200 JORNAL DE SCIENCIAS MATHEiMATlCAS 



«Furthermore he could not give a personal gnarantee of this áP 

 rangement being effectued without detriment to the interest of the Por-" 

 tuguese Government, except he had the power to appoint, for the pur- 

 pose of the supervision in question, a thoroughly confipetent Botanist, 

 experienced in the habits of selecting and arranging botanical specimens- 

 and manuscripts. 



«Such a fit person could be procured by Dr. Hooker only from 

 the Establishment over which he presides at Kew; and the diversion of 

 such a person from his official duties at Kew would be sanctioned by his 

 Government, only in case it could be shown that some direct advantage 

 to the Establishment would follow. Dr. Gomes's proposition, however, 

 that the Portuguese Government might give a set of Dr. Welwitsch'» 

 Botanical CoUections to the Establishment at Kew, at the same time 

 that it gave one to the British Museum, meets this diííicuUy; thus ena- 

 bling Dr. Hooker to detach Professor Oliver from his duties at Kew to 

 assist the arrangement of Dr. Welwitsch's Herbarium in the interests of 

 both the Portuguese Government and of Kew. 



«It also relieves the Portuguese Government of any expense in 

 paying for the services of a competent guardian of its interests, for the 

 only expense which it would incur would be the very trifling one of 

 having copies made for Kew of the «study set» of the collection. 



«The effect of this arrangement would be in another way favoura- 

 ble to the Portuguese Government in as much as that Government is 

 under an engagement to give to Kew as complete a set as possible of 

 Dr. Welwitsch's Botanical CoUections in return for the material assis- 

 tance received in so many ways by Dr. Welwitsch from the late and 

 present Directors of Kew, and from the ofíicers, Library, and Herba- 

 rium of that Establishment; an engagement which could not be fulfilled 

 by the Portuguese Government, under circunstances so favorable to 

 itself, as under Dr. Gomes's suggested arrangements. 



«Under these conditions, ali that remains for Dr. Hooker to do, is 

 to accept the responsibilities incurred under the above proposal, the 

 Portuguese Government agreeing to defray the cost of copying the notes 

 in the study set, and the expenses attending the packing and transport 

 of the collections belonging to lhe Portuguese Government from the 

 British Museum to any place appointed by that Government.==Signed 

 Jos. D. Hooker. y> 



In addition to the advantages assured to us by this declaration and 

 assumed responsibility of Dr. Hooker he gave us the hope of receiving 

 the study set not only ordered but even classified and determined in 



