DEPARTMENTAL COMMITTEE ON BOTANICAL WORK : 



Mr. C. B. tliey have gone through the hands of writers and 

 Clarice, F.R.s. botanists. If a new collection were sent from India 



that neither Mr. Bentham, nor Sir Joseph Hooker, nor 



7 Nov. 1900. Sir Joseph Banks had see, it does not so much matter to 



to me whether it is in London, in a popular institution, 



or where it is, but I do not want any part of the present 

 material put in a separate institution. I want the 

 existing or old material all drawn together. In the 

 same way I am most savagely opposed to getting rid of 

 a single duplicate. I have been entrusted at Kew by 

 two successive curators to distribute every duplicate I 

 found as I worked through the orders. Daring the past 

 year I have ordered to be distributed eleven sheets of 

 Kew, and about 45 of other herbaria that are being cor- 

 solidated. Knowing this question was coming up, I 

 counted them yesterday morning. These 56 sheets, out 

 of all that have passed through my hands in one year, 

 are all that should be distributed as duplicates. 



308. There is an historical herbarium deposited at the 

 British Museum ; what would be the proper place for 

 that ? — I have often to go back to that to find the original 

 name, and if I have done my work at Kew I have to travel 

 up, and from my notes look at these old plants, and pro- 

 bably find, as I did the other day, that the name one has 

 written over and over again, and many bota.nists have 

 employed, is all wrong. I niiight have found that out at 

 fiisfc if the historical herbarium had been at Kew. 



309. Do you think, there would be great expense in doing 

 this ? — I cannot say at all what the expense would be. I 

 should like, if you asked me to design the thing, to have 

 galleries, not a great square room. I should like low gal- 

 leries with the plants stored in them. 



310. Do you find the library at Kew sufficient for your 

 work generally 1 — It is sufficient generally, but I have to 

 take notes of books I can only see at the British Museum. 

 I want both libraries very badly indeed. I want not only 

 the books in the botanic library, but the journals. I 

 ought to have books more O'ften than I;do from what the 

 Museum call their General Scientific Library. We want 

 a proper series of the journals at Kew. Kew has 

 sometimes only got extracts from separate papers, or 

 things of that kind. 



311. {Lord jlvebury.) Tou suggested that it would be 

 necessary, as it no doubt would be if the two collections 

 were to be amalgamated, that the plants should be 

 transferred from the small sheets and put on to larger 

 pajjers ? — Exactly so. If that was meditated, I should 

 propose at once to set on a staff of girls with paper to 

 remount the whole of Kew in preparation for the amal- 

 gamation four or five years hence. 



312. That would involve the remounting of the whole 

 Kew collection, would it not ? — ^Yes, and I think it would 

 be a great advantage in many ways. 



313. Would not that require fresh cabinets ? — Certainly. 

 You would require four times the cabinets we have now. 



'The Kew cabinets are worth nothing ; they are made 

 ■of the commonest material, and cost but very little. 

 When you talk of expense, I have not made any calcula- 

 tion, but I suppose, in any case, you would want a whole 

 •quantity of new cabinets. 



314. If I understand you correctly, it practically 

 ■comes to this, that there are no duplicates, or so few, 

 ihat they might be entirely neglected? — Not only 

 that, but we have duplicates and duplicates. It has been 

 said that you do not want two duplicates of one number. 



That is true of a certain very limited amount of 

 numbers ; there are certain collectors who only put 

 their numbers on one collection. You may say you do 

 not want a dui^licate of that, but if you take the 

 numbers of Hewett Watson you will find that nearly all 

 European collections, to begin with, are numbered 

 out of catalogues. These numbers are a great source 

 of error. A man putting a number on piits a name on ; 

 it represents some name in the London Catalogue or 

 Schultz. They are a source of error. It is the dupli- 

 cate nirmbers that I always particularly want in 

 Wallicli's numbers. We would not get rid of these for 

 the world. 



315. Should I correctly represent your views if I were 

 to say that you would not consider the same plant in 

 different conditions, one in fruit and _ the other in the 

 -younger state, as duplicates ? — Certainly not. If you 

 "asve ever so many duplicates, one, perhaps, shows the 

 c-~;aracter you want to work with and not the other. The 

 set at the" Jluseum may be better than the set at Kew. 

