BOTANY is the Ilm-i-Nabatat of the Persians. There has not been any branch of natural science, in its relation to the East Indies, so devotedly followed out as scientific and economic botany. Whether we regard the numbers work ing, the personal labour undertaken, the vast sums expended by its cultiyators, or the important ad vantages which eastern countries have derived from them, their names ought ever to be kept in remembrance. During the past 300 years, amongst others who have worked in the East Indies, may be named, Governor Henry van Rhecde, George Everhard Rutnph, Leonard Plukenet, Koenig, Dr. John, Klein, Rottler, Sonnerat, Thunberg, the elder John Burmann, and the younger Nicholas Laur: Bui'mann, Hermann, Father Loureiro, Leschenault, Forskaol, Kmmpfer, Swartz, Jack, Carey, John Gerard, Jones, Fleming, Hunter, Anderson, Berry, Heyne, Buchanan, Russell, Noton, Shuter, Govan, Finlayson, Roxburgh, Wal lich, Royle, Blume, Horsfield, Spry, Voigt, Grif fiths, Wight, Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, Thomas Thomson, J. L. Stewart, Baden Powell, Hugh Cleghorn, Heber Drury, A. Moon, W. Munro, Arnot, J. E. Stocks, Edward Waring, K. Aitchi son, Maclelland, Sir Whitelaw Ainslie, Sir William Hardwicke, Sir William O'Shaughnessy, Sir Stam ford Raffles ; Colonel Beddome, Sir George Bird craMv ,Edgeworth, C. B. Clarke, Clement Markham ; Drs. Mason, Thivaites, Jameson, Brandis, Forskal, Don, Bentham, Bidie, and Kurz ; and notices of them will be found in this work under their respective headings.
In the 18th century Madras was the great home of research. In the 19th century the botany of the Bombay.Presidency was greatly advanced by Mr. John Graham, Mr. Joseph Nimmo, Mr. Law of the Civil Service, Mr. Dalzell, and Drs. Lush, A. Gibson, Murray, and Heddle. And in the Bengal Presidency, William Roxburgh, Nathaniel Wallich, John Forbes Royle reigned supreme; • and many younger men are treading the footsteps of the above.
Agri-Horticultural Societies and their gardens have been formed at Calcutta, Saharanpur, Dapoolie, Bombay, Madras, Bats alone, and Oota camund, to attend to the introduction of new plants into India, and to the useftil. application of
the natural products of the country. \ In March 1768 a Botanical Garden was estab lished in Calcutta, under the care of Colonel R. Kydd. In 1793 Dr. Roxburgh was 'put in charge ; and its superintendents have been suc cessively, Dr. Roxburgh (obiit 1814), H. T. Colebrooke, Dr. Francis Hamilton, Dr. Nathaniel Wallich, Mr. Bentham, and Assistant-Surgeon W. Griffiths.
The Botanical Gardens at Peridenia are about five miles from Kandy, in Ceylon, and occupy a considerable extent of ground.
Baron Ferdinand von Mueller, of the Melbourne Gardens, has written a volume of great value (Select Extra-Tropical Plants, 1880), enumerat ing the plants which could be beneficially intro duced and interchanged between Australia and the East Indies. In the middle of the 19th century, Clement Markham, C.B., devoted years of his life, risking life and health in a residence in South America and voyaging to the Neilgherry hills, in order to introduce there species of the Cinchona trees ; and his efforts were so eminently successful, that the Cinchona alkaloids by 1882 were being sold at a rupee an ounce.
The total estimated number of Indian species are 12,000 to 15,000. The climate of India is generally tropical, and even on mountains of 4000 to 5000 feet the vegetation is temperate. The perennially humid forests are uniformly characterized by, the prevalence of ferns; and at elevations below 5000 to 7000 feet, by the immense number of epiphytal orehidacem, orontiacem, and scitaminem. They contain a far greater amount of species than the dry forest of North India, and are further characterized by zingiberacete, xyridem, palms, pandanem, dracaena, piper, chloranthus, artoearpem, fici ; urticacete, araliacem, apocynem, shrubby rubiacem, aurantiacem, garci niacem, anonacex, nutmegs, and dipterocarpem.