14 Mr. R. B. Hinds on Geographic Botany. 



western coast, and British travellers speak of it in raptui-es ; but 

 whilst the climate continues so highly prejudicial to Europeans, 

 we can only hope to draw feebly from its stores. Of thirty-five 

 travellers on this coast of Africa, twenty-two have fallen victims 

 to the malignity of the climate, four have been murdered by 

 the natives, and nine have returned. The Asiatic cholera, which 

 so startled the world at its first appearance, carried off an insig- 

 nificant proportion compared with this*. 



Thus then I feel at liberty to conclude, that a third of the 

 vegetable kingdom has yet to find its way into the collections of 

 botanists ; and recapitulating our deductions in a tabular form, 

 they will stand as follows : — 



Number of species described in the first four volumes 



of DeCandolle's Prodromus , 20,100 



Allow for species since described or kno\TO to other 



botanists 5,000 



Allow for Yasculares yet to be described in the above 



work 50,200 



75,300 

 Crj^togamous plants 13,870 



89,170 

 Undiscovered species 44,585 



Total . . . 133,755 



It is highly important that the amomit of the vegetable world 

 should be ascertained, as it becomes the basis on which numerous 



* In the 'Historical and Descriptive Account of British India,' published 

 in the ' Edinburgh Cabinet Library,' vol.iii. p. 1G2, is the following paragraph 

 from the pen of Dr. Greville : — "It is extremely difficult to form an estimate 

 of the probable extent of the Indian flora, the vegetation of many parts of the 

 country being entirely unknown, and almost everywhere very imperfectly 

 explored. In fact, in the remote districts, little more has been done than 

 to follow the courses of rivers. The herbarium in the Museum of the East 

 India Company contains about 9000 species, including those known and de- 

 scribed by Roxburgh in his manuscript catalogue, most of whicli were at that 

 time new. To this amount remain to be added a considerable number of 

 new species in the collection of Dr. Wight. « * * Dr. Wallich obtained, 

 from his own personal exertion, in the valley of Nepaid, and within an area 

 of about sixty miles in circumference, upwards of 2500 species. Twelve 

 months was the space of time devoted to this labour, and it cannot be sup- 

 posed that he succeeded in discovering all the vegetable productions of that 

 district. From these and other data it has been calculated by Dr. Wallich 

 that we are not acquainted, at the present moment, with more than the eighth 

 part of the flora of India ; an estimate by no means improbable, but which 

 gives to India itself as many species of plants as we find described in bota- 

 nical works." 



