576 STEWART: FLORA OF LADAK, WESTERN TIBET 
interest in the agriculture of the people and the plants that might 
be useful elsewhere. Though his book (29) is nearly a hundred years 
old it is the best account of the crops and methods of cultivation. 
The few specimens he collected were sent to Wallich or Royle. 
Vigne (38), who visited Kashmir, Astor, Skardu and Ladak 
in 1835, collected ninety species, but some were in such bad shape 
that Royle could not determine them. 
Falconer, who was in charge of the Saharunpur Gardens, 
collected a little later (1839?) in Kashmir and Baltistan but he does 
not seem to have penetrated into Ladak any further than Dras. 
The best collecting that has been done was probably by 
Thomas Thomson (36, 37), from 1847 to 1848. He was botanist 
to the Tibetan Boundary Commission appointed by Lord Hard- 
inge. Captain Henry Strachey, another keen observer, was in 
charge of the survey. Western Tibet was explored from Spiti to 
the Karakorams and large collections were accumulated which 
were widely distributed. Most of the Ladak specimens in the 
herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden were collected at 
this time. 
In 1848, Richard Strachey (35) with J. E. Winterbottom, 
visited Lake Manasarowar and explored the Tibetan course of 
the Sutlej. This is really outside of Ladak but the flora is much 
the same. The next year, with his brother Henry, Richard 
Strachey went in from Ladak and explored Hanle and the Tibetan 
province of Guge. We are indebted to these three men fora great 
deal of valuable botanical and geographical information. 
From 1855 to 1857 the Schlagintweit brothers (32) visited 
the Himalayas, crossing Ladak and going into Tibet. They were 
not botanists but they collected plants carefully and their collec- 
tions have been worked up by different specialists. 
About 1862, while on a pleasure trip, William Hay made 4 
collection of Rupshu plants to which Hooker had access He does 
not seem to have published anything. 
J. L. Stewart (33), about 1868, made a botanical tour through 
Rupshu and Ladak. Although he mentions some of his findings 
in his publications he did not publish a complete list. 
In 1873 Henderson and Hume (21), members of the Forsyth 
Mission, published a list of four hundred and twelve plants col- 
