112 ROBERT BROWN 



also seaworthy, he possessed many physical advantages, but in 

 addition to them he had trained himself as an accurate and 

 accomplished botanist. He spent what time he could spare in 

 London in acquainting himself with all that he could find of the 

 New Holland Flora, and in this connection he had full access to 

 the invaluable Banksian collections. 



He was fortunate in having with him on the expedition as 

 draughtsman Ferdinand Bauer, whose beautiful drawings are 

 the admiration of all who know them. 



The Investigator sailed from Portsmouth in 1801, and on 

 landing at King George's Sound the first collections, amounting 

 to about 500 plants, were made within three weeks. Three days 

 at Lucky Bay yielded 100 species not met with in the previous 

 locality. At Port Jackson the Investigator was condemned as 

 unseaworthy, and Captain Flinders determined to return to 

 England to obtain another ship in which to prosecute the 

 expedition. The ship, however, was wrecked in Torres Straits, 

 Brown's duplicate specimens, as well as the live plants on board, 

 being lost, whilst Captain Flinders was held prisoner by the 

 French at Port Louis. Meantime Brown and Bauer continued 

 their travels in Australia, visiting Van Dieman's land as well. 

 Brown subsequently returned to England, oddly enough in the 

 old Investigator, in 1805 with a magnificent collection of plants 

 some 4000 in number. 



He did not merely collect^ but he studied his collections on 

 the spot a method that may be strongly commended to young 

 men who go out as botanists at the present time. His plan was 

 to keep a working herbarium of all the plants gathered by him, 

 as he went along, and he wrote up the descriptions in great part 

 during his actual expeditions. In this way many problems 

 formulated themselves which he was able either to investigate 

 on the spot, or else to lay up additional material for further 

 investigation at leisure. Thus the methodical ways of dealing 

 with the plants collected in earlier years at home stood him in 

 good stead at a time when the opportunities of a lifetime were 

 crowding upon him. 



On his return to England he was appointed librarian to the 

 Linnean Society (1805), an office which he held till 1822, and he 



