150 The late Dr. Heifer. 



vice of the Company, his allowances were made the same, namely 

 500 personal, and 500 travelling charges. What was the result, 

 poor Griffith if he halted for a day, conscientiously omitted to draw 

 travelling charges, while Heifer on the other hand worked his allow- 

 ances up, according to Col. Hutchinson to 1200 rupees per mensem. 



If men who put themselves forward as the patrons of science which 

 they do not understand, at the public expense, as Col. Hutchinson ap- 

 pears to have done in the case of Dr. Heifer, were only to reflect on 

 the injury they do society by bringing science into disrepute, 

 to say nothing of the injury they inflict on real merit, they would 

 probably act differently. 



In Calcutta Dr. Heifer made a collection of plants before he became 

 aware that cultivation destroys the distinctive characters, just as 

 domestication changes the colour of pigeons, nor did he appear to be 

 aware when he began to collect in Calcutta that the flowers or the 

 fruits, were at all necessary to specimens. 



With regard to other collections ; birds during the first twelve 

 months amounting to 5 or 600 specimens, were made over to the 

 Asiatic Society, for Government ; the duplicates, of which the greater 

 part consisted, were returned to Dr. Heifer for transmission to 

 Germany, where, no doubt the commonest things from India would 

 in many parts be great novelties. There were no further collections, 

 that we are aware of obtained from Dr. Heifer, unless sundry baskets 

 of clay sent up to the Asiatic Society without intelligence or meaning, 

 can be termed such. 



The most valuable collection made by Dr. Heifer during his 

 employment in the Tenasserim Provinces was insects, particularly 

 beetles, which required no further art than was sufficient to catch, 

 and plunge them into spirits of wine. This collection was retain- 

 ed by Mrs. Heifer partly on the plea of its having been made by 

 herself, and partly on that of her late husband having been no wise 

 bound by the nature of his agreement with the Government, to give 

 up all his collections. On both these grounds Mrs. Heifer may have 

 been quite right. 



Heifer however found coal on the little Tenasserim river, which, 

 though it could not have remained many years longer undiscovered , 

 would have been worth all he cost the Government had he given a 

 good account of it, but unfortunately his reports on the subject are 

 barely intelligible. 



