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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLIX. No. 1275 



tion is more easily quickened. Aside from his 

 great merits as a master of technical botany, 

 he will always live in the pages of history as 

 one of the group of men immediately asso- 

 ciated with Darwin. The personalities of 

 Darwin, Hooker, Huxley and "Wallace stand 

 out in the history of biological science in such 

 a manner that they are never likely to be 

 forgotton. On the contrary, because they will 

 be taken as typical of a movement and a 

 period, they will increase rather than diminish 

 in the estimation of mankind. They will 

 have the value of a moral force; veritable 

 saints of science, patterns for all later genera- 

 tions. In strict equity, it may be that Hooker 

 should not stand on so high a pedestal as we 

 shall place him, but we are concerned rather 

 with our needs than his deserts. 



Under these circumstances, an authoritative 

 and full account of the life of Sir Joseph 

 Hooker becomes a necessity. This work, 

 written by Leonard Huxley, and based on 

 materials collected and arranged by Lady 

 Hooker, has just been published in two vol- 

 umes, and is the subject of this notice. It is 

 the story of a long life of incessant activity; 

 devoted to the classification and description of 

 plants, the administration of a great botanical 

 establishment, and to explorations in distant 

 regions. In 1837 Hooker published the de- 

 scriptions of three new mosses; in 1911 he 

 published a number of new species of Im- 

 patiens. Such a record is surely unique. It 

 seems strange to think that this man, whose 

 living presence is still vividly in our mind, 

 knew four of the founders of the Linnean 

 Society, and talked with Humboldt. There is 

 an amusing account of his first meeting with 

 Humboldt in Paris: 



On putting up here I sent dn my card with Mr. 

 Brown's books to Baron Humboldt; he was not 

 at home, but sent his flunkey (Sooticfe Footman) to 

 my bedroom at eight o'clock yesterday morning to 

 say his master wished to see me at nine o'clock. 

 Ten minutes after his Lord had grown impatient 

 and sent to say he was aU ready, so I went in and 

 saw to my horror a punchy little German, instead 

 of a Humboldt. There was no mistaking his head, 

 however, which is exceedingly like all the por- 



traits, though now powdered with white. I ex- 

 |)6cted to see a fine fellow six feet without his 

 boots, who would make as few steps to get up 

 Chdmborazo as thoughts to solve a problem. I oan 

 not now at aU fancy his trotting along the Cor- 

 dillera as I once supposed he would hare stalked. 

 However, he received me most kindly and made a 

 great many enquiries about all at Kew and in 

 England. 



Later on, Hooker was able to emulate Hum- 

 boldt in the exploration of mountains, but on 

 the other side of the world — in the Himalayas. 

 The story of his Indian work is well known, 

 but is of perennial interest. He did much 

 more than explore new regions and find new 

 plants. India is indebted to him for much of 

 her scientific development and material pros- 

 perity. When he went there, he foimd the 

 government singularly apathetic as regards 

 science. He went out with Lord Dalhousie, 

 the governor-general, who took a fancy to him 

 and treated him very kindly, but had no inter- 

 est in botany. In a letter home he relates : 



I find Lord Dalhousie an extremely agreeable 

 and intelligent man in everything but natural his- 

 tory and science of which he has a lamentably low 

 opinion, I fear. He is a perfect specimen of the 

 miserable system of education pursued at Oxford, 

 and as ignorant of the origin and working of our 

 most common manufacturing products and arts as 

 he is well informed on all matters of finance, 

 policy, etc. I very carefully drop a little knowl- 

 edge into him now and then; but I can not awaken 

 an interest or any sympathy in my pursuits: he is 

 much pleased at my being busy, and especially with 

 my carrying on my meteorological register three 

 times a day. Lady Dalhousie shares her husband 's 

 apathy, but is otherwise a kind hearted creature. 

 In the desert I brought them the gum arable 

 Acaoia, which I thought must interest the late 

 president of the board of trade; but he chucked 

 it out of the carriage window: and the rose of 

 Jericho, with an interest about it of a totally dif- 

 ferent character, met no better fate. 



On his return from India and indeed while 

 he was still there, he contemplated a " Flora 

 Indica," to contain descriptions of all known 

 Indian plants. In a letter to his father he 

 wrote: 



lit as easy to talk of a "Flora Indica," and 

 Thomson and I do talk of it, to imbecility 1 But 



