INTO THE FLORA OF CHINA. 
89 
Osbeck was a zealous naturalist and brought home a rich, 
collection of natural objects, chiefly Chinese specimens, for 
during his long stay at Whampoa and Canton he had ample 
opportunity of visiting the neighborhood of these places. All 
his collections he placed in the hands of Linnaeus, who des¬ 
cribed them, the plants in his Species plantarum, published a 
year after Osbeck’s return. _ , 
Osbeck’s original account of his voyage appeared in 1757 in 
hisnative language : Bagbok gfver en ostindisk reset. He pub¬ 
lished also some botanical articles in the Act. acad. Holm. 
1762, 1765, and 1769. He was member of the Academy of 
Stockholm and of the Soc. of Upsal, and died as Rector of 
Hasloff and Woxtorp in 1805. 
A Herman translation of Osbeck’s narrative was made in 
1765 by J. G. Georgi, and revised and completed by Osbeck 
himself. Georgi* was Professpr Of Mineralogy at the Academy 
of St. Petersburg. He accompanied Pallas on his travels to 
Siberia and died 1802. 
The English translation of Osbeck’s book was made from 
the German by J. R. Forster, the well known companion in 
travel of Capt. Cook. 
All the Chinese specimens gathered by Osbeck belong to the 
neighborhood of Canton. During his stay at Whampoa he 
repeatedly made excursionsto Canton and investigated the 
Flora of the islands in the river. He often mentions Banes 
island, French island, only separated from the .latter by a 
stream, and Honam ■ (erroneously written Stonam in the narra¬ 
tive), an island West of the t wo first mentioned and on which 
a large suburb of Canton is situated. Hot many of the 
botanists in Europe will be aware, I think, that Danes island 
on which Osbeck collected plants 130 years ago, has been 
for nearly 20 years the residence of one of the most distin¬ 
guished botanists of our time, who has done so much to throw 
light on the Flora of. China and whose name has a world-wide 
reputation. The numerous papers on botanical matters which 
have been published by Dr. H. F. Hance are generally dated 
from the British Consulate at Whampoa, which has been 
established on Danes island and not,, as might be presumed, 
at the Chinese city of Whampoa, situated opposite the Con¬ 
sulate on the left bankf of the riven 
* Willdenow named the genus Georgina, ( Dahlia) after him. Thus 
this favored gardenfk«ver was not, as is erroneously believed by some 
authors, dedicated to King George III of England. 
