SU-MMAKV OF PREVIOUS ENQUIRIES. 



145 



portant of modern botanical works : The '' Genera 

 Plantarum," "The Flora of British Imlia," "The 

 Flora of Australia," "The Flora of Tropical Africa," 

 not to mention others of less importance. A minor 

 item, yet not inconsiderable, is the fact that the amal- 

 gamation of the herbaria would in any case render use- 

 less 450 cabinets now in use at Kew each containing 16 

 compartments for parcels of plants. 



I have, &c., 



John Ball. 



His Grace the Duke of Devonshire. 



E. — Statement by Mr. Carruthers. 



(-See Questions 7216. 7217, 7229, Vol. I., pp. 471-473, and 

 Question 7242, Yol. I., p. 474.) 



On reading the evidence of Mr. John Ball, it was appa- 

 rent to me that his statements regarding the Botanical 

 Department of the British Museum were those of a witness 

 ignorant of the matters regarding which he ventured to 

 testify. 



One statement in his evidence (Qu. 7229), as I read it, 

 appeared to reflect personally on me as Keeper of the 

 Department, and I accordingly applied to Mr. Ball for 

 definite information as to the alleged facts. 



A second statement (Qu. 7217), being rather a matter of 

 opinion, I resolved to meet by obtaining tJie testimony of 

 two botanists, whom no one would venture to characterise 

 as partisans, and whose acquaintance with tiie herbarium 

 at the British Museum and eminence in science would 

 compel respect to their testimony. 



I asked for an opportunity to submit the result of these 

 inquiries to the Commissioners, that the errors might be 

 corrected, and the false impressions contained in the evi- 

 dence be set aside. In accordance with the request of 

 the Commissioners, I now submit my observations in 

 writing. 



Mr. Ball's statement, as of fact, in reference to the 

 Botanical Department of the British Museum, contained 

 in his answer to Question 7229, is as follows : — ''I know, 

 because I 'have had a recent instance of one, that some 

 very interesting collections have, I will not say disap- 

 peared, but cannot now be found, and they may very 

 possibly be lying in cases there." 



In a letter addressed to Mr. Ball, I asked him for the 

 names of the one collection, and' the some very interesting 

 collections which could not be found, and were very 

 possibly lying in cases at the Museum. I knew that the 

 single short visit that Mr. Ball recently made to the her- 

 barium was made while it was under my charge. His 

 statement consequently asserted that OQ, the Official 

 Keeper, was ignorant of several collections in the Museum, 

 with which he, a comparative stranger, was acquainted. 

 In his reply, written from North Wales, on the 31st 

 August, 187'2, Mr. Ball says:— "I should teU you that 

 my evidence before the Science Commission was given 

 either one or two days before I left England. I remember 

 that the proof was ddlivered late on my last evening in 

 London, and that at a hasty glance I saw many passages 

 that I should have wished to correct ; some of them errors 

 on the part of whoever toot down my evidence ; others 

 inaccuracies on my own part. I have not yet seen the 

 published evidence, but if it contains the passage you 

 quote, and I take it for granted that you quote from that 

 source, I cannot be surprised at your calling for an expla- 

 nation from me." In a subsequent letter (datedl 11th 

 October, 1872), Mr. Ball stated' that the particular error 

 in his answer to Question 7229 was, that it " should have 

 been printed 'I have heard of a recent instance,' instead 

 of ' I have had a recent instance.' " But it is mosit obvious 

 that no hearsay information about one collection could 

 supply Mr. Ball, as his answer thus amendJed states, with 

 personal knowledge of several other collections. In this 

 same letter, Mr. Ball gives me the only information which 

 he has been' able to sunply as to the foundation of his 

 statement. It is as follows : — " I have little doubt that 

 the collection that I had in my mind at the time was that 

 of Salt's Abyssinian plants, but, from inquiries made 

 within the last two days, I am led to believe that the in- 

 pression under which I spoke was incorrect." On receipt 

 of this, I demanded the unqualified withdrawal of the 

 erroneous statement, in terms which would be satisfac- 

 tory to m'e, and this being refused, I informed) Mr. Ball 

 of my intention to use his letters in establishing the 

 truth, and I now seek through this communicationj to 

 ■place the facts before the 'Commissioners, and to secure 

 for this statement as extensive a circulation as that given 

 to Mr. Ball's error. 



