172 EETUEN TO ENGLAND : AND VISIT TO PAKIS 



and beautiful plants, and the number of species I collected, 

 on examination far exceeds my most sanguine expectations — 

 330 in all ' (September 1844). Sending his notes to Ross in 

 November 1844 he writes : 



These have been drawn up in the rough for some time, 

 but the most important parts, concerning the proportional 

 amount of the different orders, present such curious results, 

 that I was anxious to go over all the figuring again, which 

 is (as you may perhaps remember) to me very laborious 

 and slow work. As it is I do not know whether they are 

 too short, but the vegetation was so very remarkable and 

 so unlike any other flora to compare with it, that I feared 

 making so prosy a thing longer. On the other hand they 

 may be too long, but I did not know how to say less. All 

 I can do is to repeat my hopes that you will use your 

 discretion with it. My Father has looked it over and 

 approved it, but says with me that the Flora is too novel 

 to say less ot and by being so, too unintelhgible to 

 most to render much more readable. So I hope I have 

 steered a middle course. Certainly no spot on the globe 

 has so large a proportion of new plants and far less of 

 such beauties. 



The last of these botanical sketches asked for by Ross 

 was that of Cockburn Island. This took some time, for 

 (December 15, 1845) he had to compare the species with the 

 Polar ones before venturing to write anything definite upon 

 them. 



As the book went through the press he saw proofs of the 

 earlier part, and to his horror found that Ross had reproduced 

 his account of the Fossil Tree which had appeared without 

 his wish or knowledge in the Tasmanian Journal. It had not 

 been written for publication, and with Ronald Gunn's con- 

 jectural emendations, was in places unintelligible. The great 

 Robert Brown on seeing this had dubbed it ' a very careless 

 production.' He at once begged Ross (January 30, 1847) 

 to correct the unintelligible words, offering as an alternative 

 to rewrite the whole thing. 



On the other hand, he helped Ross materially by lending 



