180 DR FRANCIS HAMILTON on the Plants of India, 



brary. Some duplicate specimens were given to A. B. LAMBERT, 

 Esq. and I think that Sir J. E. SMITH has a copy of the notes : of 

 this, however, I am not certain. 



Soon after my return from the south of India, 1 was sent to 

 Nepal along with the embassy conducted by Captain KNOX. 

 Having proceeded by water to Patna. I passed, by easy stages, 

 and with many halts, through the ancient territory of Besala, 

 now called Sarun ; and through a portion of Mithila now called 

 Tirhut. There I carefully examined and collected such plants 

 as were in flower ; and, on the 1st of April 1802, I ascended into 

 Nepal, where I remained nearly twelve months, delighted with 

 the variety, beauty, and grandeur of its vegetable productions, of 

 which I procured many specimens, descriptions and drawings, all 

 of which I gave to Sir J. E. SMITH, only reserving specimens, 

 where there were duplicates, for Mr LAMBERT. I afterwards 

 had an opportunity of procuring many specimens from the same 

 quarter, and of making many observations on these plants, which 

 I may have occasion to use under the disagreeable circumstance, 

 that I may have described the same plant under different names, 

 among those given to Sir J. E. SMITH, and among those which 

 I afterwards procured ; but under the circumstances already men- 

 tioned, this was unavoidable. For an account of the appearance 

 of the vegetables in this interesting region, I may refer to the 

 Account of Nepal which I have published. 



Soon after my return to Calcutta in 1803, I was appointed 

 Surgeon to the Governor-General ; and the leisure I then had for 

 the study of Natural History, was chiefly employed in superin- 

 tending the Menagerie founded by the Marquis WELLESLEY, and 

 in describing the animals there collected. I returned to Eng- 

 land with this distinguished Nobleman in the end of 1805, and 

 in 1806 was appointed by the Court of Directors to make a sta- 

 tistical survey of the territory under the Presidency of Fort Wil- 

 liam, usually in Europe called Bengal ; but containing many ex- 



