OF A COUNTY HERBARIUM.
77
expert botanists should be formed, to whom all plants collected
should be submitted, and on whom should fall the responsibility of
selecting those plants suitable for the herbarium. This committee
should also superintend the labelling, mounting, and arranging of
specimens. Possibly some of our lady members may volunteer to
assist in this department, in which their nimble fingers would give
them an advantage.
I must not omit to thank Mr. F. J. Hanbury for his kindness in
showing me his large collection of plants, and in making some
valuable suggestions, which I have utilized in this paper.
In conclusion, in order to make my paper complete, I must say a
few words upon the literature of this subject.
To the tyro I cannot do better than recommend him to purchase
"Bentham's Handbook of the British Flora" (Lovell, Reeve &
Co.). This work distinctly treats our flora in the manner of the
so-called "lumpers"—no small advantage to the beginner, who is
apt to be puzzled by the too critical division of species, but who,
when familiar with the easily-recognised variations in plant-life, will
find less difficulty in mastering the more minute deviations. This
work is provided with a most useful artificial key, by means of which
the merest tyro should find little difficulty in naming most plants.
A companion volume, containing a series of wood engravings, by Mr.
W. H. Fitch and our member, Mr. Worthington G. Smith, of all the
species described in Bentham, is published. It will be found of the
greatest use to the tyro who, having made up his mind as to which
description his plant best accords with, can refer to the plate of that
species, and make sure that he has named it correctly. But he
must beware of getting into the bad habit of depending upon pic-
tures instead of descriptions and scientific characters for identification.
Should he unhappily fall into that error he will never make a botanist.
To the more advanced botanist I should recommend Babington's
"Manual of British Botany" (John Van-Voorst), and the "Student's
Flora," by Sir J. D. Hooker (Macmillan & Co.). Both of these
works are really necessary, for each of them will be found to offer
special advantages; for instance, while Babington's "Manual" is
the work I should refer to in discriminating between those puzzling
plants, the Rubi, Hooker's work gives the best account of the almost
equally puzzling plants the Batrachian Ranunculi. Thus, the two
books form valuable companion volumes. Another book which will
be found most useful is Hayward's "Botanist's Pocket Book" (George