Material rcqidrcd for a Botanical Expedition. 273 



collections, notwithstanding that there is much trouble 

 connected with carrying it out, especially during the presence 

 of high winds, as when these were present it used sometimes 

 to take three of us all we could do in the open to properly 

 pack in the plants, and at the same time prevent what we had 

 collected, with all the papers, being blown away. But then 

 one had the comfort of feeling, upon arrival in camp of an 

 evening, after a hard day's work, that the plants were arranged 

 and ticketed ; and the thought that there was no urgent neces- 

 sity for further work connected with them, until every one 

 had had food and rest, amply repays one for all this extra 

 trouble. When the marches were ordinary ones, not necessi- 

 tating much labour, after getting into camp and every 

 one had had their food and rest, and there was still 

 light, my usual procedure was, to place the plants I had 

 collected that morning into fresh paper, and to have sitting 

 by me, inspecting the process, several of the villagers and 

 guides, with whom I conversed, thus obtaining from them 

 all the information they could give me relative to their uses, 

 native names, and products. In this way I gained much, 

 and probably more reliable, information regarding the plants, 

 than if I had only depended upon that of guides or an 

 occasional villager met with whilst collecting. After a heavy 

 hard march all this was left over until the next morning ; 

 but had the plan I propose not been adopted it would have 

 been a necessity, although tired out and weary, to have 

 worked on, and to have arranged out the plants lying in the 

 baskets aud vascida, as after a very few hours they become 

 quite unfit to be properly dried. 



In collecting plants I have always considered the mere 

 plant was of little good, without also obtaining all the local 

 information I could gain regarding it. 



In conclusion, I may say that the whole of the Botanical 

 material required by me in proceeding with the Afghan 

 Delimitation Commission, in 1884, was manufactured on very 

 short notice (with the exception of the waterproof sheeting, 

 which had to be purchased), made, arranged, and packed for 

 me, in accordance with my instructions, at the Central Jail, 

 Lahore, Punjab, India, and in every detail it gave me com- 

 plete satisfaction. 



TRANS. EOT. SOC. VOL. XVIII. 2 I 



