THE CAUCASUS AND THE HIMALAYA 363 



it openly in markets. No one remembered that is a very- 

 old story, and that Huxley somewhere (in * Man's Place in 

 Nature,' I think) gives a copy of a woodcut out of some old 

 book, of the shambles with joints for sale on the table. The 

 result of the practice was the finest race of people in the 

 world, with ne'er an old, halt, blind or sick member of the 

 community ! I shall wait for verification. 



In 1896, when he received Mr. Douglas Freshfield's 

 4 Caucasus ' (see p. 382 note), he had just entered his eightieth 

 year ; but his old love of the mountains and mountain botany 

 broke out as unquenchably as ever. 



The Camp, Sunningdale : July 31, 1896. 



Dear Mr. Freshfield, — Now that I have made progress 

 with your ' Caucasus ' I must express my admiration of the 

 work, both as to matter and style. What I knew before I 

 owe to you, but time had blunted my memory, and to what 

 of it remains these noble volumes add a hundredfold in 

 instruction and pleasure. 



The lushness of the vegetation bordering on the Forest 

 zones reminds me of the Himalayas, but I think that the 

 special types such as Umbelliferae and Compositae that 

 abound in both mountain systems attain a greater stature 

 in the Caucasus. On the other hand the Alpine flora of the 

 Himalaya in variety of type I think beats both the Caucasus 

 and the European Alps. I should like to institute the 

 comparison by a visit to the scenes of your * head and heels ' 

 labors ; but what can an Octogenarian do ? You may yet 

 set foot in the Himalayas, and I hope you will. With your 

 powers of grouping big features of rock and forestry a brief 

 sojourn would not fail to bring out points of difference and 

 likeness that would be of high interest and value. 



Again thanking you for your truly magnificent gift, 

 Believe me, sincerely yours, 



J. D. Hooker: 



Lord Kelvin's jubilee in June 1896 as Professor at Glasgow 

 was one of the exceptional occasions which he felt in duty 

 bound to attend, whatever its fatigues, for he remarked to 

 Mr. La Touche : 



