SUMMARY OF I'REVIOUS EXQLIRIES. 



115 



the Trustees, aiid tli.at does not afford time for any lout; 

 representation. 



Questioned as to there being any library connected with 

 his department, ■witness stated that Sir Joseph Banks's 

 library accompanied the collections ; that he had no 

 -charge of it, but a few books of essential importance were 

 -selected, but they were not of sufficient extent to enable 

 him to carry on the duties in his department. Books 

 could be procured from the library, but owing to the 

 regulations of the Printed Book Department he wa.s 

 obliged three times every year to return all borrowed 

 volumes ; consequenth' for two or three days on each 

 occasion he was deprived of the use of those books. Quite 

 recently an aUowaiice had been made him of an annual 

 grant of £25 for the purchase of books absolutely essential 

 for the duties of his department. Xo part of the aeces- 

 .sions which came to the Museum under the Copyright Act 

 were delivered to him, nut even duplicates. 



He considered that hardly any advantage would result 

 to the botanical student from the connection of his de- 

 partment with living specimens of plants. "That is to 

 -sav. I think it would be much more than counterbalanced 

 by "the inconvenience of removing the collection to Kew, 

 for example, as being the only botanical garden of any 

 importance in the vicinity of London, but from which it 

 is much too distant for the convenience of botanists." It 

 is true that there is a botanical garden at Begent"s Park, 

 l)ut he only knew that it was an estabUshment belonging 

 to a society, and that its principal subscribers live near 

 it, and to whom it affords a promenade. It also has ex- 

 hibitions of flowers and fruit, which are attractive and 

 well conduoted. Of its scientific merits he could not say 

 anything, but believed that scientific instruction was not 

 its principal object. 



Witness was asked, ''Do you not think that it would 

 be advantageous to the botanical student if your ,collec- 

 tion could be united with a good botanical garden, both 

 of them being within a moderate distance of the wants of 

 the metropolis ? — The only such garden in existence, 

 namely Kew Garden, is mixch too distant from the 

 metropoUs. I think, by transferring the collection, with- 

 out a corresponding library, such as Sir Joseph Banks s 

 -was, and such as I have access to here, although not 

 equally convenient access, it would become a dead letter. 

 It could not, in short, be consulted with effect, nor could 

 the duties of the department be satisfactorily carried out." 

 It might be remedied by transferring the whole collection 

 -and the library also, but inconvenience would still remain 

 to the student. The botanical ponion of the library could 

 hardly be separated ; " many most important botanical 

 memoirs in the transactions of scientiJBc societies, and 

 periwlical publications, and much valuable information, 

 especially on the geography of plants in Ixioks of travels, 

 are only to be found in a general library." He did not 

 see how that suggestion could be applied to the Banksian 

 "bequest. In the Museum there is a room containing 

 nearly the whole of the Xatural History Department of 

 l)ooks, and in that room is also kept the Banksian library ; 

 there have been many additions to it, with many costly 

 Tvorks ; it is probably as expensive a department as any 

 on that ground. 



He had been ten years librarian to Sir Joseph Banks, 

 and had been for several years librarian to the Linnean 

 ■Society. He was thereupon closely examined a,s to tlie 

 catalogue of Banks's books which was drawn up by Diy- 

 ander, and printed in 1798-1800. It was kept up in 

 manuscript from the date of issue, and that interleaved 

 copy was in his custody. The keepers of the depart- 

 ments were never asked what books they considered 

 desirable should be bought. 



The principal duties of his department were, " first, to 

 teep up the arrangement of the general herbarium as 

 nearly as possible to the actual state of systematic botany, 

 consequently modifications in classification, chiefly re- 

 ■specting the limits of genera, become from time to time 

 necessary, in accordance with such alterations as are con- 

 sidered judicious, and are generally adopted ; secondly, 

 to examine and incorporate ■with the systematically- 

 ■arranged herbarium additional species and more complete 

 specimens from the unarranged materials which either 

 existed in Sir Joseph Banks's collections, -when the de- 

 partment was formed in 1827. or which have since been 

 received as presents or by purchase. To these a third 

 duty has lately been added, namely, the forming a botani- 

 cal exhibition, for which a room adjoining the department 

 has very recently been af^propriated by the Trustees.'' 



"The principal a.ssistance in these duties has been that, 

 of an assistant keeper. Mr. J. J. Bennett, whose appoint- 

 ment bears the same date as my o^wn. and who in diligence, 

 general information, and in "every respect, is a hio-hl-r 



valuable officer. Fm- seven years (that is, from 1827 lo 

 1835) I had no attendant whatever, and during that period 

 received only occasional assistance to relieve Mr. Bennett 

 and myself from the merest drudgery, which assistance 

 was not alway obtainable when wanted, emd when ob- 

 tained seldom satisfactory." On the transfer of the 

 Sloane collections to his care he obtained some assisLance. 

