146 



Appendix I: 



could desire. But, at the same time, I think in fairness 

 that we should all acknowledge what is due to the Bo- 

 tanical Department of the British Museum for the state 

 of its collections and the facilities there afforded to 

 scientific workers in that branch of knowledge ; I say 

 nothing about the convenience to the general body of 

 men of science afforded by the central position of the 

 Museum — one of its greatest advantages, which should 

 never be lost sight of." 



I might take further exception to statements in the 

 evidence of Mr. Ball bearing on the herbarium ; but, as 

 he has informed me that, " with the exception of a single 

 visit early last year, my personal acquaintance with the 

 collections at the British Museum is derived from a few 

 visits more than 25 years ago," it is obviously impossible 

 for him to give any reliable information from personal 

 knowledge. 



This is true also of the evidence of Dr. Thomson in 

 reference to the herbarium of the British Museum. I 

 am not aware that Dr. Thomson has once visited the 

 herbarium during the 14 years in which I have been 

 officially connected with it, and he cannot possibly from 

 his personal knowledge declare that " Kew is at present 

 the more available for scientific research.'^ (Qu. 7242.) 



Whliam Caeetthees. 



British Museum, May 14, 1873. 



F. — Memorial presented to the First Lord of the 

 Treasury respecting the National Herbaria. 



[See p. 7.] 



To the Eight Hon. W. E. Gladstone, First Lord of 

 the Treasury. 

 Sir, 



The undersigned persons engaged in t3ie pursuit of 

 botany, or in instruction therein, desire to call your 

 serious attention to a subject that deeply concerns the 

 progress of Natural Science, and that of those branches 

 of agriculture, horticulture, forestry, and manufacttires 

 that largely depend on Botanical Research. 



The First Commissioner of Works, in a Memorandum 

 presented to Parliament before the close of last Session, 

 clearly raised the question whether it is desirable to 

 transfer to the branch of the British Museum about to 

 be constructed at South Kensington, the Scientific Col- 

 lections and Library now existing at Kew, and further 

 stated that, pending the decision on that subject, he 

 considers it his duty to take care that no new expense 

 shall be incurred at Kew which will embarrass the 

 Ministers of the Crown or the House of Commons in 

 arriving at a decision. 



The Lords of the Treasury in their Minute of the 

 24th July, decline to refer to that portion of the above- 

 mentioned Memorandiim, and no statement on that sub- 

 ject has since been made by any Minister of the Crown 

 which shows whether it has received the attention of the 

 Government. 



Being strongly of opinion that the proposed measure 

 would be highly detrimental to the progress of Science, 

 and injurious to all those interests that depend upon it, 

 we beg to urge upon you that the subject is not one 

 merely of Departmental Interest, and th_at it would not 

 be unfitting your position, as First Minister of the 

 Crown, to give your consideration to the following 

 reasons, which we beg to urge in opposition to the pro- 

 posed measure: — 



1. That it appears to us that it is absolutely necessary 

 that a great Botanical Garden like that of Kew, which is 

 confessedly far the most important in the_world, should 

 be in close connexion with as perfect an Herbarium and 

 Botanical Library as possible ; and that these conditions 

 are now fulfilled as far as circumstances and the present 

 state of science will admit. 



2. Tliat such a combination of livin^g and dead speci- 

 mens is requisite for the complete study of plants, as 

 regards their technical, physiological, and economic 

 characters ; and that the removal of the Herbarium would 

 be a retrograde step in a scientific point of view. 



3. That the records of the Colonial aad India Ofiices 

 will show of what immense importance the Establishment 

 at Kew has been to the welfare of the entire British 

 Empire, and that weighty questions are constantly sub- 

 mitted to the Director which require immediate atten- 

 tion, and which could not, in many cases, be satisfactorily 

 answered without reference to the Library or Herbarium. 



4. That every facUity for the investigation of the 

 intimate structure and general habit of plants, and the 



study of them in eveiy point of view, which can. 

 reasonably be considered within the scope of pure 

 Botany, is afforded by the Herbarium and Museum of 

 Botany in connexion with the Garden, and that it would 

 be easy to point out important labours in that direction 

 which have been instituted at Kew, while the systematic 

 treatment has always regarded the more minute 

 characters as well as those which are superficial. 



