216 THE GEOLOGICAL SUEVEY 
« 
publications and a big travel book in two volumes, ' Journals 
of a Naturalist on the Erebus and Terror,' which the John 
^lurray of that day, meeting Sir Wilham at dinner, declared 
his readiness to pubHsh as a companion to Darwin's famous 
* Voyage of the Beagle' But a year botanising abroad was 
worth five of study at home. The Admiralty were planning 
a scientific voyage to Borneo, and might appoint him as 
naturaHst ; again, ' If I could only get the W. and F. to pay 
expenses and Admiralty to give leave, I would go to India and 
collect fruits, woods, and seeds, &c. &c. The E.I.C. superin- 
tendent of W. and F., Dr. Gibson,^ in the Indian Peninsula 
offers me a cruise with him to province of Cannar (S. of Goa) 
at a very cheap rate, and I have a huge yearning that way ; 
his is only a four or five months' trip or tour of inspection. 
I wash I had a private fortune.' Again, in July, he writes 
to his grandfather : 
I shall be ready to make any sacrifice to get to the tropics 
for a year, so convinced am I that it will give me the lift 
I want, in acquiring a knowledge of exotic Botany. My 
friend. Falconer, goes out on December 20, to the charge 
of Calcutta Bot. Gard., and I hope to be ready to share 
his cabin. I shall then spend some months at Calcutta 
and the neighbourhood (Gurney,^ &c., &c.), get up to the 
Himalaya betimes, and return the following winter via 
Bombay. 
He had strong hope of joining the Tibet mission, which 
was to go from Ladak to Yarkand and Kashgar over w^holl}^ 
unexplored country north of the Himalaya, and in September 
1847 was in active correspondence about this. The work 
already in hand would not suffer, for as he wrote to Boss : 
Kew : September 7, 1847. 
My dear Capt. Ross,— I have delayed answering your 
letter till I should know something more definite regard- 
1 Alexander Gibson (1800-67), Avent to India in the medical service of the 
Company, and became superintendent of the Botanical Garden of Dapuri in 
1838, and Conservator of Forests in Bombay 1847-60. 
^ Gurney Turner, his cousin, in the medical service of the E.I.C. 