 They often show stipules and things we want to see which 

 the Kew does not. 



316. Another point to consider is the locality from 



which they come, is it not ? — Yes. At Kew we are called 

 upon to give the distribution of plants, and you require 

 a very large series of specimens to do that, even for one 

 country, as for India. As a matter of fact, the Kew 

 herbarium is very imperfect in its representation of 

 some large areas, as of Eastern Europe. 



317. Are those the main considerations which lead you 

 to the opinion that there are practically very few dupli- 

 cates ? — Yes, those are the main ones. 



318. I gather that the gist of your evidence is that you 

 want to see the two collections amalgamated, and as to 

 where the amalgamated collection is put you have not ex- 

 pressed any view ? — Yes, that is so. 



319. Probably you will say that the existence of the 

 garden at Kew might give some advantage to Kew, and 

 on the other hand, that the accessibility and existence 

 of the great libraries in London give some advantage to 

 London? — It would unless our library at Kew was 

 strengthened. We should have to travel up. I have 

 sometimes to come up to the Eoyal Society, whicli has 

 some books which are neither at the British Museum 

 nor at Kew. But of course I should propose to strengthen 

 the library at Kew very much. 



320. You are aware that botanists come up from the 

 provinces a good deal to use the collections in the Natural 

 H.story Museum ? — Yes. 



321. And it is more convenient to them having the 



collections in London than if they had to go to Kew ? 



Yes, to many of them. 



322. {Mr. Seymour.) Do you mean (that the speci- 

 mens at Kew require remoimting in any case, or only if 

 there was an amalgamation ?— Only if there was a complete 

 amalgamation. What I think is that with these old his- 

 toric plants which have been used in books, and the types 

 of certain citations if not of the species, it is a great 

 protection to have them on doubled paper. Future ones 

 coming in would, of course, be mounted on single sheets. 

 It would facilitate the handling of the whole thing 

 if we had a <Jertain percentage of the plants doubly 

 mounted. 



323. You think that would not injure them ?— Not 

 in the least. They would not be touched. I would 

 have it done entirely by girls, who would simply paste 

 the present sheet on the larger sheets. The margin 

 might be used for drawings, notes, etc. , and it would 

 be very convenient. 



324. {Professor Balfour.) If you did that it would be 

 rather an advantage to the Kew Herbarium, because the 

 present cases are not dust-tight ? — It would. We ought 

 to have totally different cases. 



325. The whole construction of the cases is of the 

 cheapest and simplest kind, is it not?— I understand 

 that some of the officials have said, "We have only got 

 bedroom furniture at Kew." 



325*. If these specimens were remounted and put in 

 new cases, dust-proof, it would be an advantage to 

 the Herbarium, you think? — Certainly. 



326. You say you have spent four-fifths of your 

 time in this country at Kew, and one-fifth at the British 

 Museum ? — That was a very rough shot. 



327. That would seem to show that for your work 

 you find Kew the most valuable herbarium ? — Yes, I 

 certainly have. I shotild mention that I hav£ grown 

 into the work at Kew. I was obliged to work at Kew 

 for the Flora of British India, and I believe the real 

 reason I work there is because I know the library. 



328. Have you any conception how long, working it 

 in the way you propose, this amalgamation you propose 

 would take? — ^It would depend entirely on how many 

 girls you employ. I think the plants might easily 

 enough be ready as soon as the buildings are, say three 

 to five years. 



329. Then you said it was a matter of indifference to 

 you personally where the collection was placed, but I 

 suppose you will admit there must be always a col- 

 lection at Kew for the garden? — I have never sean 

 it, but I believe there is a garden collection somewhere 

 in the gardens now. 



330. That is for the convenience of the gardeners, 

 but you admit that it is of vital, importance to Kew 

 Gardens that there should be a good herbarium and 

 library kept up there ? — -Practically, I never heard of 

 any botanic gardens where one did not grow up, because 

 they find it so essential for their own purposes, 



331. Is there any such valid reason for a good her- 

 barium of the kind being kept up at the British Mu- 



