Calcutta Garden. £89 



plants, or even the Indian, from introduced species. Such serious omis- 

 sions of details in the lists submitted by Dr. Wallich, render this portion 

 of his report of little value ; as it is impossible, without a tedious and fruit- 

 less analysis, to ascertain whether the plants referred to as distributed are 

 such as are in any way likely to become objects of cultivation, or whether 

 they are not such as might be obtained and distributed, as well, if the 

 Calcutta Garden had never existed. 



The correctness of this last allusion is rendered highly probably, from 

 the mere circumstance of 768 species out of 1431 having been named 

 by Indian botanists ; and we cannot be far out in referring one-half of 

 the remaining 663 species to European botanists, to whom collections 

 have been sent from India ; thus reducing the operation of the Garden 

 during the last five years to the distribution of 331 introduced species. 

 Then taking the ratio of ten-elevenths as the proportion in which the dis- 

 tribution is confined to Calcutta, the Botanic Garden would thus have 

 distributed to the inland provinces of India during five years no more 

 than 33 species of imported plants. The next object is to ascertain by 

 analysis of Dr. Wallich's lists, what these 33 species were, or at least, 

 how many of them were useful plants. We find, for instance, in the 

 1431 species we have gone over, only 32 useful plants ; all the others are 

 more or less ornamental, without possessing any useful property that 

 has yet been discovered, as far as we can ascertain. Having thus noticed 

 the general results afforded by the lists contained in the report, we 

 shall now endeavour to afford a cursory view of the document itself. 



In the 3rd paragraph, the Doctor says, " he has excluded annuals from 

 the list with one notable exception — Henbane, which forms a sort of 

 cultivation, important, extensive, and somewhat precarious, besides re- 

 quiring much labour ; of this plant he supplied to the Honorable Com- 

 pany's Dispensary, in January last, 15,000 full-grown individuals." Now 

 the consumption of henbane throughout the Bengal Presidency amounts 

 annually to about lOOlbs. weight, and two-thirds of this comes from 

 Neemuch. 



In the 4th paragraph he has excluded nutmeg, clove, and mangos- 

 teen from the list, because these plants have never thriven under the 

 Doctor's care. The mangosteen never blossomed in the Garden; 

 the clove will not live in it ; and the nutmeg cannot be reared in it from 

 seedlings. The Doctor does not appear to have resorted to any ex- 

 pedients, with a view to overcome these difficulties; nor does he refer to 

 localities better suited, in certain cases, to such important operations as 

 we are disposed to think, should be a part of the Superintendent's duty 

 to do. Dr. Wallich seems unfortunately to be impressed with the idea, 



