Antarctic Expedition . 
235 
furnish much that can be made available for purposes of com¬ 
merce, except lichens. With respect to these plants, however, 
it is possible that species fit for the purposes of the dyer may 
be found in those southern latitudes ; and if such should prove 
to be the case, an additional source of profit may become 
available for the South-sea traders. 
Where the native names of useful plants can be correctly 
ascertained, they should be preserved; but care must be taken 
to avoid error in this respect. Implicit credit must not be 
given to the statements of individual natives: it is only by 
comparing the separate evidence of different persons that cor¬ 
rectness can be expected. 
Collections should be formed of the seeds and bulbs of useful 
and ornamental plants wherever opportunities occur, and they 
should be forwarded to Europe from time to time. It is also 
recommended that duplicate collections be transmitted to the 
Supreme Government at Calcutta for distribution among the 
botanical gardens of India. In packing these collections, the 
best method is to enclose each kind of seed in separate packets 
of brown paper, which should be placed loosely in canvas bags, 
or in boxes with holes in their sides; and arrangements should 
be made for their being transmitted in a cabin, or some well- 
ventilated part of the ship. Among those seeds which it is 
more particularly desirable to procure, may be mentioned the 
native Coniferous plants of all countries, particularly the 
JPhyllocladus 9 or celery-leaved Pine, and the various species of 
Athrotaxis, inhabiting the mountains of Van Diemen s Land. 
As the seeds of such plants are apt to suffer from long keeping, 
and as other instances may occur when it would be desirable to 
send home young plants instead of seeds, it would be advisable 
that the expedition should be supplied with one of Mr. Ward’s 
glazed cases, to be used if occasion should arise. 
Light is an agent which operates so powerfully upon plants, 
determining the amount and even nature of their secretions, 
and influencing in the most essential manner their vital actions, 
that it would be most interesting to obtain, if possible, some 
good photometrical observations. The extreme and* mean 
temperatures of the atmosphere, its humidity, the quantity of 
rain, and the temperature of the earth immediately below and 
within a few feet of the surface, have also a direct and important 
bearing upon Vegetable Physiology, especially when considered 
with respect to the distribution of plants, and the arts of culti¬ 
vation. Observations upon all such points tend to explain the 
connexion which exists between vegetation^ and climate, and 
should be introduced by the Botanist into his report, notwith¬ 
standing that they also occur in the Meteorological Journal. 
If the observations here recommended be briefly noted in a 
tabular form, and at the time that they are made, the registra- 
