Transactions of the New Zealand Institute 1888. I.—Botany.

Art. I.—Further Notes on the Desmidieæ of New Zealand, with Descriptions of New Species. By W. M. Maskell, F.R.M.S. [Read before the Wellington Philosophical Society, 3rd October, 1888.] Plates I. to VI. This paper contains descriptions of several plants to be added to the lists given in my papers of 1880 and 1882, also corrections of some of the identifications in those papers. These corrections are due partly to more complete acquaintance with the writings of foreign authors on the subject, partly to suggestions from Professor Nordstedt, of Lund, Mr. W. B. Turner, of Leeds, and others who have kindly assisted me with advice. The literature of the Desmidieæ is becoming every year more and more voluminous; unhappily, also, it is very scattered. Some works, such as those of Ralfs for England, Wolle for the United States, Delponte for Northern Italy, may be considered as fairly monographic as regards those countries, and are procurable in book-form; but the equally valuable labours of Brébisson, Naegeli, Lundell, Nordstedt, Bennett, Lagerheim, Wille, and many others are to be found chiefly in short papers in Transactions of various societies, and are accessible with great difficulty. Any one who is aware of the extreme minuteness of Desmids, in which sometimes the ten-thousandth of an inch is of importance, and of the delicate variations they exhibit (perhaps an extra crenulation or two on the edge, an extra granule on the frond), will recognise the difficulty of a student of the family in a country like this. Whoever will undertake the preparation of a monograph of the Desmidieæ will earn the gratitude of all who care to examine these beautiful little plants.