JDH praises Sir William Turner Thiselton-Dyer's [WTTD's] vindication of the position of RBG Kew, though he fears they will still not get much from the treasury unless [Neville] Chamberlain can be made to understand their situation. He instructs that WTTD should at least lobby for a fire proof building for the collections, & should prepare a plan for same. JDH has visited [Sir Richard] Strachey & found his health improved though he is still feeble. JDH believes that [William Thomas] Blanford should be honoured for his contributions to the study of zoology & geology in India, Persia & Abyssinia [Ethiopia]. JDH intends to propose Blanford for a Royal [Society] medal with WTTD's backing. Blanford has received the Wollaston Medal of the Geological Society but in JDH's opinion should be offered companionship of an order such as the Star of India, KCSI, or Order of the Indian Empire, KCIE. JDH has left [John Stevens] Henslow's microscope for WTTD & assumes that [George] Bentham's microscope is in the museum. WTTD is going on holiday to Poole, JDH suggests he visits [Alfred Russel] Wallace who lives near Parkstone Station. JDH mentions having dedicating the BOTANICAL MAGAZINE to [David] Prain & uncertainty over what tile Prain holds as an army medical officer because of the conventions of the War Office. JDH asks if WTTD would like to buy a Wedgewood medallion of Sir William Herschel which JDH asked the company to reproduce.
Transcript
Poole -- you will miss Allman but find Wallace*9a close to the Parkstone station.
Ever aff[ectionatel]y Y[ou]rs | Jos D Hooker [signature]
I hope that you liked my dedication of Bot[anical]. Mag[azine] to Prain *10. I headed it to Surgeon Major Prain, but King *11 assured me there was no such title now. This giving military titles to the Army Med[ical] Officer is of itself enough to damn the War Office -- Why not call Med[ical] Inspectors R[oyal] N[avy] Admiral?
Would you care to give 8/ for a Wedgwood Medallion of Sir W[illiam] Herschel *12, by Flaxman, a great beauty I set the firm to resurrectioning the mould, chiefly for the Herschel family who are delighted with it.
*1
Dec[embe]r 13 1900
THE CAMP,
SUNNINGDALE.
My dear Dyer *2
I was sorry to miss you to-day, as I wanted to tell you how thorough I found your vindication of the position of Kew to be -- & how ably put together & expressed. With such a wooden headed Treasury it is I fear hopeless to expect much : -- except indeed a man like Chamberlain could be got to grasp the situation & act. -- A fire proof building for our own collection should be vehemently urged, whatever else is done, & it would be well that you should be prepared with a
plan of one, however rough.
I spent several hours with Strachey *3 last Monday; he is much better, but far from well, & is desponding -- he is up & about, but feeble.
I had a talk with him about Blanford *4, for whom something ought to be done in recognition of his services to India & to Science. Over & above his great labour in zoology & geology in India, Persia & Abyssinia [Ethiopia], he is Editor & in great part author of 11 volumes of Indian zoology. If you agree I will urge his claim of a Royal Medal. I feel ashamed when
I think of having G.C.S.I. *5, when he has had not even the offer of a companionship of any Order. His work dates from 1852, & he had the Wollaston Medal of Geolog[ical] Soc[iety] some years ago. I would gladly go to any member of the Indian Council & urge his claim to a K.C.S.I. *6 or K.C.I.E. *7 -- do you know of any accessable[sic] one?
I left Henslow's *8 microscope at the house f[or] you to day -- I cannot release the inside box which has the lenses. Bradley Badderley must manage it. Surely Bentham's*9 is in the Museum.
I am glad to hear that you are going on a short holiday to
Poole -- you will miss Allman but find Wallace*9a close to the Parkstone station.
Ever aff[ectionatel]y Y[ou]rs | Jos D Hooker [signature]
I hope that you liked my dedication of Bot[anical]. Mag[azine] to Prain *10. I headed it to Surgeon Major Prain, but King *11 assured me there was no such title now. This giving military titles to the Army Med[ical] Officer is of itself enough to damn the War Office -- Why not call Med[ical] Inspectors R[oyal] N[avy] Admiral?
Would you care to give 8/ for a Wedgwood Medallion of Sir W[illiam] Herschel *12, by Flaxman, a great beauty I set the firm to resurrectioning the mould, chiefly for the Herschel family who are delighted with it.
1. The letter is date stamped Royal Gardens Kew 15.Dec.00. Text in the hand not that of the original author reads "An[swere]d 15.xxii.[19]00". Presumably added by the recipient of the letter, William Turner Thiselton-Dyer.
2. Sir William Turner Thiselton-Dyer (1843--1928). British botanist and third Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (1885--1905). He succeeded Joseph Hooker in the role after serving as his Assistant Director for ten years. He previously held professorships at the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, Royal College of Science for Ireland and the Royal Horticultural Society. He married Hooker's eldest daughter Harriet in 1877.
3. Sir Richard Strachey (1817--1908). Scientist and administrator in India.
4. William Thomas Blanford (1832--1905). Geologist and zoologist.
5. Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India.
6. Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India.
7. Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire.
8. John Stevens Henslow (1796--1861). Botanist and Church of England clergyman. His eldest daughter Frances was Hooker's first wife.
9. George Bentham (1800--1884). British botanist who donated his herbarium of more than 100,000 specimens to Kew. He spent 27 years with Joseph Hooker in research and examination of specimens for the work Genera Plantarum, an influential work on plant taxonomy which is the foundation of many modern systems of classification.
9a. Alfred Russel Wallace (1822--1913). British naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist and biologist. Best known for independently conceiving the theory of evolution through natural selection. His paper on the subject was jointly published with some of Charles Darwin's writing in 1858 and presented by Joseph Hooker and Charles Lyell to the Linnean Society on 1 July 1858.
10. Sir David Prain (1857--1944). Botanist and fourth Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew from 1905 to 1922.
11. Sir George King (1840--1909). Superintendent of the Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta and Cinchona cultivation in Bengal, 1871--1898. First Director of the Botanical Survey of India, 1890--1898. King was awarded the Linnean Medal in 1901. He was recognized for his work in the cultivation of cinchona and for setting up a system for the inexpensive distribution of quinine throughout India through the postal system.
12. Sir William Herschel (1738--1822). Musician and astronomer.
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