ON THE VEGETATION OF TROPICAL WESTERN AFRICA. 17 



Letter from Mr. Charles Barter, Natural History Collector to 

 the Niger Expedition, addressed to Sir W. J. Hooker, F.B.S., 

 F.L.S., and communicated by him. 



[Read March 3rd, 1859.J 



Steamer Rainbow, at Sea, 



Fernando Po to Bonny, 



January 2nd, 1859. 



Sir, — In a brief note by last mail I noticed the sending of some 

 cases containing the greater part of my dry collections ; by this I 

 send five cases more, and one small cask : this will comprise all 

 that I have collected, or is fit to send home at present. The con- 

 tents of these cases I will not refer to here ; I have given Dr. 

 Baikie a list of all, which he will send to you. The only living 

 plants that I have considered it prudent to send at this season 

 are about 40 species of Orchids, a Cycad, and some bulbous 

 plants ; these, in a close box, with dry shavings, will, I trust, be 

 out of the reach of frost. The remaining living plants require to 

 be sent in glazed cases. I have divided these as nearly as possible, 

 and filled three cases, with directions for them to be sent home in 

 April ; these will reach home about the 6th of May — perhaps rather 

 too early, but I cannot depend on any one looking after them here. 

 Duplicates of each species (about 80 in all) I have planted out in 

 a small piece of fenced-off" ground at the Consulate at Fernando 

 Po ; if this is kept clear of weeds, the plants will not suffer much 

 for a year, when I hope to return and replace with them any of 

 those failing which I send now. Some ferns and moist-growing 

 plants I have placed about dripping rocks in a ravine east of the 

 Cove at Clarence. 



Nearly all my dried specimens, I regret to say, have suffered much 

 from damp since lying at Fernando Po : this is especially tlie case 

 with dried fruits ; and many fine specimens, brought from so far, 

 I was obliged to throw away ; a fine collection of cereals was in 

 this way entirely destroyed. Much of this would have been saved, 

 if, when we had come, everything had been removed up to the town 

 on higher ground, instead of putting all into an old palm-oil shed 

 on the beach ; but our men were sick, and help from the shore 

 could scarcely be obtained. All goes on well that can be done 

 with one's own hand ; but nothing can be got out of the liberated 

 African. 



Some of the plants in the cases are interesting. I notice espc- 



LINN. PROC. — BOTANT. C 