5. It has been remarked, indeed, that important works, 

 such as the Hortus Kewensis, have been prepared with- 

 out the aid of an Herbarium at Kew. We would, 

 however, remark that the statement is not correct, as 

 there was an Herbarium, which was dispersed before 

 Sir W. J. Hooker became Director ; and the conditions 

 of Natural Science are at tlie present time so completely 

 altered, that it is impossible to institute any fair com- 

 parison, the number of known species being enormously 

 increased since the date of the publication in question. 



6. That the Museums of Structural and Economic 

 Botany, which owe their existence and importance to the 

 late Sir W. J. Hooker, are often found of great value in 

 the decision of critical points in the study of species, and 

 that the severance of them from the Herbarium and 

 Library would be a serious loss. 



_ 7. That in the principal Botanic Gardens on the Con- 

 tinent, where effective work is done, there is in every 

 case a large Herbarium connected with them. 



8. _ That, in the interest of Botanical Science, we think 

 it _highly desirable that, besides tlie collections now 

 existing at Kew, an Herbarium, or collection of dried 

 plants, as complete as possible, should be maintained in 

 connexion with the Natural History Museum which it 

 is proposed to place at South Kensington, and that tlie 

 two Herbariums should be in intimate relation with each 

 other. 



9. That from the delicate and perishable nature of its 

 contents, and the necessity of referring to numerous 

 specimens, an Herbarium cannot be made use of by many 

 persons at the same time ; and while it is desirable that 

 students should have ready means of access at the 

 National Museum in London to collections which may 

 enable them to identify the plants of any particular 

 country, it is still more essential that the authors of 

 important works in Botanical Science should be enabled,. 

 as at present, to pursue their labours at Kew without 

 interruption from casual visitors. 



10. That an Herbarium is the least costly of all Col- 

 lections in Natural History, and that which requires the 

 least amount of space for its proper maintenance,' in 

 proportion to the number of objects which it contains. 



11. That the arrangements of the Herbarium at Kew 

 are so perfect, and the facilities for study so great, that 

 it resorted to from all parts of the world ; and it would, 

 therefore, be unwise to make a change which in the result 

 is almost certain to be detrimental, and which, we are 

 assured, would be especially distasteful to the leadiiig 

 Foreign Botanists. 



M. J. Berkeley. Botanical Director to the Boyal 

 Horticultural Society of London. 



Charles C. Babington, Professor of Botany, Cam- 

 bridge. 



M. A. Lawson. Professor of Botany. Oxford. 



J. H. Balfour, Professor of Botany, Edinburgh. 



Alexander Dickson, Professor of Botany, Glasgow.^ 



G. Dickie, Professor of Botany. Aberdeen. 



E. Perceval Wright, Professor of Bojtany, Dublin. 



Robert Bentley, F.L.S., Professor of Botany, King's 

 College, and to the Pharmaceutical Society of 

 London. 



W. T. Thiselton Dyer, Professor of Botany, Royal 

 Horticultural Society, London. 



E. 0. Cunningham, Professor of Botany and Zoology, 

 Belfast. 



W. E. McNab, Professor of Botany, Eoyal College 

 of Science, Dublin. 



George Hensilow, M.A., F.L.S". Lecturer at St. 

 Bartholomew's Hospital, (London), and at the 

 Eoral Agricultural College, Cirencester. 



John Ball, F.E.S. 



Maxwell T. Masters, M.D., F.E.S. 



James Bateman, F.R.S. 



R. Trevor-Clarke, F.R.H.S. 



W. Wilson Saunders. F.E.S. 



Geo. F. Wilson, F.E.S. 



Robert Hogg, LL.D., F.L.S. 



W. Sowerbv, F.L.S. 



D. Moore. Ph.D., F.L.S.,. M.R.I.A. 



Andrew Murray, F.L.S. 



William Munro', Major-General, C.B., F.L.S. 



