at variance with our experience. 



Hasskarl, the author of the ' Hortus Bogoriensis' a cata- 

 logue (with occasional notes and descriptions of new species) 

 of the plants cultivated in the Grovernment Botanical Garden 

 of Buitenzorg, near Batavia (published in Batavia in 1844), 

 is also author of an octavo volume of descriptions, entitled 

 'Plantse Javanicse rariores' (Berlin, 1848). 



The ' Reliquiae Hsenkian^,' of Presl, is a folio volume with 

 plates, devoted to the materials collected by Hsenke, who was 

 employed in the Spanish service, and collected in America and 

 Manilla ; the Indian plants described are few, and the descrip- 

 tions and identifications far from satisfactory. 



The 'Flora de Filipinas' of Father Blanco, published at 

 Manilla in 1837, is a botanical curiosity, written in Spanish. 

 The descriptions are intelligible, but, from the author's want 

 of acquaintance with scientific works, so many well known 

 plants are treated as new, that we consider it undesirable to 

 devote time to their identification. 



Turning to the west of India, we find ourselves treading 

 upon the limits of other floras, that have been more or less 

 perfectly elucidated, in works which we have constantly quoted 

 in the Flora Indica : of these, the most important are the 

 writings of Ledebour, especially the ' Flora Rossica,' ' Flora 

 Altaica,' and ' Icones Florae Rossicse.' The ' Flora Rossica' 

 contains descriptions of the plants of the whole Russian do- 

 minions, which may be said to be very satisfactorily explored, 

 botanically, especially considering their enormous area. The 

 majority of our Afghan and Tibetan plants, being also natives 



