flora. The 731 species of flowering-plants and 119 ferns known in 1863 were increased to 935 and 135 respectively, an increase of nearly one-quarter; while the additional information obtained with regard to the distribution of the species was correspondingly large. The general plan of the work was in accordance with that recommended by Sir W. J. Hooker for a uniform series of floras of the British Colonies, a project which has been to a considerable extent carried out. In point of execution, the "Handbook" realised all the expectations which could have been entertained. The clearness and excellence of the descriptions and their general accuracy are most noteworthy, especially when it is considered that a large proportion of the species have been examined and described by the author alone. Its publication gave an immense impetus to the study of the indigenous vegetation, and it must always remain the foundation for future systematic work on the botany of the colony.
The number of persons who have collected plants or published memoirs relating to New Zealand botany during the forty years which have elapsed since the publication of the "Handbook" is so large that I can only allude to the chief workers here. The first place must be accorded to Mr. T. Kirk, both from the number of his discoveries and the importance of his publications. Arriving in the colony in 1863, he at once devoted himself to its botany, his first discoveries being briefly mentioned in the appendix to the second part of the "Handbook." For ten years after his arrival he resided in Auckland, his chief explorations during that period being that of the Great Barrier Island in 1867, of the north-eastern coast of the northern peninsula in 1868, of the Thames Goldfields in 1869, of the Waikato district in 1870, and of the Rotorua and Taupo districts in 1872. Among the numerous species added to the flora by these journeys are the following: Pittosporum Kirkii, Pseudopanax discolor, Coprosma arborea, Olearia Allomii, Dacrydium Kirkii, Phyllocladus glauca, and Isoetes Kirkii. In 1874 Mr. Kirk removed to Wellington, occupying firstly the position of Lecturer on Natural Science at Wellington College, and at a later date that of Chief Conservator of State Forests. In the performance of the duties of the latter office he travelled through the greater part of both the North and South Islands, and these journeys were always employed to the furtherance of botanical science. After his retirement from the State Forests Department he made a lengthened exploration of Stewart Island, detecting several novelties, among them the superb Olearia Traillii. In 1890 he paid a visit to the Auckland and Campbell Islands, adding several species to their flora. During the same voyage he landed on the Snares and Antipodes Islands, the vegetation of which was previously quite unknown. The results of this expedition were embodied in a memoir printed in the Report of the Australasian Association for 1891. Mr. Kirk was a voluminous writer, and his contributions to New Zealand botany, mostly printed
