140 
H. H. W. PEARSON, F.R.S., Sc.D. 
been fairly arduous as we have crossed the N.E. comer of the Karroo which 
this yeah is nearly as arid as the German desert.... I am sending nearly 300 
species to Cape Town from here (you see I am in a fair way to become a real 
botanist and bundles of dried specimens are beginning to impress me greatly) 
— but seriously it is intensely interesting to follow the changes in the flora 
over a long-distance journey such as this.” From Seeheim in German 
South-West Africa he complained of suffering from “another bout of 
hospitality which is if anything more killing than the English....! estimate 
that since I started I have collected about 1200 species, the majority of which 
are safely housed in Cape Town by this time.... By the way I found living in 
a tent about 100 km. south of this place an old Irish lady who has a most 
vivid recollection of Galton whom she saw at Rehoboth when he visited this 
country in the fifties. She seemed quite confident that Galton will still 
remember her and begged me to give him a message from her. Her name is 
Mrs Bassingthwaite....The flies and the temperature are both fairly beyond 
words. I suppose this country is destined to become a colony some day but 
the native question must be solved first. I fancy that what is necessary 
is a thorough study of the subterranean water-courses throughout the whole 
of South Africa.” 
Pearson had many stories of amusing incidents on his journeys: one of 
his colleagues in the South African College writes : “ It was a treat, for instance, 
to hear him tell in his unique way the story of the old storekeeper with whom 
he had stayed a couple of days and become friendly. This man had two 
sons and was obsessed with the necessity of fixing up their careers. He would 
like to consult the Professor. The elder was a really clever fellow, in his case 
there would be no difficulty, he naturally would go into business. But the 
trouble was the second. He was a very decent boy, but a bit dull, yes dull; 
he would be no good at business. It is good to recall the twinkle in Pearson’s 
eyes and the laughter in his voice when he described the old man’s trouble 
and the evident beating about the bush, and finally his blurting out quite 
seriously. Couldn’t you tell me how to make him a Professor just like you.” 
The visit of the British Association to South Africa in 1905 was an event 
which gave great satisfaction to Pearson; he was justly proud of his Depart- 
ment and enjoyed showing it to his visitors. He played no small part in 
contributing to the success of the Meeting which is associated in my mind 
with memorable days spent with him and his wife in their Kenilworth home. 
Of the many services rendered by Pearson to Science perhaps in some 
respects the part he played in the establishment of the National Botanic 
Garden 1 is the greatest. It is a splendid memorial of a botanist whose 
1 For a fuller account of the Garden and of the history of its inception and establishment 
the reader is referred to the Kew Bulletin, 1913, p. 309, and to the Gardeners’ Chronicle, August 30, 
1913, p. 151. 
