10 
produce here seeds in cultivation and afford the means of interchanges still more extended 
than even those hitherto carried on. 
I may avail myself of this opportunity to submit my views how, at a future period, 
the best access could be given to the Garden when the palace of the Governor shall have 
been raised at the site reserved in the early days of the colony for this purpose, and the 
present drive from the City bridge will not be any longer available for general traffic. 
If the path formed already along the base of the ridges facing the Yarra was so far widened 
as to be transformed into a carriage drive, then a most pleasant road would be opened 
without any encroachment on the seclusion of the Government House domain. By widen- 
ing the causeway which separates the Yarra from the lake, we might extend the river drive 
through the Garden area, and therewith one of the most delightful passages for vehicles 
could be established. If a carriage bridge could be extended over the Yarra abreast of 
Jolimont road the access to the Gardens would become perfect. 
The Yarra foot bridge, though it suffered so much from the three last devastating 
floods, after the temporary repair effected by the order of the Board of Land and Works, 
will serve for traffic until the beautiful and lastiug iron girder structure now provided by 
the Government shall have been completed. 
In the literary branch of the department four works emanated within the last year. 
To these I may be permitted briefly to allude. A quarto volume of lithograms of 
Victorian plants embraces sixty-six plates, illustrative of such species not delineated before 
as exhibit more prominent^ characters of orders and genera of our indigenous vegetation. 
The analytical details are given extensively ; hence by the use of this volume, the student 
will not only without .special reading be readily initiated into the terminology of botanical 
science, but be enabled also to start from some leading point for any unaided enquiry into 
the vegetation which may surround him, especially since other publications, some specially 
applied to the Flora of this country, exist to facilitate his researches. The series of these 
lithograms is under continuation. Of the Fragmenta Phytograph ia? Australia;, the fourth 
volume has appeared, mainly replete with descriptions of plants not previously known to 
science. It is probable, that the fifth volume, of which a considerable portion has been 
printed, and in which, among other grand features in the Australian empire of plants, the 
lofty Alexandra palm and several new fern trees are rendered known, can be issued before 
the end of the year. A series of drawings of mosses, published also within the year, will 
probably attract the attention of a number of observers to the delicate forms of these 
readily preserved objects for microscopic investigation, the local study of which presents 
especial charm so long as we are far from being fully acquainted with the moss-flora of 
this county. A small volume on the plants of the Chatham Islands, elaborated in the 
latter part of last year, is based on material presented to the museum of our botanical 
department by W. T. L. Travers, Esq., of Nelson, N.Z., with a special request for the 
elucidation of these plants. . Though this material afforded actually but a limited number 
of species, of the existence of which we had no previous knowledge, it was well deserving 
of special elucidation, since the little Chatham group was formerly almost unexplored 
regarding its vegetable productions. At the time when the plants of the Chatham Islands 
were received here and rendered known, a volume also on the plants of New Zealand, 
written by Dr. Jos. Hooker, passed in London through the press, for which volume Mr. 
Traverss collections became not timely accessible. But while the new researches on the 
New Zealand plants were still unknown to me, I purposely gave simultaneous publicity 
to my own observations, in order that the independent views of two observers on a number 
of identical plants might subsequently be compared, the expression of disj)arity of opinion 
always tending largely to elicit truth. How far our observations are concordant may be 
demonstrated by the fact, that Dr. Hooker admits not less than seventeen New Zealandian 
species of the genus Epilobium, while I recognize but one, and that what I consider 
varieties of one polymorphous Veronica is moulded by the illustrious author of the New 
