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somewhat neglected, but have proved useful. Murton made 
collections of local plants, some of which he sent to Kew but 
what became ot the bulk of his collection said to be a large one 
is not known. There were very few of his specimens to be found 
in the Herbarium in 1 888. Mr. CANTLEY who succeeded him in 
1880, commenced to form the first collection of native plants 
adding also specimens of those cultivated in the Gardens. 
He employed a collector to visit Negri Sembilan and also col- 
lected largely himself and especially turned his attention to Ferns. 
He visited many parts of the peninsula including Gunong Bubu 
in Perak, where he obtained a number of interesting novelties. 
Unfortunately most of his specimens were not localized nor had the 
tickets supplied with them any information on them. Those of his 
plant collector, Brewer, however, were labelled with some account 
of the plant, its native name and use. The specimens were 
mounted on sheets of paper and kept in cabinets in a room adjoin- 
ing the office. Mr. Cantley was no botanist and at the period 
but little was known of the flora of the peninsula. There had 
been but few plant collectors previously, and of those the most 
important were Surgeon -General Maingay and GEORGE GRIFFITH. 
George Griffith was employed by the East India Company as 
Government Botanist. He arrived in Malacca in 1845 and died 
there in that year. During this year he continued to make extensive 
collections in various parts of Malacca including Mount Ophir and 
published a well-known work on the palms of East India and a 
number of his notes ind rough sketches were published after his 
death. His collections were stored away by the East India Com- 
pany in vaults in London and so neglected that many perished. 
The remains were eventually rescued and are at Kew, and some 
of his plants at the British Museum. MAINGAY was an enthusiastic 
amateur who collected chiefly in Singapore and Malacca. His 
collections were obtained by Kew. Nathaniel Wallich, the 
well-known Indian Botanist resided in Singapore at its foundation 
for a couple of years on his return from his Nepal trip, to recover 
his health, and collected plants in Singapore and Penang, and also 
received plants from the latter island from George Porter, a 
Schoolmaster who was given charge of the Penang Botanic Gardens 
then at Ayer Hitam. 
From these collections all made in the Colony, all that was then 
known of the Botany of the Malay Peninsula was derived. Nothing 
was known of the plants of the Malay States, and little or nothing 
was known of the plants which produced the rattans, dammars, 
rubbers, drugs or timbers of the peninsula. 
The first Botanists in the Malay Peninsula were Father 
SCORTECHINI and KUNSTLER. The former a Jesuit priest who in 
his travels made an extensive collection of Perak plants. Kunstler 
was employed by the Botanic Gardens of Calcutta to collect 
chiefly in the Taiping Hills and L. WRAY too made expeditions 
in Perak and collected largely. These three collections were 
