liv Obituary Notices of Fellows deceased. 



service in India include monographs of the Commelynacece and Cyrtandracece of 

 Bengal, published at Calcutta in 1874, and of the Indian Compositce , also 

 published there in 1876 ; with six minor papers in the Linnean Society's 

 ' Journal ' between 1870 and 1876. In 1874 he further earned the gratitude of 

 Indian botanists by reprinting, with a preface at his own cost, Koxburgh's 'Flora 

 Indica,' which had become scarce and hardly procurable. While on furlough 

 during 1877 — 79, and on deputation at Kew during 1879 — 83, his additions 

 to botanical literature were more extensive. They include accounts of over 

 fifty of the natural families described in the second, third and fourth volumes 

 of Sir J. D. Hooker's ' Flora of British India'; three minor papers in the 

 ' Journal of Botany ' ; ten in the Linnean Society's ' Journal ' ; and one, an 

 important review of the ferns of Northern India, in that Society's 

 'Transactions.' During this period he also wrote two of the volumes, 

 that on Commelinacece, issued in 1881, and that on the Cyrtandrece, issued in 

 1883, of De Candolle's ' Monographias Phanerogamarum.' 



The family Cyperacece was, as we have seen, the last of a series of families 

 which had proved especially attractive to Clarke. This particular interest did 

 not become dominant till 1876, near the close of his first period of Indian 

 service; it continued so, however, during the rest of his career. While 

 helping forward at Kew, between 1877 — 83, the preparation of the ' Flora 

 of British India/ he had little time to study his favourite family till shortly 

 before he left England ; his first papers on the subject are two of the 

 minor contributions in the Linnean Society's ' J ournal,' already alluded to, 

 which appeared in 1883. But during his two last months in England 

 advantage was taken of his special knowledge in having the Indian species 

 of Cyperus rearranged. When Clarke was leaving for India, Sir J. D. Hooker 

 asked him to publish the results of his work, so as to aid later on in dealing 

 with the genus in the ' Flora.' On reaching India, Clarke similarly rearranged 

 the rich Indian material of the genus in the Calcutta Herbarium ; he 

 thereupon published, in the Linnean ' Journal ' for 1884, an important 

 review of the Indian species of Cyperus in both herbaria. 



Clarke's only botanical contributions during his second residence in 

 India were notes on three of his botanical journeys, published in the 

 Linnean ' Journal.' During this period, however, he studied and rearranged 

 the Calcutta material of the order Cyperacece, and when he reached Kew 

 in 1887, after having critically examined and distributed the contents of 

 his second Indian Herbarium, he devoted the greater part of his time to a 

 detailed study of the Cyperacece of the globe, his object being to complete 

 a general monograph of this difficult family. As his work progressed he 

 gradually became*the recognised authority on the subject, to whom botanists 

 of every nationality sent their collections from all parts of the world for 

 identification. The results of his work in this direction are to be found 

 in numerous papers published in many periodicals at home and abroad. 

 The Cyperacece in most of the principal collections in Europe were also 

 submitted to him for critical examination and determination. In addition 



