DR. seemann's study-set. 103 



to England. On his return to England, Sir William Hooker procured 

 through the Admiralty a grant from Her Majesty's Treasury for the 

 publication of Dr. Seemann's botanical collections. I was residing at 

 Kew at that time, and at his own request assisted Dr. Seemann in 

 the examination and drawings of many of the specimens for such 

 publication. These drawings were, for the most part, made from 

 specimens contained in the herbarium at Kew, and not from any 

 study-set or other collection possessed by Dr. Seemann. After 

 Dr. Seemann's return. Sir William Hooker gave him permission to 

 select for himself specimens from the duplicates that remained over 

 after the arrangement and distribution referred to, and these were 

 to my certain knowledge the only collection of his plants that Dr. 

 Seemann possessed or could have had consistently with his engage- 

 ments. The study-set, wrongly so called, of such collection, pur- 

 chased by the Trustees of the British Museum, consists of plants 

 given to Dr. Seemann by Sir William Hooker at Kew, and the 

 notes and descriptions referred to in the said affidavit are, to the 

 best of my recollection, duplicates of those made during his voyage 

 by Dr. Seemann, together with those which he and others (myself 

 included) made during the examination of the said collections for 

 publication." 



Dr. Seemann's own description of the collections is given in the 

 following letter to Mr. J. J. Bennett, then Keeper of the Department 

 of Botany in the British Museum : — 



**22, Canonbury Square, N., 



'' Sept. 19, 1862. 

 ** My dear Sir, 



'' DeCandolle, who has at various times borrowed 

 sets of my Herbarium for working at his ' Prodromus,' wrote to me 

 a few days ago, enquiring whether I should like to dispose of all the 

 plants serving as the basis of my ' Botany of the Herald.' I have 

 not yet answered his letter, as I often thought that I might offer 

 them to the British Museum. 



" There is only one more set in existence, and that is at Kew. 

 All the specimens are glued down on writing-paper, not quite so 

 large as that employed by you, but within an inch or so agreeing in 

 size. They are in good preservation, and all named and arranged 

 in families. If you will look at the ' Botany [of the] Herald,' you 

 will see that a good many authors of note have had the handling of 

 them ; and here are the authentic specimens. They are the set 

 that I was allowed to keep according to agreement. 



*' My reasons for wishing to dispose of them are because I have 

 no room for them at my own house, and do not wish to keep them 

 any longer at Kew. There are 2000 and odd species, and if you 

 could make any use of them at the usual rate of charge, I should 

 feel much obliged to you. 



"Yours truly, 



<<B. Seemann." 



We will now proceed to discover which of these accounts of the 

 collections is to be accepted. 



