DR. HOOKER. 349 



rich botanical productions of the country, are com- 

 paratively unknown ; so that on the arrival of Dr. 

 Hooker, which it is to be regretted, will be deferred 

 for two years, we may look for many mineral and 

 vegetable products, hitherto strangers to the commerce 

 of the island. 



The absence of Dr. Hooker from the scene of his 

 future labours, during the two years he is to spend 

 in India, may have this advantage, that on his arrival, 

 he may find the coast in a more settled state, and 

 be able to travel with greater facility ; but during that 

 period, if it should be found difficult to travel on the 

 main-land, which I do not anticipate, Labuh-an itself 

 would, though small, present him with an ample and 

 interesting field for mineral and botanical research. 



