400 FINAL BOTANICAL WOKK 



respective districts, to stir the Government to interest itself 

 in the work of the botanists, scientific and economic, and the 

 means at their disposal. 



Nor was he satisfied with the botanical publications of 

 India. Officially published works were indifferently distributed 

 to botanical workers ; and the writers themselves often did 

 not reach his own standard of fidelity in reference and thorough- 

 ness of re-examination, such as provoked his regretful criticism 

 to Gamble (June 13, 1904) : 



I am writing to about that Phoenix which he boldly 



refers to P. rdbusia,, without having seen flower or fruits of 

 the species he has discovered, or a ghost even of P. robusta ! 

 That is the way Botany is done in India. 



And as for central organisation, he repeats to Gamble 

 (January 15, 1907) : 



Botany seems to be dead in India ; some reform is needed. 

 There seems to be no organised scientific force which the 

 Govt. would respect and listen to, as the Home Govt. 

 does to the Eoyal Society a position which the Bengal 

 Asiatic Society should take, and which would not allow of 

 the Lhassan Expedition being sent out without a Botanist, 

 Geologist, Zoologist and Agriculturist without a remon- 

 strance which would have reached England and engaged 

 the E.S. in its favour. 



After the Indian Balsams, the African. These he worked 

 at in the same way from February to May 1905, while awaiting 

 some of his Epitome proofs from India, * dissecting and drawing 

 the flowers of every species, but for which it would be impossible 

 to match future specimens.' Here were the same difficulties, 

 the same impossibility of good results from herbarium specimens 

 unless specially collected and preserved. ' Orchids are child's 

 play in comparison.' 



It amuses me [he continues to Gamble on May 10, 1905] to 

 find that I only discovered all this at the end of my botanical 

 career ! The fact is that the genus will be a curse to systema- 

 tists for many a long year. 



