6 Bulletin of the University of Ttxas 



in Hooker's Comp, to Bot, Mag, (1:39-49). They describe the 

 conditions as he found them in this frontier coimtiy and enu- 

 merate the many difficulties with which the botanist and naural- 

 ist of his time had to cope. Transportation Avith sufficient ma- 

 terials to properly preserve collections was a serious problem, 

 and many plants, sometimes entire collections, reached their 

 destination in a worthless condition. (*) 



In 1836, less than two years after Drummond's brief explora- 

 tions in the vicinity of Galveston Island, Ferdinand J. Lind- 

 heimer began a work of the most far reaching importance to 

 Texas botany. Lindheimer had received botanical traininjj at 

 several of the leading universities in Europe, and upon his ar- 

 rival in Texas he at once recognized the unparalleled oppor- 

 tunity Avhich this region offered to the plant lover. The dis- 

 turbances incident to the Texas War of Independence and the 

 imsettled political conditions during the early days of the Re- 

 public, however, were great hindrances in carrvintr on his work, 

 and it was not until 1842 that Lindheimer collected plants in 

 large quantities. In 1843, his friend and schoolmate, Dr. Geo. 

 En?elmann, suggested to Dr. Asa Gray that they cooperate 

 with Lindheimer in the classification and distribution of his 

 collections and thus enable him to give his entire time to field 



work. 



During the nine years following this agreement Lindenheimer 

 devoted himself almost exclusively to botanical work— collect- 

 ing and taking notes on the habitat of plants in this region. 

 These collections, consisting of five fascicles, and representing 

 more than 1400 species, were classified and issued to subscribers 

 by Drs. Engelmann and Gray under the title "Flora Texana 

 Exsiccata." The date and size of these several Lindheimer col- 

 lections is given by Blankinship as follows: Fascicle I, con- 

 taining 214 species, collected in 1843; Fascicle II, represented 

 in the 1844 collection, with Nos. 215-318; Fascicle III, consist- 

 ing of Nos. 819-574, of 1845-6; Fascicle IV, comprising Nos. 

 575-754, collected in 1847-8; and Fascicle V, containing about 



*For a brief biographical sketch of Thomas Drummond, see Ap- 

 pleton's Cyc. of Amer. Biog. 



