48 SCIENTIFIC WOKK, 1860-1865 



more than ever necessary to put an end to the fundamental 

 anomalies of its ownership. 



Sir William's own wish was that the nation should pur- 

 chase his herbarium — the one valuable piece of property he 

 could bequeath to his son: and he left a memorandum to 

 this effect — though unsigned, for he had procrastinated too 

 long over the matter. Thus, the year after his death the State 

 bought the herbarium, some 1000 volumes from his library, and 

 a matchless collection of botanical drawings, maps, MSS., 

 portraits of botanists, and letters from botanical correspon- 

 dents, to the number of about 27,000, for the sum of £7,000. 



A year later, the Gay Herbarium at Paris came into the 

 market. Hooker purchased it for £400 and presented it to Kew. 

 As it contained a number of specimens which were lacking 

 in the Kew Herbarium, he prided himself on the result. 

 Writing to Berkeley on November 20, 1870, apropos of a new 

 botanical correspondent, with the quality of whose contribu- 

 tion he was much taken, he adds : 



Pray, however, undeceive her about Kew's poverty of 

 European plants, which is rather a cut after my purchase of 

 Gay's Herbarium and presentation of it to Kew ! and which 

 for completeness and perfection beats the Paris ' European ' 

 Herbarium — otherwise the finest in Europe. Having the 

 Gayan I should not feel justified in buying the Pittonian. 



The principal change was that the new Director had no 

 Assistant Director. In fact there was no one qualified to take 

 the special post, and the lieutenancy was divided. One sub- 

 ordinate became official assistant in the Gardens : a second in 

 scientific matters, though here Hooker demanded yet another 

 assistant. 



The general effect upon Kew of the new appointment is 

 described in a letter to Darwin (November 1865) : 



I am up in heaps with work, and find I shall have a des- 

 perate fight to get scientific assistance. I will not give in 

 however. I am prepared to improve the Gardens enormously 

 and will do so, but if the scientific character of the establish- 

 ment is to go down one iota, I shall intimate that I only hold 



