COLONIAL FLORAS. 
501 
partition of the work, for which he has since uninterruptedly continued 
to labour with as much zeal as if it were his own. 
Such instances of scientific self-sacrifice are indeed rare ; not, we 
believe, because the feelings that have dictated this one act are un¬ 
usual or feeble amongst naturalists ; but because the circumstances 
are entirely exceptional. On the one hand, we have Dr. Mueller’s 
immense ardour, his practical knowledge of Australian Botany, and 
his almost unparalleled powers of work, allurging him to an undertak¬ 
ing of which any Botanist would desire to be called the author, and 
in the prosecution of which he could count on the most liberal 
support of a wealthy Government justly proud of their servant, and 
eager to connect its name with that of a national work, which would 
give it a scientific renown above that of its sister colonies ; on the 
other, the offer of a private gentleman, in no way connected with the 
colony, personally unknown to every member of it, but confessedly 
the first Systematic Botanist of his age. 
Under these auspices the “ Flora Australiensis ” has been begun, 
and within little more than a year after its being determined on, we 
have the first volume published by Lovell Beeve and Co., who have 
undertaken the whole series of Colonial Floras. The volume is of the 
same form, type and arrangements as the Hong Kong Flora, is pre¬ 
ceded by a brief introduction to Botany, and is, in short, conducted 
in conformity with the plan projected by Sir W. Hooker, for the whole 
series of Colonial Floras, and given at p. 264 of the volume of this 
Beview for 1861. This first volume contains the orders from Banun- 
culacese to Anacardiacess inclusive, and describes about 1072 species, 
included in 253 genera and 39 natural orders. In the ordinal and 
generic characters there is little to observe, these being necessarily 
almost the same with the author’s “ Genera Plantarum ” which indeed 
appeared during the elaboration of this volume, and for the new views 
embodied in which we may therefore refer to the Beview of that 
work, N. H. B., Yol. III., p. 31. The specific characters are excel¬ 
lent, and the diagnoses preceding them very clear and good; in these 
qualities we perceive no falling off of the author’s well known and 
remarkable powers, but the contrary. This is no doubt due to his 
having to deal with many very large genera abounding either in nearly 
allied species, or species which can only be discriminated by minute 
characters, or such as are not easily defined by w T ords ; and to the 
necessity of bearing constantly in mind, that his descriptions, which 
are drawn from dead materials, must nevertheless, prove useful both 
to beginners, and to proficients who have fresh specimens to work 
upon; and hence the necessity of selecting characters that are both 
constant and discernible, in organs that are sure to be found in the 
living plant, however difficult of detection they may be in the dry state. 
Of the well known features of the Australian Flora, some come 
out prominently in this volume, because the Thalamiflorse are fairly 
represented by numerous Endemic genera and species, though 
whether so much so as the Calyciflorse, Corolliflorse, Monochlamydese, 
