EXPLORATION AND COLLECTIONS. 



1703, Thomas Walker, Chief Justice for the Bahama Plantation, sent plants 

 from New Providence to James Petiver in London, as recorded on the last 

 page of Petiver 's ''Musei Petiveriani" in the following paragraph: 



30. Mr. Thomas Walker. This Generous Gentleman, at the desire of 

 my kind Friend Mr. Kobert Ellis, hath lately sent me Specimens of the 

 Brasiletto Wood, and some other Trees and Plants from New Providence, 

 one of the Bahama Islands: for which I am extreamly obliged to him, and 

 for his kind Promises of greater Performances, by the next and all Oppor- 

 tunities. 



From information given us by Mr. L. J. K. Brace, it would appear that 

 Walker lived at Nassau until 1722. 



1725-6. Mark Catesby sailed from Florida to New Providence in 1725 and 

 there began his studies of the plant life of the island in connection with 

 his pursuit of general Natural History. He later embodied the results of 

 his work, with that along the Atlantic Coast, in his excellently illustrated 

 folios on the ''Natural History of the Carolinas, " the fine plates of which 

 formed one of the bases of Linnaeus' Species. In the course of his work 

 he is known to have also visited Abaco, Andros and Eleuthera. His plates 

 illustrating Bahama species are cited in our text with the exception- of 

 plate 86 of the first volume, which we are unable to understand. The 

 balance of his plates are either not botanical or are plants of the Atlantic 

 Coast from Virginia southward to North Florida. 



He preserved but few specimens of dried plants: one set of these he 

 gave to his patron, Sir Hans Sloane, this set is now in herb. British 

 Museum; another to Sherard, now in herb. Oxford; and a third series is 

 said to have come into the possession of the Physick Garden of Chelsea. 



1730-32. Francis Dale, Jr., probably of Hoxton, England, appears to have 

 collected in both the East and West Indies. In 1730 he sent to Samuel 

 Dale (a relative) a large number of specimens from New Providence, and 

 in 1732 another lot from ''Bahama^ with seeds, some of which were raised 

 in the Braintree Garden" (Journ. Bot. 21: 227, 1883). His library and 

 ''Hort. Sice." were bequeathed to the Society of Apothecaries of London 

 with the proviso that they be deposited in the Physick Garden of Chelsea. 



1784. F. Boos, in company with F. J. M,arter and Dr. J. D. Schopf, visited 

 New Providence and other islands from March to September 1784. Their 

 collections consisted principally of living plants which were transferred to 

 the Botanic Gardens of Schonbrunn, near Vienna, where many of them 

 were depicted and described by Jacquin. Marter's plants are in herb. 

 Munich. 



1789. Andre Michaux collected in the Bahamas from Feb. 25 to March 29, 

 1789. His collection, which consisted largely of living material, was prin- 

 cipally confined to New Providence though he also explored the nearby 



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