38 
EAST WING. 
In addition to the two guides mentioned above, there is pub- 
lished for the use of the student of mineralogy a separate and 
complete Index to the names and synonyms of all the mineral 
species and varieties represented in the Collection.* 
Second Flooe. 
Botanical 
Gallery. 
Herbarium. 
Historical 
Collections in 
the Her- 
barium. 
Sir Joseph 
Banks. 
The upper floor of the East wing is devoted entirely to the 
Department of Botany. 
The Collections of this Department consist of two portions, 
the one set apart for the use of persons engaged in the scientific 
study of plants ; the other open to the public and consisting 
of specimens suitable for exhibition, and intended to illustrate 
the various groups of the Vegetable Kingdom, and the broad 
facts on which the ITatural System of the classification of 
plants is based. 
The portion devoted to the use of the scientific student con- 
sists mainly of the great Herbarium. This is a collection of 
plants, fastened on single sheets of folio paper, representing, as 
far as it has been possible to obtain them, first, every species of 
X^lant living on the earth, and then the distribution of each 
species on the surface of the earth. The various species are 
collected under their respective genera, and these are arranged 
in their Natural Orders, and the whole are systematically 
classified, beginning with the most highly organised (the 
Eanunmlacece), and going down to the lowest members of the 
Vegetable Kingdom (the Fungi). 
The foundation of this great Herbarium was the collection of 
Sir Joseph Banks, consisting of the plants obtained by himself 
and Dr. Solander in their voyage round the world with Captain 
Cook, and of numerous series from all quarters of the globe 
presented to him or purchased by him. He bequeathed all his 
botanical collections to the Trustees of the British Museum in 
1820, reserving to Eobert Brown, in whose charge they had 
Ijeen for years, the use of them during his lifetime. Mr. Brown 
transferred them to the Trustees of the Museum in 1827, and 
was appointed the first Keeper of the Department. The yearly 
* * The Student's Index to the Collection of Minerals.' Price twopence. 
