ollowing letter refers to notes by Sir J.D. Hooker which we
have not seen. Though we are therefore unable to make clear many points
referred to, the letter seems to us on the whole so interesting that it
is printed with the omission of only one unimportant sentence.

The subjects dealt with in the letter are those which were occupying
Hooker's attention in relation to his "Flora Antarctica" (1844).)

I must thank you once again for all your documents, which have
interested me very greatly and surprised me. I found it very difficult
to charge my head with all your tabulated results, but this I perfectly
well know is in main part due to that head not being a botanical one,
aided by the tables being in MS.; I think, however, to an ignoramus,
they might be made clearer; but pray mind, that this is very different
from saying that I think botanists ought to arrange their highest
results for non-botanists to understand easily. I will tell you how,
for my individual self, I should like to see the results worked out, and
then you can judge, whether this be advisable for the botanical world.

Looking at the globe, the Auckland and Campbell I., New Zealand, and
Van Diemen's Land so evidently are geographically related, that I should
wish, before any comparison was made with far more distant countries,
to understand their floras, in relation to each other; and the southern
ones to the northern temperate hemisphere, which I presume is to every
one an almost involuntary standard of comparison. To understand the
relation of the floras of these islands, I should like to see the group
divided into a northern and southern half, and to know how many species
exist in the latter--

1. Belonging to genera confined to Australia, Van Diemen's Land and
north New Zealand.

2. Belonging to genera found only on the mountains of Australia, Van
Diemen's Land, and north New Zealand.

3. Belonging to genera of distribution in many parts of the world (i.e.,
which tell no particular story).

4. Belonging to genera found in the northern hemisphere and not in the
tropics; or only on mountains in the tropics.

I daresay all this (as far as present materials serve) could be
extracted from your tables, as they stand; but to any one not familiar
with the names of plants, this would be difficult. I felt particularly
the want of not knowing which of the genera are found in the lowland
tropics, in understanding the relation of the Antarctic with the Arct