W , I ^ 



EARLY CAPK BOTANISTS AND COLLECTORS. 49 



during which period Crown made considerable collections ; these formed 



part of his herbarium, which wa?: acquired by the Department of Botany in 



1876. The specimens from the Capo have short descriptive labels attached 



with dates of collection : a largo number are fully described in "Brown's MSS- 



During the earlier part of the voyage, as we learn from his MS. diary, he 



was largely occupied in the compilation of a Florula Capensis, w^ith a view 



to his investigations, which began at once: '' Oct^ IT'*", 1801. Landed. "^ 



"Walk'd in the neighbourliood of the town ; many of the plants I had never 



before seen : number of heaths, striking Protens, Mescmbryanthemfi, &g./' 



is the first entry in the rough journal he kept, We have in the Department 



a bound volume containing Robert BroAvn's MS. Journal for 1800 and for 



June to the beginning of October, 1801. There is also a parcel of 



memoranda with dates, irreo-nlarly kept at intervals from Oct. 1801 to 1804 : 



it is from the latter that this passage is (| noted. 



One can easily understand Brown's reluctance to leave a region whieli, as 

 his Journal shows, was so frauglit witli botanical interest ; and Flinders may 

 well have had some dithcultvin inducing them to embark. The latter writes 

 (Vovage, i. 31): — "The Cape of Good Hope cannot now be sn])posed 

 to furnish much oP novelty in the department of natural history, especially 

 to transient visitors ; hut it still continues to afford much amusement and 

 instruction to English botanists. Tt did so to our gentlemen, who were 

 almost constantly on shore upon the search ; and their colloctions, intended 

 for examination on the next pa?^sage, were tolerably ample. They were 

 sufficiently orthodox to walk many miles for the purpose of botanising npon 

 the celebrated Table Mountain ; for what disciple oE Linnrcus could otherwise 

 conscientiously quit the Cape of Good Hope ? In taking; so early a departure 

 . . , T had to enf>;ag^ with the counter wishes of my scientific associates ; so 



much were they delighted to find the richest treasures of the English green 

 house profuselv scattered over the sides and summits of these barren hills/' 

 Durino- the vovnge Brown wrote out full descriptions of his more interesting 



discoveries, which included numerous species of Bestio and Elirharta ; many 

 of the latter are represented in the Herbarium (wherein is the type of 

 E. lorff/lfoUa^ Sm, Tc, Tned, t, 32) by specimens of his collecting, but I find 

 no Tlestios. Simon^s Bay was the centre whence most of his plants -were 



derived. 





Notes to Foregoing. 



fi \ 



p. 43 : 



This artist was Robert Jacob Gordon (1741-1795), a Dutchman of Scottish 

 extraction, who became Colonel in command of the Dutch forces at the Cape, 

 and is said to have shot himself when the English took the Colony in 1795, 

 in chajzrin at tlie failure oi his resistance in arms* He made a large 



LTSN. JOURN. BOTAXY, VOL. XLV. 



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