2 Descripti'ce Notes on Papuan Plants. 
engagements of the Italian Phytographer, especially also as 
all our material here came from the south-eastern portion of 
tlie great island, whereas Beccari’s Papuan collections were 
accumulated in the north-western part, except some of those, 
wliich from Signor D’Alhertis’s second dashing expedition passed 
into his hands. An additional reason for resuming, with minis- 
terial sanction, the Victorian publication on Papuan plants 
is given by the recent despatch of an Expedition imder 
Capt. Everill through the Geographic Society of Australia and 
under the auspices of the Governments of New South Wales and 
Victoria, to the Aird-River and the mountainous tracts of 
country beyond, — rich residts also for phytology being expected 
from that expeebtion, to be rendered known from Australia. 
Moreover the almost simultaneous start of Mr. H. 0. Forbes, to 
ascend the Owen Stanley’s Ranges from Port Moresby, a feat 
long urged by the writer of the present essay, holds out further 
great hopes of adding very extensively also to our knowledge 
of the Papuan Flora, and that from regions, in w'hich the 
endemic characteristics of the vegetation must culminate. Also 
from this expedition, though planned by scientific societies of 
Britain, we in Australia may expect to benefit in our own 
Papuan researches, half of the expenditure of Mr. Forbes’s 
enterprise being defrayed by our Geographic Society here from 
the Governments fund under its control. Thus it becomes reaUy 
requisite now, to collect the scattered notes on the New Guinea 
Flora, Avhich appeared since the discontinuance of the “ Papuan 
Plants” in various local periodicals from researches of the writer 
of this work ; and it seems also advisable, to add notes on those 
records of Dr. Beccari’s New Guinean plants, which did not 
appear in the Malesia, but in different monographic essays 
mostly by other authors. Through the means, now here adopted, 
the furtherance of elucidations of the New Guinean vegetation 
will become facilitated, as well in Florence as in Melbourne 
and indeed elsewhere also, more particularly so as likely through 
