On the Botany of India. 367 



presented as a common shrub in Nipal, producing large panicles of 

 blood-red blossoms. Almost all the foregoing, surpassing as is the 

 loveliness of some of them, arc eclipsed by the Bignonia multijuga, 

 tab. 95 and 96, a large forest tree found on the mountains of Sylhet, 

 bearing immense woody panicles of flowers resembling those of the 

 common Catalpa. And, finally, Begonia pedunculosa, tab. 97, is a 

 lovely little herbaceous plant, which seems, from its stems and leaves, 

 as if nature had intended them all for flowers. 



We learn, from the preface, that this work appears under the im- 

 mediate patronage of the East India Company ; we congratulate the 

 author that he has such patrons, and the Company that they have 

 such a servant. 



We have already stated that the second part of the Company's 

 plan was that of distributing throughout the whole scientific world 

 the immense collections which they had caused to be formed at such 

 great charge to themselves, and such incredible personal exertion 

 on the part of their civil servants. The whole of the details of 

 executing this gigantic scheme were of course entrusted to Dr. 

 Wallich, who judiciously adopted exactly the mode that would be 

 most agreeable to a liberal-minded man. He invited all the 

 botanists of Europe to co-operate with him in his enterprise, offer- 

 ing one tribe to this, and another to that person, taking care that in 

 all cases the different families should be placed in the hands of 

 those who were known by their published works to be best ac- 

 quainted with them. What has been the effect? England has 

 seen the learned men of Germany, Russia, and France, repairing 

 to her shores to assist in this splendid project, and those of all 

 nations enrolling themselves in the list of contributors to the noble 

 enterprise of the British East India Company ; she has beheld men 

 of all parties, of all countries, concurring in the prosecution of it, 

 and the great lords and princes of the land supporting it by their 

 countenance and assistance. 



May the example of the British East India Company, in regard 

 to the collections of the Botanic Garden, Calcutta, be followed in 

 all the public establishments of the United Kingdom, and in every 

 department of their own ! May the guardians of our national insti- 

 tutions direct a similar application to be made of the objects of 

 science in their possession; and may our public functionaries destroy 

 for ever, the pernicious practice of collections formed at the expense 

 of the public purse, and by the authority of the British govern- 

 ment, serving no other purpose than that of exclusively augmenting 

 some single collection! 



The second work at the head of this article is a numerical cata- 

 logue of the species that are thus distributed by the East India 

 Company. 



2B2 



