30 Hemarks on Botany. 



Since that time I Lave had several additional species to the 

 collection then made furnished to me by settlers, and during a 

 recent cruise of H.M.S. Hosario, my assistant, Mr. Carron, w^as 

 enabled, through the kindness of Commodore Stirling, the 

 Captain, and officers of that ship, to pay a second visit to the 

 island, he having accompanied me on the former occasion, and it 

 is partly with a view of bringing under notice the new plants- 

 discovered by him, and those sent to me by one of the settlers 

 employed for the purpose, that I have been induced to prepare 

 the following brief remarks, which are simply intended as 

 supplementary to the report made by me to the Government. 



I may state, that on the occasion of my visit at least two- 

 thirds of the island (vrhich is scarcely 7 miles in length, by an 

 average of 1 mile in breadth) was very carefully botanically 

 examined by myself and those who assisted me. It was scarcely 

 to be expected, therefore, that after this, any very great number 

 of additional species would be obtained from any part which we 

 were enabled to reach, and such has proved to be the case, as 

 nearly all the plants new to my collection have been obtained 

 from the upper or mountainous region. Notwithstanding these 

 recentacquisitious, I donot yet by anymeans consider the collection 

 which has been made as a complete illustration of the Flora of 

 the island. Better opportunities must occur for further research 

 before a knowledge of the Botany of the place can be perfected. 

 It is only the plants of the lower and middle regions that are 

 known, the upper region is still a terra incognita to the botanist ; 

 and all that is known of its vegetation is from specimens pro- 

 cured by the settler previously referred to — a very illiterate man, 

 without any particular taste or other special qualification for 

 distinguishing one kind of plant from another. The specimens, 

 however, procured for me through the instrumentality of this 

 person, from the more elevated parts of Mount Lidgbird and 

 Gower, have proved so very interesting as to make it most desir- 

 able that both localities should be thoroughly examined by some 

 person well qualified for the work This is the more necessary^ 

 as specimens of several species obtained from these places are so 

 incomplete in their phytological characters as to render it impos- 

 sible to determine even the family to which they belong ; and 

 our ignorance of these and some plants collected by myself must 

 remain until better materials for descriptive purposes can be 

 obtained. The additions w^iich have been made since the publi- 

 cation of my former list consist of 7 Cryptogams, and about 

 22 Phanerogams. Among the former class (which are all ferns) 

 are a species of Adiantum {A. hispiduluiu) — a genus which I 

 stated in my report to be altogether missing on the island — and 

 two arborescent species ; one an Alsophila, presenting the 



