May 1861.] Biographical Memoir of Dr. Rattier, 



5 



of tlie Tranquebar Mission. These latter were also in corres- 

 pondence with Dr. Schrcber, professor of Natural History in the 

 University of Erlangcn. To him Rottler constantly forwarded 

 specimens of the South Indica Flora, which were much valued 

 on the continent, and turned to good account. It was apparently 

 through the professor's good offices that in 1795, the University 

 of Erlangen conferred upon Rottler in common with Mr. John, 

 the degree of Doctor in Philosophy. 



It is known* that a somewhat extensive collection of Dr. Rot- 

 tler's plants exists to the present day at the Royal Herbarium at 

 Munich, t and it does not seem unlikely that the collection was re- 

 moved from Erlangen to the capital, when the former became in- 

 corporated with Bavaria in 1810. Another collection! of Rottler 's 

 plants forms at the present time a portion of the Musee Botani- 

 que of the renowned M. Benjamin Delessert at Paris. A third 

 was purchased^! at Madras by Dr. Wight : the plants in which 

 are referred to in Drs. Wight and Arnott's Prodromus Florae 

 Peninsulas Indicse Orientalis. Bottler's own private Herbarium 

 forming his principal collection, upon which he appears to have 

 worked up to the time of his death is in the possession of King's 

 College London ; the plants in which are accompanied by ticket- 

 ed descriptions in full in the Doctor's own handwriting. A 

 fourth, containing also plants collected by Klein and Heyne, is in 

 the East India Company's Museum. § 



Some of Dr. Rottler's contributions to Botanical Science are also 

 to be found in Dr. Heyne's ' Tracts Historical and statistical on 

 India.' Heyne's own attention had now been particularly directed 



* Kew Miscellany for March 1851 : and Musee Botanique, de M. 

 Benjamin Delessert, p. 557. 



f In Martin's Sketch of the Royal Herbarium at Munich, the follow- 

 ing passage occurs. 



" More considerable contributions were made by the Danish Mission- 

 aries at Tranquebar, John and Rottler, the pupils of Konig ; together 

 with those of Burmann from Ceylon, they form one of the most impor- 

 tant parts of the Schre-berian Herbarium.'' 



% Musee Botanique, de M. B. Delessert, p. 502, 3. 



% Wight and Arnott's Prodromus, Preface p. xix. 



§ Wight and Arnott's Prodromus, Preface, p. xvi. 



