— Ele 
33 
history of the undertaking. In 1856 Sir William Hooker pro- 
ected a series of Colonial Floras, and the scheme was approved 
ty the Duke of Newcastle, then Secretary of State for the 
Colonies, in 1859. The preparation of the Flora of Tropical 
Africa was sanctioned by the Treasury in 1864. The editorship 
was entrusted to Professor ae who published from 1868 to 
77 three volumes. The work then, from the pressure of other 
undertakings, fell into ahsyatioes In 1891, at the request of Lord 
Salisbury, I resumed its preparation. 
he limits of the work have grown with our knowledge of 
the African Continent. As now planned, the Flora will extend 
to nominally nine volumes, but actually ten, as it has been found 
necessary to divide one into two sections. Seven of the ten 
volumes have now been published. It is to be noticed, however, 
that they have not been issued latterly in consecutive order in 
view of the desirability of OT delay in printing portions 
which were ready for publicatio 
The second capes of ait e 4 is now passing through the 
press. Volumes 6 and 9, which will complete the work, are in 
an active state ar preparatio 
». The work was originally hapa hae under the authority of 
irst Commissioner of Her Majesty’s Works a Public 
fe) te fo 
African possessions is now under the exclusive ca of the 
Colonial ce, ave issued the present part as under the 
authority of the Secretary of State for the Calcistes: to whose 
charge the work must be held to have passed. 
6. By an arrangement sanctioned by the Aiea the oe 
Office takes one hundred copies of each instalment of the w 
on the day of publication, and ining as well as ue onsvionals 
sir iditae Log available for official us 
only, in gee eee cy teeta the hope that this some- 
what peraprmct Ae and, any rate, laborious work, may be 
found, as I believe oaranly it will be, of real service to the 
material development of the resources of nee African possessions. 
t the moment it perhaps is a appr iated in France and 
Germany than by our own countrym 
Tam, Sir 
Your obedient Servant, 
(Sed.)  W. THISELTON-DYER. 
R, L. Antrobus, Esq., C.B., 
Colonial Office, 
Downing Street, S.W. 
COLONIAL OFFICE TO KEW. 
Downing Street, 
29th January, 1906. 
SIR, 
gi: rected a4 the Earl of Elgin to acknowledge the 
r letter of the 8th December and the copy of the 
cal Africa 
eipt of 7 
pera veoandle. published part of the Flora of Tropi 
ied it. 
which accompani 
