276 THE ORCHID REVIEW. [SEPTEMBER, 1913- 
his death . . . came upon us as-a surprise; the provisions of his Will 
have not only astonished the scientific world, but have attracted the 
attention of those to whom the disposition of a herbarium has never 
presented any feature of interest. Mr. Hewett Watson, it will be 
remembered, labouring under some temporary annoyance, threatened to 
make a funeral pyre of his collections; Reichenbach’s disposition of his 
collections is, at any rate for the present, scarcely, if at all, less mischievous. 
than this. . . The bequest, thus limited, has been accepted at Vienna, 
and thus, for twenty-five years at least—even if the plants at the end of 
that period are in a consultable condition—botanists are deprived of the 
use of this invaluable collection. The result of this provision must be to 
impair its value, whilst its usefulness will be reduced to the narrowest 
limits.” 
In an Obituary notice in the Proceedings of the Linnean Society (drawn up 
before the disposition of his herbarium was known) it was remarked: “‘ He 
was jealous to excess of any supposed encroachment on his special preserve ; 
his resentment of the same was characteristic, and even amusing to those 
who were merely onlookers and were not exposed to the brunt of his 
attacks. During the last thirty years, that is since Lindley ceased to labour 
on these plants, Reichenbach has been the sponsor of an innumerable host 
of new species, varieties, and hybrids; every scrap or drawing oF 
memorandum was carefully hoarded for his herbarium. This, therefore, 
has become the key to his life-long labours, and the destination of it will be 
eagerly awaited ; a careful working of it by competent hands will be needed 
to clear up the many puzzles in his descriptions, which of late years had 
assumed an esoteric character, presuming an almost equal knowledge of 
plants to that possessed by the author. The state of his herbarium is also 
quite unknown, for during long years past no botanist has been permitted 
to have even a glimpse of the collection. . . . At his last visit to this 
country Reichenbach was looking forward to his retirement from the 
professional chair, with prolonged visits to Kew, and the preparation of a 
projected ‘Index Reichenbachianus,’ which was to give a much-needed 
guide to the widely-scattered descriptions of species and varieties; but this 
last, if even begun, is unfinished.” 
The following extract from the Orchid Album is interesting, because it 
affords evidence on a point respecting which doubt has been expressed = 
‘We are extremely sorry to find by the published extract from his Will 
that his herbarium is not only lost to England, but that it really becomes @ 
dead letter to the Orchid world by being shut up for twenty-five years. 
The Professor told us, when visiting us some time ago, that it was his 
intention to leave his herbarium to this country, and we sincerely regret 
that any English Orchid-growers should have so bitterly aggrieved him as 
