ACTA ET AGENDA. 565 



after his death 1 . In 1814 he went home and died at Edinburgh on 

 10th April 1815. 



After Roxburgh's departure, Nathaniel Wallich (formerly Nathan 

 Wolff) was the leading Indian botanist. He was a Dane, born at 

 Copenhagen on 28th of January 1787. As surgeon of the Danish 

 settlement of Serampore he was taken prisoner when that place was 

 captured by the English. But he was soon transferred from the prison 

 to the Government gardens at Calcutta, 1815, During the years of his 

 superintendence he added enormously to the collections. After a 

 botanical excursion to Nepal he started the publication of his 

 " Tentamen Florae Nepalensis illustrate. " When he went to England 

 in 1828 he was able to take along with him a huge collection 

 of plants, owing to the fact, that he had employed a great number 

 of collectors in various parts of India. Wallich's original herbarium, 

 which was presented in 1832 to the Linnsean Society by the 

 East India Company, contains about 7,000 species and is a 

 standard work of reference. 2 During his stay in England 

 Wallich finished his " Plantse Asiaticse Rariores" in 3 vols, folio, con- 

 taining 300 coloured plates. It was published by the East India Com- 

 pany between 1830 and 1832. In 1833 we find Wallich in India 

 again, resuming his labours with unremitting zeal ; but ill-health obliged 

 him to go home in 1847, where he died in 1854. 



One of the leading Bengal botanists was William Griffith, born at 

 Ham Common (Surrey). As assistant surgeon he accompanied Wallich 

 to Assam ; he explored the tracts near the Mishmi mountains between 

 Sudiyaand Ava, made a journey from Assam to Ava, and down the Ira- 

 wadi to Rangoon, traversed 400 miles of the Bhutan country, joined the 

 Army of the Indus in a scientific capacity, went from Kabul to Khura- 

 san and succumbed finally to the fatigues and sicknesses due to ex- 

 posure during his long and restless journeys on the 9th February 1 845. 

 " Dr. Griffith," says Markham, '"' was unquestionably the most learned 

 botanist and acute investigator of the many that India can boast of. 

 The various papers communicated to the Linnsean Society of London 



1 . An edition was commenced to be published at Serampore, by Carey, with additions by 

 Wallich, the first volume in 1820, and the second in 1824. A complete edition, in 3 vols., 

 was published by Eoxburgh's son, in 1832, but without Wallich's additions. 



The " Hortus Bengalensis " is a list of all the plants described in Ko x burgh's " Flora 

 Indica," arranged according to the Linnsean system with vernacular names, habit, time of 

 flowering, and references to the plates in Van Rheede's " Hortus Malabaricns." 



2 . A set of Wallich's Herbarium is at Kew. 



