SUMMARY OF PREVIOUS ENQUIRIES. 



127 



On the contran-, I maiataiu that the herbarium of the 

 Hritish Museum should be kei)t up in as perfect a state 

 as possible. 



4. There is no greater obvious necessity for there being 

 a complete herbarium attached to the E-oyal Gardens 

 than for such a lierbariuiu being retained in th.c heart 

 of London. I cannot admit that " the advantages of 

 Kew avS a site for the principal national herbarium are 

 universally recognised." On th^ contrarj-, a very large 

 proportion of the students who frequent the herbarium 

 01 the Museum concur in stating that it -n-ould be very 

 inconvenient for them to have to go to Kew, and many 

 declare that it would not be possible for them to find 

 time for so doing. There cannot possibly be a more con- 

 venient site than that of the Museum for the great 

 majority of workers. 



5. There can be no doubt, as Dr. Hooker himself 

 admits, of the advantages of the collection of fossil 

 plants remaining in London, and of their being accom- 

 panied by a herbarium ; but that herbarium would lose 

 nearly all its value to geologists, and only serve (hke 

 all other imperfect sources of information) to mislead 

 the inquirer, if it were not as complete as it could 

 possibly be made. The various classes for whose use 

 Dr. Hooker admits that botanical collections in London 

 would be desirable comprise the great bulk of those 

 interested in botanical and geological science. 



6. " Such a herbarium for reference " as Dr. Hooker 

 proposes, or any herbarivnn that could be of real utility at 

 the Britism Museum could hardly be less expensive than 

 the present one, which is maintained at a cost of about 

 £1,400 per annum. 



7 and 8. The continual transfer of specimens between 

 the two establishments, as proposed, could not be 

 effected without additional assistance, and would give 

 rise to much inconvenience and frequent discussions 

 without any countervailing advantages. 



9. I must leave it to the Keeper of the Printed Books 

 to answer as to what would be the effect in his depart- 

 ment of the proposed mutilation, which would add largely 

 to his expenditure in supplying the deficiencies to be 

 thus created in the general library, as it would be 

 absurd to leave such a library shorn of a great number 

 of books relating to our particular branch of science. A 

 large portion of Sir Joseph Banks's library (which pre- 

 vious to its receipt at the Museum was estimated for in- 

 surance by direction of the Trustees at £7.300) was col- 

 lected by him with a special view to botanical purposes ; 

 and he bequeathed both his books and herbarium with 

 an anxious desire for their being kept together as 

 mutually illustrative of each other. 



10. Xo possible saving could be effected by the pro- 

 posed arrangement. The only practical suggestions with 

 reference to expenditure in the memorandum have quite 

 the contrary tendency. Dr. Hooker requiree, in case of 

 the proposed transfer, the appointment of " temporary 

 assistants" at Kew, and "an increase of salary to the 

 herbarium officer" there. He also suggests that the 

 library of reference to be retained in London should be 

 '■ supplemented by a small annual grant such as Kew 

 has (£145 for books and binding)." Our actual allowance 

 for this purpose is £30 per annum, which, in conse- 

 quence of our ready access to the books of the general 

 library is found sufficient. 



On the whole, both in the interests of science and with 

 regard to considerations of economy, I have not the 

 smalle-st doubt that the herbarium of the British 

 Museum should remain intact and in its present posi- 

 tion. The intimate relations between all the different 

 branches of natural history- require that tliey should all 

 be cultivated under one common roof, and it would be 

 highly injurious that any one should be separated from 

 the rest. At the British Museum the collections are 

 easily accessible to the inhabitants of every part of 

 London, as well as to the visitors from the coiintry 

 and from abroad. And, to crown all, the advantages 

 of this immediate proximity to the great library arc 

 inestimable. 



January 14th, 1859. 



(Signed) John J. Benttett. 



THE ROYAL COMMISSION OX SCIENCE. 



The evidence taken by the E-oyal Commission on S^^i- 

 entific Instruction and the Advancement of Science, 

 commonly referred to as the Devonshire Commission, em- 

 braces much that is relevant to the enquiries of this 

 Committee : — 



3499. 



Joseph D. Hookek, Esq., M.D., C.B., F.R.S. ; 



Examined. 



