And upon reading the observations of Mr. 

 Paine, in the American Journal of Sciences and 

 Arts, lor September, 1866, on the discovery of the 

 Scolopendrium officinarum, by Mr. Pursh, and 

 connecting and comparing the two paragraphs, 

 the paternity of the MS. proved to be that of Mr. 

 Jte Pursh. But they are other confirmatory evidences 

 of this fact. The Journalist, relates, that he had 

 written to Dr. Barton — had received letters from 

 him on several occasions, conveying the means 

 for prosecuting his explorations ; and that he had 

 consigned packages of plants to Dr. Barton from 

 time to time. 



To settle the point, reference is made to the 

 following paragraph, in tho Preface to F. Pursh's 

 "Flora America} septentrionalis," p. viii : 



"Within this period I had also formed a con- 

 nection with Dr. Benjamin S. Barton, Professor 

 of Botany in the University of Pennsylvania, 

 &c, whose industrious researches in all the dif- 

 ferent branches of Natural History are so well- 

 known to the literary world I was en- 

 abled, by the kind assistance of this gentleman, 

 to take a more extensive range for my botanical 

 excursions." 



"The following season, 1806, (1807, evidently, 

 — the labels on the original plants in the herba- 

 rium, also an entry in the MS, bear that date,) 

 I went in like manner over the Northern States, 

 beginning with the mountains of Pennsylvania, 

 and extending to those of New Hampshire." 



Having obtained permission of the Society, 

 this Journal is now published. 



