36 
6. I believe I am only fulfilling my duty, as head of the 
establishment in which the work has been accomplished, in bring- 
ing these facts under the notice of the Secretary of State in 
Lam, &ce., 
(Sgd.) W. T. THISELTON-DYER. 
Sir Charles Bernard, K.C.S.I., 
~ India Office 
Whitehall, S.W. 
Flora of Mauritius and the Seychelles. 
In an address to the Royal Society of Mauritius delivered in 
January, 1884, Sir Henry Barkly, the Governor, said :— 
“Tt is ny satisfactory to me to learn further on the authority 
of one [Mr. L. Bouton] who has rendered such eminent services 
to Botany in the Mauritius, that materials for the ‘pubHéatiitk of a 
pe igs Flora of the Island exist in greater abundance especially 
in nerated friend the 
Dikecies of the Royal Gardens at Kew was aware of when 
nned his recent Circular on Colonial Floras. I will readily 
write to Sir William Hooker on the subject if the Secretary will 
let me know what your collection contains, and if you will place 
that collection temporarily at the disposal of whatever botanist 
be selected by the Imperial Government to edit the w hole, 
tions in France must be very rich in Mauritian specimens, Me aa 
at Kew I know several valuable Herbaria have from time to time 
been acquired, including, in all she para f that of the Ae Dr. 
Ayres which had been offered for sale by his Widow when I last 
heard. heed expense of such a work so far as the Colony is 
concerned, would be vente ‘inconsiderate even including the 
outlay that it “would be requisite to incur on the spot, and -y I 
anticipate no objections to the vote, either here or at home, I 
will undertake to expedite the matter as much as I possibly oe: 
Having from the first not only taken a warm interest in Sir 
William Hoo eet shail for publishing uniform, inexpensive, 
descriptions of the Plants of all our Colonies, but given my 
best support to Sir William Denison’s more ambitious design of 
regarding such a work as the commencement only of a General 
Natural History for each of the Dependencies of the British 
Empire, it will afford me Bess cents pleasure to see a Se 
made during my residence here, as has been the case 
the two last colonies Outs whieh 1 have presided.” 