6657. " I am Director of the Botanic Gardens both 

 as a scientific establishment and as a place of popular j 

 resort ; of the Herbarium, the Library, and uf the c 

 Economic Museums." 



6658. The nature of the scientific work whicli is turned 

 out from the Herbarium at Kew " is partly public and .t 

 is partly private. It is public in so far as tiiis, that for 

 about 40 years the Herbaritun now at Kew has been the 

 recipient of almost all collections made by Government 

 expeditions, and the chief recipient of contributions froui 

 the herbaria of Continental museums, and of both British 

 and foTeign travellers. It has furnished during tlii^ 

 period materials for the publication of about 140 volumes 

 on botanical subjects, many of these being accounts of 

 plants collected by Government expeditions, monograplw 

 published by officers conected witih the Herbarium, 

 colonial floras, and works of that description. Some of 

 these have been paid for by the Government, some issued 

 at the expense of the author, others at that of the pub- 

 lishers." 



6659. Besides which " various monographs have been 

 chiefly published in the Linnean Transactions." 



6660. What have been the relations of the Museum at 

 Kew with the British Museum? — They are competing 

 bodies ; but liitherlo the chief Government colections 

 have been sent to Kew. 



6661. Has there been insufficient space in the British 

 Museum for the reception of specimens and the enlarge- 

 ment of its herbaria, or has any other obstacle inter- 

 fered ? — ^With regard to the British Museum I do not 

 think any person can answer that except the officers of 

 the establishment. I do not think that the nature and 

 extent of its botanical collections, or their condition, is 

 well kno\^in except to its officers. 



6662. Of museums proper at Kew, apart from the Her- 

 barium, tihere are three ; they were designed primarily tc 

 demonstrate to the public the uses to which plants are 

 put, by exhibiting specimens that illustrate useful plants, 

 niaps showing their distribution, diagrams showing their 

 structure, and specimens of the products which they 

 afford. They are arranged scientifically, according to the 

 Natura;I System, and, as far as they have been procured, 

 all the products of the plants are shown. At the same- 

 time it is the receptacle for all specimens that are not 

 fitted to be kept in an herbarium. ; for instance, there are 

 many fruits and seeds which are interesting from their 

 structure or from their appearance, but which, though, 

 they are not of economic valtie, are placed in the 

 museums, because they could, not be put into the her- 

 barium. Thus the museums sen^e a double object. They 

 are ancillary to the herbarium in coi:taining specimens 

 not fit to be placed in the herbarium, and they are in- 

 structive to the public, inasmuch as they show the uses- 

 to wibich the plants of all natural orders are put. 



6663. Hitherto there 'has been no competition between 

 them — this Industrial Museum and that which exists at 

 South Kensington — as far as I am aware ; fox ths 

 Museum at South Kensington contains chiefly manufac- 

 tured articles, arranged according to their uses. For in- 

 stance, in Kew the fibres used for textiles are arranged 

 under the Natural Order to which each belongs ; th& 

 European flax going into the case illustrating the Natural 

 Order to which the flax plant belongs ; the New Zealand 

 flax under another order, and the hemp under a third ; 

 but in South Kensington all the flaxes would be brought 

 together. Further, South Kensington exhibits extensive 

 series of manufactured articles, whereas at Kew little is- 

 shoim beyond the raw product, and one or two manu- 

 factured aa-ficles to attract public attention immediately to 

 its uses. iSouth Kensington, as I understand it, affords 

 a complete illustration of the uses of vegetables as ap- 

 plied to art, arranged under their applications. 



6664. The museum collections occupy three buildings. 

 I may say that we prefer three buildings to one building, 

 because of the immense numbers that visit the establish- 

 ment in summer, .and the consequent crowding around 

 attractive objects like the museums. For the three 

 museums there is one curator, who has a maxim'um .salary 

 of £150 a year. The scientific arrangement of the museums 

 devolves upon myself and' upon the Keeper of the Her- 

 barium and Library, wiho is my principal scientific aid in 

 the establishment. He has a salary of £400 and a house, 

 and he has two assistants and a clerk ; that is the whola 

 of the scientific staff at Kew. 



6665. Nothing yet been done in the way of illustrative 

 e2 



.r. I). 



IlciUKKIt, 

 Isil., M.U., 

 .»., K.K.S. 



1871. 



