landed on Kent's Islands, in Bass' Strait, on the shores of which the principal part of the Submarine Algæ contained in our collections were found.
The reader of Captain Flinders's narrative is already acquainted with the unfortunate circumstances that prevented his revisiting Port Jackson within the expected period, soon after the expiration of which we embraced an opportunity of returning to England, where we arrived in October, 1805, with the greater part of our collections, and without having absolutely lost any one species; though many of our best specimens of the South Coast, and all the living plants collected in the voyage perished in the wreck of the Porpoise.
The collection of Australian plants thus formed amounts to nearly 3900 species. But before embarking in the voyage 536] of Captain Flinders, I enjoyed no common advantages, through the liberality of Sir Joseph Banks, in whose Herbarium I had not only access to nearly the whole of the species of plants previously brought from Terra Australis, but received specimens of all those of which there were duplicates. Of these plants, exceeding 1000 species, the far greater part were collected by Sir Joseph Banks himself, in the voyage in which New South Wales was discovered. The rest were found at Adventure Bay in Van Diemen's Land, by Mr. David Nelson, in the third voyage of Captain Cook; at King George's Sound on the south-west coast of New Holland, by Mr. Menzies, in Captain Vancouver's voyage; and in the colony of New South Wales by several botanists, especially the late Colonel Paterson and Mr. David Burton. Since my return from New Holland I have had opportunities of examining, in the same Herbarium, many new species, found in New South Wales by Mr. George Caley, an acute and indefatigable botanist, who resided nearly ten years in that colony: and have received from the late Colonel Paterson several species discovered by himself within the limits of the colony of Port Dalrymple; which was established under his command.
I have also examined, in the Sherardian Herbarium at
