UNCO-OED1NATED EFFORTS 17 



others, and incorporating with the Wallichian, &c. &c., at 

 Kew. That and the Precursores must stand as my contri- 

 bution. There is now no difficulty in taking any genus down 

 and describing the species all that remains is to collate 

 with the original Wallichian Herbarium at Linn. Soc. 



In 1869, the sixth year since the work had been officially 

 sanctioned (November 10, 1863), the cry was still for workers. 

 The Botany of India rested in a ' chaotic and disgraceful state.' 

 Even the Calcutta Botanic Gardens remained scarcely accessible 

 to students in Calcutta. Fruitless search for J. L. Stewart's 

 ' Punjab Plants,' printed by the Punjab Government, of which 

 he had heard by accident, revealed the fact that 



the local Governments of India habitually print purely 

 scientific works on Botany which they neither advertise, 

 nor publish, nor distribute to Botanists, and which, as in 

 this case of the Punjab Flora, are quite inaccessible to work- 

 ing Botanists, even when they hear of them. [In short] it 

 is really a pity that steps are not taken to centralize and 

 utilize the Scientific efforts of the Indian Govt. Indian 

 Botany is the bete noire of Botanists. (To Sir Mountstuart 

 Elphinstone Grant Duff, November 3, 1869.) 



He had already suggested that Dr. Cleghorn, a retired 

 civilian, should be employed in writing books on Indian 

 Forestry. 



His little work on the forests of Southern India is a most 

 excellent one, and should be followed by others on the 

 forests of the N.W. Provinces, Bengal, &c. It is a sad pity 

 that the experience of such men, who were the organisers 

 of the Forest System, should go to the grave with them- 

 selves. (To M. E. Grant Duff, February 6, 1869.) 



