16 ECONOMIC BOTANY AND THE NEW FLOEAS 



The Flora of Tropical Africa is ordered, and Oliver and I 

 have to undertake it ! We shall not attempt a complete 

 Flora, but sort of sketch of each genus as far as its species 

 are well known, easily discriminated and worth describing 

 if new, and so on. 



In short (October 12) 



we are all worked within an inch of our lives, and as my own 

 family grows up and my Father advances in years (he is 

 now 79) my daily cares increase in every way, so that I am 

 at times utterly stranded with work. 



Nine years had increased the note of pessimism since Colonel 

 Munro's departure in 1855, and the farewell letter that looked 

 forward eagerly to his return : 



How soon will that be ? I shall hope to have worked out 

 the Indian collections down to Gramineae [Col. Munro's 

 speciality] by that time, when you really must relieve guard, 

 or I shall lay down my musquet — but indeed I do hope that 

 you will have laid by your real one before that, and have 

 left active soldiering to younger men, who have not the 

 stores of intellectual matter to dispense that you have. We 

 Botanists have some property in you and do not wish to 

 lose it. 



But in 1864 the hoped-for progress has not been accom- 

 plished ; and he repeats to Anderson : 



I begin to look to your return before any material 

 progress can be made in so laborious and extensive an 

 undertaking. 



Again, May 20, 1868 : 



I wish indeed you could scheme a few months in England 

 to talk over matters, and still more that I could scheme 

 a cold weather at Calcutta to help you ! In two years you 

 might make a good stroke into the Flora Indica, which 

 Thomson will never do a stroke of — and as for me, my 

 share is done in the 7 years of hard work I had in naming 

 and arranging the whole Indian collections of ourselves, 

 Jacquemont, Griffith, Falconer, Heifer, Wight and all 



