132 
EARLY EUROPEAN RESEARCHES 
the Catalogus lie is stated to have entered the Jesuit mission 
in China in 1779. 
Loureiro occupies without doubt one of the most prominent 
places among the botanical collectors of the last century. We 
owe to him one of the most important contributions illustrating 
the Flora of the eastern part of the transgangetic peninsula and 
of South-China, and his book is still a standard work to which 
botanists dealing with Chinese plants have frequently to refer. 
Although a self-taught and not professional botanist, L. had 
acquired good botanical knowledge, at least he was up to the 
level of his time. Modern botanists often find fault with his 
description of plants. But may we not ask whether it would 
be possible to identify even a quarter of Linnaeus’ plants only 
from the short characters he gives, had his herbarium been lost, 
as is the case with the greater part of Loureiro’s collection. 
Thus Loureiro is not to be blamed for want of scientific 
accuracy in our modern sense or for mistakes occasionally met 
with in his work. Generally it can be said, that he was 
a conscientious observer and his veracity is always beyond 
question. 
One great merit of the Flora cochin, consists in descriptions 
made by a botanist upon living or fresh plants. It is a matter 
of regret, that the greater part of the existing Floras of various 
exotic regions have necessarily been based upon the description 
of dried specimens and often unsatisfactory material. The 
botanist in Europe, who works up these collections then knows 
nothing more about the plants he has to describe than he 
observes on the dry specimens. Thus it is quite exceptional to 
find in De Candolle’s Prodr. the colour of th.e blossoms noticed, 
although this is a very important characteristic. 
The value of Loureiro’s elaborate work lies also in the 
illustrations he gives with respect to the economical use, 
medical virtues etc. of the plants. The Chinese names he 
adds are for the greater part correct.* He gives them 
* I take the opportunity of noticing here a very valuable list of Canton 
plants with the Chinese names added, and accompanied with interesting 
annotations, published two years ago in the Hongkong China Mail, July 
10 to Spt. 11. 1878. The anonymous author of this paper, which gives 
the Chinese, (Cantonese) names of nearly 300 plants, states, that in com- 
piling this list he did not refer to any printed authority for the applica¬ 
tion of any one Cantonese name to any single botanical name. But every 
plant had been shown to at least three natives to ascertain the Chinese 
names and then referred to a competent botanical authority, to supply 
the scientific name. This is indeed the only rational way to identify 
Chinese appellations of plants. I have been informed, that Mr. E. H . 
