BY HENRY TRYON. 7 
His investigations in the Straits Settlements were, however, of ‘a 
more general nature, for he had set himself to investigate not 
only the ferns but the whole of their vegetation. Even at a late 
stage in the time occupied in this work he could pride himself on 
his immunity from sickness, and did not fail to do so whilst he 
reviewed, no doubt, with evident, satisfaction the mass of material 
—herbarium specimen drawings* and manuscripts—which he had 
accumulated during his laborious undertaking. 
In January, 1885, he writes as follows concerning his projected 
and accomplished work— 
‘“ My idea,is to go to Kew with my whole collection when I| have done 
collecting, and publish a Flora of the place (Straits Settlements). I expect 
the whole material at my disposal will reach three thousand species. 
Great many new things in hand, some of them of generic value. Being so 
busy in colleciing at present I have no time at my disposal for examining, 
comparing, and writing for publication. Most of my material is generically 
determined, and many species too are identified.” 
Such a work would involve the expenditure of much time. 
Meanwhile, then, he must restrict himself, to use his own words, 
to publishing something now and then just to show that he was 
alive, whilst reserving much for his chief work—“ if,” as he added, 
that will ever come out.” ‘I am starting,” he writes in January, 
1885, ‘to publish some genus now and then. A new rubiaceous 
genus has been published ; another is in course of publication.” 
This publication to which he made allusion was his “ Descriptio 
novi generis Rubiacearum,” which was contained in portion of the 
“Journal of Botany” for December, 1885. 
In a letter dated 9th January, 1885, from Thaiping, he men- 
tioned that his health was excellent. The prosecution of his 
investigations, including a long inland trip, during the ensuing 
month was not, however, without some ill effect upon his con- 
stitution, and so he was much upset with sickness. Nevertheless 
he did not lay aside his work, and whilst his convalescence was 
going on during the fall of the same year used the opportunity to 
add to his paper on Australian Pyrenomycetes, and having earlier 
conceived a project of writing a manual on the Ferns of the 
*The habit of making drawings he cultivated to a large extent. Humor- 
ously referring to this occupation he wrote (gth January, 1885) :—‘‘I am 
nothing short of Michael Angelo, still I shall improve. All the orchids I 
meet are written down. To use a translated Malay expression for drawing 
tulis bunga it—write a flower.)~ Over a hundred orchids aré treated so; 
then all the aroids, asclepiads, and several others go through the same 
process.” 
