THE BASKSIAS HERBARIUM AXD LIBRARY 
51 
I have been informed that once when ifiss Banks and her sis‘er-in-law visaed 
a friend with whom they were to stay several days, on the evening of their arrival 
they sat down to dinner in their riding-habits. Their friend had a large party 
after dinner to meet them, and they entered the drawing-room in their riding- 
habits. On the following morning they again appeared in their riding-habits; 
and so on, to the astonishment of every one, till the conclusion of their visit. 
Being in possession of an immense number of tradesmen’s tokens current at 
this time, I left them in Soho Square, with a note begging Miss Banks’ acceptance 
of any she might want. After a few hours, her footman’s knock at my door 
announced the arrival of Miss Banks, who entered the parlour holding up the 
front of her riding-habit with both hands, the contents of which she delivered 
upKan the table, at the same time observing “ that she considered herself extremely 
obliged to me for my politeness; but that, extraordinar}^ as it might appear, 
out of so many hundred there was not one that she wanted.” 
Although -Miss Banks displayed great attention to many persons, there were 
others to whom she was wanting in civility. I have heard that a great genius, 
who had arrived a quarter of an hour before the time specified upon the card 
for dinner, was shown into the drawing-room, where Miss Banks was putting 
away what a-e sometimes called rattle-traps. When the visitor observed, “It is 
a fine dajq ma’am.” she replied. “ I know nothing at all about it ; you must sjieak 
to mj’ brother upon that subject when you are at dinner.” Xotwithstanding 
the very singular ajipearance of Miss Banks, she was in the prime of life a 
fashionable whip, and drove four-in-hand.* 
Banks spared neither pains nor expense to make his library as com- 
plete as possible. A large portion, mainly botanical, was valued for 
insurance purposes in 1827 by the Trustees of the British Museum 
at £7,300. 
The Banksian library is at the present time with the General Library 
of the British Museum in Bloomsbury, and not with the herbarium 
in the Natural History building in South Kensington, a remarkable 
arrangement, and obviously one in direct opposition to Banks’ testa- 
mentary directions (Thiselton Dyer, 1900) Banks’ special table is now 
in the keeper’s room. Department of Botany, British Museum. 
The library had enhanced value because of the remarkable catalogue 
prepared by Dryander (infra, p. 98). 
The herbarium of .Sir Joseph Banks is the foundation of the General HerbariuTn, 
(of the British .Museum). At the time of its acquisition it was one of the most 
important in existence — not only on account of its extent, but as containing a 
large number of types of published species — and owing to the freedom of access 
which was allowed to it, one of the most frequently cited in botanical works. 
Besides the invaluable collections made in Mala 3 ’’a. Brazil, South Africa, Polynesia, 
Australia, and New Zealand, by Banks and Solander, in their voj’age roimd the 
world with Cook in 17(58-71. it contains the plants collected by Banks in Great 
Britain at various dates, and in Newfoundland and Labrador in 1776, as well 
as those obtained in Iceland in 1772. The herbarium was continually being 
enriched bj- purchase and exchange. Besides Hermann’s herbarium, and the 
herbarium of Clifford, upon which the “ Hortus Cliffortiauus’’ is based, a certain 
number of Linnaeus’s tj-pes were obtained from Smith in 1786. when the Banksian 
herbarium was compared with that of Linnaeus. The collections of William 
Houston, from Central America and the West Indies, were pimchased by Banks 
• " X Book for a Raiuy Day; or, Kecollections of tlie Events of the last Sixty-si.x Years.” 
By John Thomas Smith, pages 211-214. (Richard Bentley, 1845.) 
