New Publications. 201 



gravings, with the appropriate letter-press ; to appear every 

 three montlis. This work will at once bear evidence to the 

 splendid patronage of the Honourable the Court of Directors of 

 the East India Company, and to the unwearied perseverance 

 and profound botanical knowledge of Dr Wallich ; it will also 

 shew the splendour of vegetation in our eastern dominions, and 

 how very much remains to be done before botanists acquire, or 

 can communicate, a knowledge of the almost endless riches of 

 the vegetable kingdom in the eastern world. The efforts made 

 by the Court of Directors, in exciting and supporting an in- 

 quiry into Indian botany, ought to be generally known, not 

 only as most creditable to themselves, but as directing the ex- 

 pectations of the public in regard of the forthcoming work. 

 Not only has a botanic garden of about 300 acres been long 

 established, and liberally endowed near Calcutta — not only have 

 the Court of Directors, with great judgment and liberality, ap- 

 pointed Dr Wallich for its superintendant — not only have they 

 enabled him to perform various extensive journeys in Hindus- 

 tan, Nipal, the Straits of Malacca, and in the Burman em- 

 pire, defraying all his expences, and enabling him to procure 

 drawings upon the spot, where, surrounded by a profusion of 

 living native specimens, he was able to guard against the er- 

 rors which, in other circumstances, necessarily have their origin 

 in casual deviations from characteristic structure — not only 

 have they done all this, but they have brought Dr Wallich to 

 Europe, with a vast collection of dried specimens, and living 

 plants, that his observations may be again checked by com- 

 parison with authoritative herbaria, and that a work may be 

 given to the world equally creditable to them and to him, and 

 eminently conducive to the interests of science. Lastly, to ena- 

 ble the publishers to do every justice to the execution of the 

 plates, the Court of Directors have taken copies to the value of 

 L. 1200, and Dr Wallich is to have no pecuniaiy interest what- 

 ever in the publication. Most certainly no botanical work ever 

 was edited under circumstances better calculated to promote just 

 expectations of splendid execution, and great scientific exactness. 

 The herbarium brought home by Dr Wjillich contains at the 

 least 8000 species, and the Court of Directors, with a disinte- 

 rested liberality which has no parallel, have authorised the 

 APlllL — JUNE 1829. o 



