

WORK ON THE INDIAN FLORA 277 



As for Botany, I am working hard at ' Fl. Brit. Ind., 

 but am not yet done with Litsaea (alias Tetr anther a), of 

 which I have utterly failed to make natural groups. I shall 

 have, I suppose, 60 or 70 Indian species to be dissected. 

 Without fruit they are very hard to delimit. 



A temporary chagrin was the necessity of reprinting Part I . 

 of the * Genera Plantarum.' The demand had been larger than 

 could reasonably have been expected, and the book was out of 

 print. * I never grudged any job more, 5 he continues. ' By 

 the time I shall be recouped for that I must reprint Part II., 

 a heavier job.' 



To Asa Gray 



Feb. 23, 1886. 



I am still at Laurineae, but nearly done. The one- 

 celled anther ed Litsaeaceae I have followed Bentham in 

 bringing under one genus, Lindera — though I feel satisfied 

 that they should make 3 or 4 by habit and inflorescence. 

 The latter is very curious and often difficult to make out. 

 Bentham did not attempt to understand it — had he attempted 

 it the Gen. Plant, would not now be finished ! Laurineae 

 is one of those Orders that he would have wished me to 

 do, not because I could do it better, but because I have 

 more patience with that sort of analysis that is required 

 and which is necessary, even if I do not make so good a 

 use of it. I did however suppose that Bentham had done 

 generically the S. American ones for Schomburgk and 

 Spruce. 



You never, I think, tried your hand at such a job of 

 exotic plants as classifying any of these obscure, arborescent, 

 tropical Orders. They are a great strain, but I prefer 

 such work to such jerky work as Bot. Mag. But you have 

 your full share of troubles in your own Compositae and 

 other Orders. 



I am now printing Indian Polygonums, 70 species ! 



To Asa Gray 



June 20, 1886. 



I have just completed Laurineae and am utterly dis- 

 satisfied with the result. No doubt I have tripped up 



