WOKK ON THE INDIAN FLOE A 277 



As for Botany, I am working hard at ' Fl. Brit. Ind., 

 but am not yet done with Litsaea (alias Tetrantherd), of 

 which I have utterly failed to make natural groups. I shall 

 have, I suppose, 60 or 70 Indian species to be dissected. 

 Without fruit they are very hard to delimit. 



A temporary chagrin was the necessity of reprinting Part I. 

 of the ' Genera Plantarum.' The demand had been larger than 

 could reasonably have been expected, and the book was out of 

 print. ' I never grudged any job more,' he continues. ' By 

 the time I shall be recouped for that I must reprint Part II., 

 a heavier job.' 



To Asa Gray 



Feb. 23, 1886. 



I am still at Laurineae, but nearly done. The one- 

 celled anthered Litsaeaceae I have followed Bentham in 

 bringing under one genus, Lindera though I feel satisfied 

 that they should make 3 or 4 by habit and inflorescence. 

 The latter is very curious and often difficult to make out. 

 Bentham did not attempt to understand it had he attempted 

 it the Gen. Plant, would not now be finished ! Laurineae 

 is one of those Orders that he would have wished me to 

 do, not because I could do it better, but because I have 

 more patience with that sort of analysis that is required 

 and which is necessary, even if I do not make so good a 

 use of it. I did however suppose that Bentham had done 

 generically the S. American ones for Schomburgk and 

 Spruce. 



You never, I think, tried your hand at such a job of 

 exotic plants as classifying any of these obscure, arborescent, 

 tropical Orders. They are a great strain, but I prefer 

 such work to such jerky work as Bot. Mag. But you have 

 your full share of troubles in your own Compositae and 

 other Orders. 



I am now printing Indian Polygonums, 70 species ! 



To Asa Gray 



June 20, 1886. 



I have just completed Laurineae and am utterly dis- 

 satisfied with the result. No doubt I have tripped up 



