20 



DEPARTMEXTAL COMxAIITTEE ON BOTANICAL WORK: 



Mr. J. 

 (xroves, F.L.s. 



7 Nor. IfiOO. 



361. (J/r. Spring Bice.) I believe you work mostly on 

 British plants? — Tes. 



362. Supposing at Oromweli Road a thoroughly com- 

 plete sei-ies of British plants was retained, yoiir diffi- 

 culties as to shortness of time would be very much 

 diminished, would they not? — No, scarcely at all, because 

 I am mostly consulting the Continental plants, for the 

 sake of comparing with British plants, besides which 

 the library is much more aseful to me than the her- 

 barium. 



363. But, apart from the library, you require a her- 

 barium wider than the British ? — Yes. 



_ 364. And do you require it to be as complete as pos- 

 sible outside the British flora, or do you only require a 

 typical collection ? — One would require it as complete 

 as possible outside the British flora, because one never 

 knows what may be British. One has to refer to all the 

 species bordering on the British species — the Western 

 European and Scandinavian especially. 



365. Do you consider that the present British collec- 

 titon at the British Museum is fairly perfect as a British 

 collection ? — By no means. 



366. I gather that it has some gaps, for which you 

 have to go to Kew? — I should say there is probably 

 no British Phanerogam quite un-represented at the 

 British Maseum, but it is by no means perfect in having 

 reliable or complete specimens of all of them. 



_ 367. Have your studies ever brought you into a posi- 

 tion in which it was convenient to have the live plants 

 near the herbarium ? — No. 



368. So that you are not in a position to judge of the 

 importance of that consideration 1- — No. I have nevei 

 used the gardens in connection with my work. 



369. But if you ever had occasion to use fresh plants, 

 is it not much better to have them at hand? — I have 

 never seen any plants in the gardens at Kew that would 

 be of assistance to me. I should explain, perhaps, that 

 I have a large number of dried plants sent to me to 

 determine from correspondents all over the coiintrf, 

 and a good deal of my work at the Museum consists in 

 comparing them with specimens there. So that I have 

 dried plants to compare with dried plants. 



370. And are you satisfied with that arrangement ? — 

 Tes, quite. 



THIRD DAY. 



WESTMINSTER PALACE HOTEL. 



Thursday, Sth November, 1900. 



The Eight Hon. Baron A^^:BUEY, p.c, f.e.s. 

 Sir JoHX Kirk, g.c.m.g., k.c.b., f.r.s 

 Professor Isaac Bayley Balfotje, d.sc, f.e.s 



PEESENT : 



Sir Michael Fostee, k.c.b., m.p., sec.e.s., &c. (in the Chair). 



I Mr. Feancis Dabwin, m.b., f.e.s. 



Mr. HoEACE Alfeep Damee Seymoue, c.b. 

 I Mr. Stephen Edwajrd Speing Rice, c.b. 



Mr. Benjamin Daydon Jackson, Secretary. 



Mr. Edwaed Moeell Holiies, r.L.s., called ; and examined. 



Mr. E. M. 



F.L.S. 



V3fla 



8 Nov. 1900. 



371. {Chairman.) You are the present Curator of the 

 Museum of the Pharmaceutjcal Society? — ^Yes. 



372. I believe that Museum is in part a botanical one ? 



Yes, it contains a botanical collection of medicinal and 



British plants. 



373. And you have been for many years engaged in 

 studv and research in botany ?— For twenty-seven years 

 I have named all the plants that have been sent to our 

 society, whether from abroad or from home, both 

 •cryptogamic and phanerogamic plants. I have made a 

 special study of cryptogamic plants as a hobby, but the 

 phanerogamic plants have been a matter of my profession. 



374. In the course of your studies have you had occa- 

 sion to make use both of the herbarium at the Royal 

 ■•Gardens, Kew, and the Herbarium at the Natural 

 History Museum, Cromwell Road? — Yes. 



375. Are you able to say that you visit the one for 

 particular purposes, and the other for other purposes? 



When the botanical collection was near me a/t 



Bloomsbury, I used to frequently go there, but since it 

 has been at South Kensington it really answers my 

 purpose to go as a rule to Kew, because it takes only a 

 quarter of an hour longer to go there, and the collection 

 at Kew is far more complete, and access to it much more 

 easy than it is at the South Kensington Museum. I 

 have also found that if I go to South Kensington 

 :Museum first, as a rule I have to go io Kew afterwards, 

 because the collection is so much poorer at the Museum 

 than it is at Kew. But there are a few collections at the 

 British Museum, sucl as those of Triana and Wel- 

 witsch, and so on, which one is obliged to consult, be- 

 cause Ihey have noc ^ot the same specimens at Kew. 



The British Museum obtained the collections in their 

 entirety, and simply distributed the duplicates. 



376. You visit Kew because, on the whole it is richer 

 in plants, and because it is more easy of access. You 

 say there are collections there which are not at the 

 British Maseum ; but that you have to visit the British 

 Museum because there are collections there which are 

 not at Kew ? — There are special collections there which 

 are not represented at Kew. 



377. Might I ask what you exactly mean by the 

 material at Kew being more easy of access than at the 

 British Museum ? — ^For instance, there is plenty of 

 room ; there are tables all round which are not crowded 

 with parcels and books, where you can lay out your 

 specimens and examine them carefully. There is a 

 book, the "Genera Plantarum," jjut on the tables here 

 and there, which refers to the genera in the immediate 

 neighbourhood. I find, as a rule, I get more civil treat- 

 ment, more ready help, at Kew that I do at th,e other 

 institution. As a rule, they seem to have business of 

 their own at South Kensington, more than they can at^ 

 tend to. I do not know what is the cause of it. 



378. You think you get more assistance at Kew ? — 

 Yes. I always get more assistance at Kew than I do at 



the Museum. 



379. Speaking now not only from the point of view of 

 your own studies, but in the interests of botanical 

 science in general, do you think it would be desirable 

 that the two herbaria should be maintained in their 

 present condition at the two places ? — It is a consider- 

 able inconvenience to visitors to have to go to two 

 places. In going to two places instead of one they 



