240 KEW : 1879-1885 



of the past out of date. But the burdensomeness of this 

 inevitable work could be sadly increased by the spasmodic 

 action of Government departments. 



To Asa Gray 



January 20, 1880. 



I wrote you the other day and have no further news. 

 Sargent wants any amount of the Indian woods, &c., of which 

 and other things there are 36 tons measurement coming to 

 Kew from the India Store department, and I cannot tell you 

 how many tons we have already disposed of the accumula- 

 tion of 80 years' extravagant collecting in India without 

 judgment or regard to cost, and of utter mismanagement, 

 indolence, and caprice on the part of the India Museum 

 authorities here. I suppose there never was such a revela- 

 tion of the sort (in the Museum way). Many many thousands 

 of pounds must have been spent in India upon the collecting 

 duplicates on duplicates, put up in the most expensive manner, 

 to be destroyed unopened by rust, dust, rats, and insects. 

 There are, I am told, cases of Cashmere shawls riddled by 

 vermin, sent for exhibition (these of course were not coming 

 with my 36 tons ! of vegetable produce), and a silver Elephant 

 Howdah. I need not say we are tremendously worked. 

 Dyer gets through work most wonderfully, and is a very 

 skilful manager. 



The Indian Government gives us 2000 to add to the big 

 Museum, and I have screwed 450 out of the Treasury to add 

 to the little one (that my Father inaugurated), so we shall 

 have space enough ; but it will cost us the re -arrangement 

 of both Museums ' au fond,' and as poor Dyer has just com- 

 pleted that operation, we do growl at the job. 



A far more agreeable feature of the time was the inaugura- 

 tion of the regular garden parties, which became a social link 

 with the many personal and official friends in London. A letter 

 written by an old friend in December 1915 gives a capital 

 description of these. 



No one privileged to be present at one of the famous 

 Eoyal Gardens' summer parties during the last years of Sir 

 Joseph Hooker's Directorship could ever forget the especially 