The matter of opinion to which I talce exception, and 

 which is repeated in different forms in the evidence, is 

 plainly stated in the answer to Question 7217, in which 

 while asserting that the establishment at Kew is " as near 

 perfection as it is possible in human affairs to attain to," 

 he declares, "that the traditions of the British Museum 

 have not been favourable to making the collections there 

 as available for the general purposes of science as might 

 be desiretl ; " and he considers '' that the collection at tire 

 British Museum might be made more valuable to science 

 and to scientific men than it now is " (Question 7216). 



I, of course, lay no claim to celestial perfection in the 

 management of the herbarium, but I emphatically repu- 

 diate the unfounded statement made iby Mr. Ball. I 

 venture to add, tliat this statement is especially offensive 

 from its being directly associated by ]SIr. Ball with a 

 name which commands the profound respect of every 

 student of botany throughout the world. 



To meet this assertion I addressed letters to two inde- 

 pendent botanists, whose work in the herbarium of the 

 Museum would enable them to speak from personal laiow- 

 ledge, asking them to express their opinion as to the 

 availability of the collections for the purposes of science. 

 One of those botanists was Dr. Cosson. in whose com- 

 pany Mr. Ball made the only visit he has' paid to the 

 herbarium within the last 25 years. Dr. Cosson had in 

 numerous visits gone systematically through a consider- 

 able portion of the herbarium. He whites from Paris, 

 on the 21st September, 1872, as follows : — 



"' Je pense, dfes que j'aurai effectue le demenagement de 

 mon herbier, que je vais transporter dans la construction 

 que j'ai fait etablir specialement pour lui, avoir le plaisir 

 de pouvoir continuer mes recherches dans les magnifiques 

 collections du British Museum confiees a votre habilo 

 direction. Ces collections sont en si bon ordre et sont si 

 faciles a consulter qui je pourrai en bien peu de temps 

 comparer toutes mes plantes critiques de I'Algerie, du 

 Maroc, et de la Tunisie avec les precieux types dont le 

 British Museum est si liche. Mon intention est de 

 publier avec M. J. Ball une florule du Maroc et d'illus- 

 trer par des planches toutes les especes nouveUes de ce 

 pays, encore si peu connu, et sur lequel la recente explora- 

 tion de MSI. J. D. Hoo'ker et J. Ball a fourni de si im- 

 portants documents. 



" L'herbier du British Museum est le seul qui avec I'her- 

 bier du Museum de Paris offre un aussi grand nombre de 

 collections classiques, et pour le rendre aussi utile que 

 possible aux etudes botaniques, vous n^avez qu'a con- 

 tinuer a procMer avec le meme soin au classement des 

 riches materiaux que vous possedez, et dont chaque jour 

 vous accroissez encore rimportance par de nouvelles 

 acquisitions. 



" Je n'aurais comme amelioration a signaler a la belle 

 installation de votre herbier qu'li vous recommander, 

 comme je crois que vous le faites dejli, de munir chaque 

 esp^ce d'une dhemise speciale portant exterieurement une 

 etiquette indiquant le nom de I'espfece, son numero d' ordre 

 d'apr^s la monographie la plus recente, et rindication des 

 pays d'oii proviennent les echantillons. J'ai eu a re- 

 gretter la disparition des Etiquettes originales pour des 

 echantillons des anciens_herbiers, mais je sais qu© cette 

 habitude de transcrire les etiquettes au lieu de les con- 

 server religieusement, a toujours Ete lejetee par vous." 



The other botanist to whom I applied was John Miers, 

 Esq., F.R.S., Yice-President L.S. Mr. Miers has worked 

 impartially in the herbarium of the Museum, as in tha+ at 

 Kew, and his numerous independent publications are the 

 best testimonies to the extent, value, and scientific availa^ 

 bility of the collection of plants at the British Museum. 



Mr. Miers w1*ites : — "The her^barium of the British 

 Museum appears to me well adapted for the purpose of 

 scientific study, and deserves quite as much praise as the 

 Hookerian herbarium in proportion to its relative extent. 

 I should state, however, that I have invariably been able 

 to work more easily at the Britisih Museum than at Kew, 

 because I have found there not only the dried plants but 

 at the same time the carpological collections close at 

 hand, advantages enhanced by the great facility of access 

 to a good botanical library, especially to the rare books in 

 the Banksian collection, together with ready means ot 

 referring to the original notes and admirable drawings of 

 Aublet, Solander, and a host of others, necessary to be 

 consulted for purposes of monographing ; these advan- 

 tages are not obtaina:ble at Kew, where the collections of 

 fruits and seedls are too far removed to be easily accessible. 

 In these remarks I do not wish to detract in the sma^est 

 degree from the deservedly high character of the Hooke- 

 rian herbarium,, whioh is unrivalled for its riches, 

 especially as I have there received all the attention I 



