24 ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS. 



intimates in the preface, many species of Algae have yet to be 

 added to the 800 recorded by him. Baron Mueller, through the 

 labours of Dr. Sonder, as acknowledged in the eleventh volume 

 of the Fragmenta, has raised the number to 1056 ; but as these 

 are given merely in lists without any descriptions, there is still a 

 large amount of work for the phycologist to supplement the labours 

 of Harvey. The great desideratum then at the present day is an 

 additional volume to the Flora Australiensis, for the purpose of 

 affording an account of all our known acotyledonous plants, 

 arranged systematically, according to their orders and genera, and 

 furnished with descriptions on a plan similar to that of the other 

 volumes. It is doubtful whether the supplementary volume could 

 be prepared in the Australian Colonies without reference to 

 European Collections, as typical specimens are for the most part 

 limited to the Museums of Europe, and the aid of eminent 

 specialists would be required for the comparison of specimens. 

 " Hooker's Handbook of the New Zealand Flora," affords an 

 admirable example of what may be done for our lower Cryptogams, 

 for although that illustrious author modestly acknowledges, that 

 " many years may elapse before the multitudinous New Zealand 

 genera and species of these very obscure tribes of plants are fully 

 known," he has given excellent descriptions of all the commoner 

 and conspicuous ones, and left it for future specialists to fill up 

 the grand outline which he has so scientifically delineated. 



In Physics and Mechanics there is a wide scope for practical 

 science work in this new country. I will but allude to one 

 branch of Physics — Electricity. It is not quite 51 years since 

 Wheatstone and Cooke made their successful practical experiment 

 of telegraphing over a distance of two miles. Now every civilized 

 country is becoming netted, as it were, with wires for Telegraphy. 

 Our own Colony has shared in this spirit of progress, and possesses 

 more than 20,000 miles of telegraph lines. It is only 38 years 

 since the first cable was laid between England and France; at the 

 present day the length of the submarine cables would girdle the 

 earth five times. A message can be sent round the World in 



