86 
di gem purchase of new books has been provided for pare 1849 
by a small annual piesa from the Government. Anc s has 
been poeni pe nted more recently by the grant er; free 
binding by H.M. S tatio onery Office. A large number of serials 
and Se erT in which the library i is especially rich are acquired 
by exchange with the Kew Bulletin. The Bentham Trustees 
from time to time use the funds at their disposal, in Berne 
with the testamentary dispositions of the late aeorg entham 
in the purchase of books beyond the means of the a uad orci: 
ment grant. The library being also available for "S scientifie 
researches of botanists of all nations, is constantly in receipt of 
valuable contributions from foreign governments, universities, 
societies, and independent workers. The liberality of she United 
States and French Governments deserve especial mentio 
“On the whole it is probable that no official mem ‘of such 
ge. Te utility has ever been got together at so small a cost 
the publie. Its primary eg is necessarily the routine work 
of the establishment. ur t to the requirements of this it is 
freely available for the use of inde oponami scientific workers, a 
privilege which is lugar taken ak = of. But it is not 
available for merely literary purposes 
“The manuscript catalogue having soar “unmanageable, the 
Treasury sanctioned in 1896 the employment o Daydon 
Jackson, Esq., Secretary to the Linnean un to prepare, with 
the assistance of the scientific staff, anew one, which should be 
based on a fresh collation of the books. It was further decided 
that this should be printed and published. It is is hoped that apart 
from its immediate purpose it will be found of service as à 
hen big te and for use in other seientifie and technical 
i 
“The present catalogue has been brought down to 1898. 
Annual lists of future Md dirtiotis will be published in the Kew 
Bulletin. 
; TL THISELTON-DYER, 
Director, 
Royal Botanie Gardens, Kew. 
March, 1899. 
Curacao meg —This drug was formerly supposed to be derived 
from the same plant as po d aloes ler and Hanbury, 
ene en 2nd ed., p. 679). e latter is yielded by 
Aloe ver s A es Lam: » Of the ied yielding the former, 
Be E. mes authentic specimens through 
Professor ES bia of Hon (Pharm. Journ., September 13 
1890, p. 205). They were unhesitatingly referred by Mr. J. G. 
to Aloe es = Baker (Bot. Mag., 6,301), of which the native 
country is unkno 
Mr. rer sande: :— 
“It would appear that the Curaçao aloe plant is nearly allied 
but yet specifically distinct from A. vera, L. (A. barbadensis, 
a .), 80 that the specific difference might go far towards 
ng the characteristic odour and appearance ne zu 
Moo as compared with the Barbados aloes of commerce 
oe 
