A. Gray — Flora of Worth America. 327 



It was thought at first, in all simplicity, that the whole task 

 could be done at something like this rate. But, apart from 

 other considerations, it soon became clear that there had been 

 no proper identification of the foundation-species of the earlier 

 botanists, from Linnaeus downward ; and that our Flora could 

 not go on satisfactorily without this. Dr. Torrey had, indeed, 

 some years before, made a hasty visit to Hooker at Glasgow, 

 to London, and to Paris: but the taking of a few notes upon 

 i particular plants in the herbaria of Hooker, Lambert, i 



Michauw and the acquisition, from Hooker, of a good set of 

 the Arctic plants of the British explorers, was about all that 

 had been done. I proposed to attempt somethir 



tage of a favorable opportunity, I sailed for 

 November, 1838, and devoted a good part of the 



ng year to the examination of the principal herbaria 

 wuicn I need not here' specify, in Scotland (where the import- 

 ant one of Sir Wm. Hooker still remained). England. France, 

 s ■ itAi'land and Germany, namely those which contained the 

 specimens upon which 'most of the then-published North 

 American species had been directly or indirectly founded, 

 especially those of Linnreus and Gronovius, of Walter, of 

 Alton's Hortns Kewensis. Michaux. Willdenow. Pursh, and 

 the later ones of DeCandolle and Hooker.* 



After my return the work made good progress; the remain- 



lu - half of the iirst volume was brought out in the spring of 



the year 1840, and by the spring of ts43 the f.00 pages of 1 the 



second volume, mostly occupied by the vast order Composita\ 



had been issued. But meanwhile' I had in my turn to assume 



duties and incident engagements,— with the result 



that, although the study of North American plants was at no 



time pretermitted, either by Dr. Torrey while he lived, or by 



ere unable to continue the publication during my 



ife-time: and it was only recently, in the spring of 



1878, that I succeeded in bringing out, in a changed form, 



another instalment of the work, completing the Oamopttalce. 



In the interval I had made two year-long visits to Europe 

 tor botanical investigation, the first part 1 v relating to the botany 

 of the South Pacific, the second wholly in view of the North 

 American flora. And since this last publication still another 

 visit- the fourth and we may suppose the last — of the same char- 

 e same duration, has been successfully accomplished. 



The serious question, in which we are all concerned, arises, 



: - work can be carried through to a completion, and 



the older parts (wholly out of orint and out of dateV re-elabo- 



nteresting to the North A 



