48 
ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, KEW 
Plant- 
Collecting. 
of cultivated plants was, as we have seen, renewed by Sir William 
Hooker. And during practically the whole of his directorate this 
policy was maintained. In 1843, W. Pur die was sent 
to the West Indies and New Granada, and J. Burke to 
Western North America. From 1847 to 1850, Berthold 
Seeman was attached as botanical collector to H.M.S. Herald during 
her voyage in the Pacific. He was succeeded in the same post by 
W. G. Milne from 1852 to 1859. Seeman subsequently went to Fiji 
(1860-61), and Milne afterwards collected on the West Coast of 
Africa (1862-66). Charles Barter joined Baikie’s expedition to the 
Niger in 1859, but died at Rabba in the following year. His position 
as botanist to the expedition was filled by Gustav Mann, who returned 
safely to England in 1863. Charles Wilford was sent out to collect 
seeds and herbarium material in Corea, Formosa, etc. He was em- 
ployed from 1857 to i860. On his recall his place was filled by Richard 
Oldham, who collected in Japan, Corea, and Formosa. Oldham died 
from dysentery in 1864, and with his death came to an end the long 
succession of Kew collectors which had begun with Francis Masson 
when he went to South Africa ninety years before. 
Owing to the establishment of numerous foreign and colonial 
botanic gardens with which Kew kept up a regular correspondence, 
the employment of specially appointed collectors became 
no longer so necessary. And when the leading nursery- 
men took up the practice and generously let Kew share 
in their collectors’ consignments, still less was an official collector 
required. It should always be remembered, however, that Kew 
was the pioneer in this work. Before Masson went out to 
the Cape in 1772, the introduction of extra-European plants 
was a haphazard affair. But from that date until the death 
of Oldham in Amoy, an almost continuous stream of new plants 
was pouring into England from Kew collectors or from alumni 
living abroad. 
Until 1864, Sir William Hooker had the assistance of John Smith, 
the curator of the Botanic Garden. In that year the latter resigned. 
Coming to Kew in 1822, he had spent over forty years 
in its service. Possessing a wide knowledge of plants 
in general, he made ferns his special study and published 
several works upon them. He lived in Kew until his death, in 1888, 
at ninety years of age. He was succeeded in the curatorship by 
Kew the 
Pioneer. 
Retirement 
of J. Smith. 