 As to the facilities afforded to the scientific public in con- 

 sulting the bjtanical collection, '"As soi)n as I reported 

 the Banksian Herbarium to be in a state admitting of 

 inspection, which was exactly one month after its removal 

 t(. the M'lseum, the Trustees directed me to Kta,te to them 

 my opinion as to the times when it ought to be opened to 

 scientific visitors desirous of consulting it, and also as to 

 the manner of their obtaining access. In compliance with 

 this direction I proposed to open it on two days in the 

 week, from eleven to four o'clock, and that the introduc- 

 tion should b? that of a Trustee, an officer of tlie Museum, 

 or of a botani.st of reputation. This plan was approved of 

 by the Trustees, aiid it has been acted upon ever since. 

 It is slightly deviated from in extending the privdege of 

 foreign botanists to five days in the week, and in not 

 strictly adhering to the prescribed mode of introduction 

 when the person applying is a stranger in London anl I 

 am able to ascertain that he has a definite object." 



A list of visitors is kept, but it does not supply any 

 information as to the number of visits paid to the depart- 

 ment, as it only records the first visit of any given per- 

 son. Witness continued: --For the purchase of speci- 

 mens, from the date of my appointment to 1834 I had 

 no allowance whatever. But having then earnestly re- 

 presented the absolute necessity of making additions to 

 the Banksian Herbarium by purchase, to keep up its cha- 

 racter as a collection of reference, and having proposed 

 the annual sum of £100 or perhaps less, as probably suffi- 

 cient to enable me to obtain such collections as were likely 

 to occur, the Trustees granted me £80. This sum, until 

 very lately, continued to be the annual grant for that 

 object. It is now increased tu £100, and last year I ap- 

 plied for and obtained £50 more to enable me to purchase 

 specimens necessary for the formation of the intended 

 botanical exhibition. At the same time I was allowed 

 £25 annually for the purchase of works absolutely neces- 

 sary for carrying on the duties of the department. .So 

 that for purchases of every kind I have the sum of 

 £175. Of special grants for the purchase of more exten- 

 sive collections which occasionally occur, I have been aible 

 to obtain one, wMch was for £400. On a previous 

 occasion, when the sum of £1,000 was appHed for to 

 enable to make a most important addition to the 

 Herba-num, and the purchase was recommended bv the 

 Trustees, the Treasury refused to accede to the applica- 

 tion. It w-as to purchase the large Russian herbarium 

 formed by J. D. Prescott, which was afterwards bought '' 

 [by Mr. H. Fielding, of Garstang, near Lancaster, was 

 presented m 1852 to the Universitv of Oxford, and 

 now forms the main part of the general collection.] 



"The general, or arranged hei'bariiim, at present con- 

 sists of about 30.000 species, certainly not more, pos- 

 sibly somewhat less. The unaixanged," or geographically- 

 arranged collections, may probably furnish 5,000 or 

 6,000 additional species. This alt-ogether is a smaJl num- 

 ber, compared with the estimated extent of several other 

 public, and even of some private collections, and probably 

 the Herbarium of the Museum is a-ctually inferior to 

 more than one of those ; but the numbers'in the pub- 

 lished estimates have always appeared to me greatly over- 

 rated. Besides these arranged and unarranged collections 

 there are seveial partial herbaria, highly" valuable, as 

 consisting of the authentic specimens on wihioh many of 

 the Linnsean .species, as well as those of other authors 

 were founded. AH these herbaria belong to the collec- 

 tipn ot Sir Joseph Banks. The exten.sive herbarium of 

 Srr Hans Sloane, conitained in about 300 folio volumes, 

 and which formed the most valuable part of the natural 

 history collections of the British Museum on its first 

 establishment, still exists, it may be said, uninjured 

 and contains the actual specimens figured in Sloane's oivil 

 wort, and m those of other English botanists of that 

 period. In addition to the heAaria now enumera*^".! 

 there are many specimens that, from their great size! 

 are not admissable into an herbarium, properly so called ; 

 but which will be availaible and important for the in- 

 tended exhibition. There are also collemons of seed- 

 vessels and seeds, belonging both to the Sloane and 

 British Museums. Numerous specimens of woods with 

 a considerable number of plants in spirits, chiefly .such 

 as cannot be preserved in any other manner. And 'lastly 

 a collection of very accurate models of English inmn' 

 T f !. T?[^- -^^"^^ Sowerby. who had nartictdarl-^ 

 studied that branch of the science. The Department 



