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been pushed south by the advancing ice into' America as well as Asia, and 

 had found congenial sites in the forest area of the east coast of America, 

 but the ice-cap remaining long on the Rockies, had prevented these 

 plants from settling there except in some favoured localities, while the 

 desert region which developed in the middle of the continent prevented 

 the eastern plants from re-invading the Rockies, which were eventually 

 peopled largely from Mexico. With regard to Greenland, Hooker 

 believed that the advance of the ice-cap there had pushed the plants 

 into the sea, so that there could be no return for them, and nore-peopling 

 from elsewhere, hence the paucity of the Greenland flora. He was inclined 

 to accept Buffon and Saporta's view that vegetable life may have begun 

 at one of the poles, because these would be the first regions to become 

 cool enough to support life, and the balance of evidence seemed to him 

 to point to the north pole, because distribution has apparently flowed 

 in general from north to south, as already noted with regard to India and 

 Australia. Scandinavian types are very widely distributed ; and old 

 types, such as cycads and Proteaceae have perhaps reached the southern 

 hemisphere in quite recent geological times, while becoming almost extinct 

 in the north. 



After this journey in America, Hooker had botanized in all the 

 continents of the world, as well as on many oceanic islands. Yet these 

 expeditions formed the smallest part of his life-work : for the greatest part 

 he was at Kew, where he worked up not only his own collections but those 

 of others. He published a Flora of-the Cameroons, wrote on the Galapagos, 

 plants, and on the distribution of Arctic Plants. The immense herbarium 

 was gradually brought into order and constantly added to, the gardens were 

 improved, and new buildings added ; he was always ready to make 

 observations and experiments for Darwin on the structure cf orchids, the 

 habits of carnivorous plants, etc., and he took a great interest in the econo- 

 mic botany of the Empire. In the 70's there was a great demand for 

 eucalyptus trees to combat malaria, and many were supplied from Kew : 

 to Hooker was due the importation of rubber, of which he foresaw the 

 importance, into Ceylon, Fiji, Australia, Java, and Zanzibar ; Liberian coffee 

 first grown at Kew became a flourishing crop in the East and West Indies; 

 chocolate was introduced into Ceylon, cinchona established in India, 

 and various fodder grasses were taken to new centres. The cigar industry 

 in Jamaica was due to Hooker, and together with other crops, such as 

 cinchona and fruits, rescued the island from bankruptcy when the sugar 

 industry failed. Hooker's advice was that small cheap botanical gardens, 

 for economical plants only, should be started in all our colonies. 



After being Sir Willian Hooker's assistant at Kew from 1855, Sir Joseph 

 naturally stepped into his father's place when the latter died, and was 

 Director of Kew from 1865 to 1885. On his retirement, a private letter 

 from Lord Iddesleigh expressed the opinion that Kew would be to Joseph 

 Hooker what St. Paul's was to Wren. Sir Joseph sent thanks in the name 

 of his family, so as to include his father, to whom he was always loyal by 

 devoted, and in a letter to a friend be acknowledges that "Kew is what my 

 father and I have made it by our sole unaided efforts." His influence on 

 botanical science was felt in many ways, especially as he was member of 

 many scientific and learned societies, and President of the Royal Society. 

 He retired only to work harder than ever at his plants, freed from the 

 administrative and offiicial duties of his position at Kew. 



Although he was twice married, none of Hooker's children became 

 botanists, but his daughter's husband, William Thistleton-Dyer. who had 

 been his private secretary, succeeded hira as Director at Kew, 



