COLONIAL AND INDIAN FLOBAS 18 



The Australian Govts. have taken up the Flora in 

 earnest and will pay Bentham well to do a Flora Austra- 

 lasiae. I wonder when the Indian Govts. will. I have 

 been really thinking that if the Indian Govts. (Calcutta, 

 Bombay and Madras) would club to make it worth my 

 while I would yet do * Flora Indica ' and give up examina- 

 tions and all my other emoluments but Kew for 8 years. 

 I should do it in English, like Flora Hong Kong in all respects, 

 I think it would all come into 8 volumes of 1200-1400 

 species in each, and if Bengal would grant 100 per volume 

 and Madras and Bombay 50 each, and they would together 

 take 100 copies from the publisher, at not more than 20s. 

 per volume, I would undertake the work and devote my 

 faculties to it till finished. I have now been 14 years 

 working at the Indian Flora continually, and I must confess 

 I feel loth to leave the work to others now that the way is 

 all cleared by myself. 



His hope was that Anderson might arrange for the proposal 

 to come from the Indian Government, and he writes (April 21, 

 1862) : 



I shall be very anxious to hear what terms you shall have 

 made with Laing about Flora Indica. I really cannot make 

 up my own mind as to Latin or English and shall only be too 

 glad to have that settled for me ; du reste we are agreed 

 on plan &c. 



And in July : 



My* impression is that for a Flora of all India Latin would 

 be best, for departmental or Presidential English. 



The matter dragged, as official matters do, and he was 

 vexed by the delay. 



August 4, 1862. 



Sir W. Denison has just written asking me what steps are 

 taken in Calcutta about ' Flora Indica.' I have answered; 

 sending extract of yours of March 10th, saying that you had 

 prepared a plan which Laing had promised to sanction, and 

 that I was to have option of refusing it which was all 

 very fine, but never a word have I heard since from you 

 or anyone else. I am heartily sick of you Indians and your 



