n his preface (13/1. In the preface to the "Surveying Voyages of the
'Adventure' and the 'Beagle,' 1826-30, forming Volume I of the work,
which includes the later voyage of the "Beagle," Captain Fitz-Roy wrote
(March, 1839): "Captain King took great pains in forming and preserving
a botanical collection, aided by a person embarked solely for that
purpose. He placed this collection in the British Museum, and was led to
expect that a first-rate botanist would have examined and described
it; but he has been disappointed." A reference to Robert Brown's
dilatoriness over King's collection occurs in the "Life and Letters,"
I., page 274, note.), and made him very indignant, but it seems a much
harder one would not have been wasted. My cryptogamic collection
was sent to Berkeley; it was not large. I do not believe he has yet
published an account, but he wrote to me some year ago that he had
described [the specimens] and mislaid all his descriptions. Would it not
be well for you to put yourself in communication with him, as otherwise
something will perhaps be twice laboured over? My best (though poor)
collection of the cryptogams was from the Chonos Islands.

Would you kindly observe one little fact for me, whether any species of
plant, peculiar to any island, as Galapagos, St. Helena, or New Zealand,
where there are no large quadrupeds, have hooked seeds--such hooks as,
if observed here, would be thought with justness to be adapted to catch
into wool of animals.

Would you further oblige me some time by informing me (though I forget
this will certainly appear in your "Antarctic Flora") whether in islands
like St. Helena, Galapagos, and New Zealand, the number of families
and genera are large compared with the number of species, as happens in
coral islands, and as, I believe, in the extreme Arctic land. Certainly
this is the case with marine shells in extreme Arctic seas. Do you
suppose the fewness of species in proportion to number of large groups
in coral islets is owing to the chance of seeds from all orders
getting drifted to such new spots, as I have supposed. Did you collect
sea-shells in Kerguelen-land? I should like to know their character.

Your interesting letters tempt me to be very unreasonable in asking you
questions; but you must not give yourself any trouble about them, for
I know how fully and worthily you are employed. (13/2. The rest of the
letter has been previously published in "Life and Letters," II., page