2V1 IKTEODUCTIOX.
liaving" tlie valuable assistance of the Herbarium at Kew, the sets of bamboos from
several other similar institutions were freely placed at my disposal Dr. G. King,
the Director, and Dr. D. Prain, the Curator of the Herbarium of the Eoyal
Botanic G-arden in Calcutta, not only allowed me tlie loan of the whole
collection of that institution, but gave me constantly their advice and help in
every way. The Saharanpur collections were placed at my disposal by Mr. J. T.
Dathie, B.A., the Director of the Botanical Department in Northern India.
Those of the Madi-as Central Museimi were lent to me by Mr. E. Thurston,
the Superintendent; and those of the Ootacamund Garden by Mr, M. A. Lawson,
Director of the Botanical Department in Southern India. Dr. H. Trimen, F.K.S.,
most kindly lent me the collections and drawings belonging to the Royal Gardens
at Peradeniya in Ceylon, and assisted me further with much information. The
collection belonging to the Garden at Singapore was placed at my disposal by the
Director, Mr. H. N. Ridley, P.L.S., who also gave me sets of his more recent
discoveries in Perak, Penang and Johore.
I t has sometimes been said that Indian forest officers did not do enough for
the elucidation of the botany of the countries in which they are employed. So
far as bamboos are concerned, the reproach must be cancelled most emphatically,
for I have received from my brother officers in the Indian Forest Department the
most signal assistance, and it is scarcely too much to say that without their kind
help this work must have been a failure. Prom Assam, I received sets of nearly
all the bamboos of the various districts, by the kindness of the Conservator,
Mr. Gustav Mann, who himself collected or procured them, compared them himself,
labelled and noted on them, giving the fullest particulars not only of their characteristics,
but of theu- names and uses. Por the Burmese bamboos I am chiefly
indebted to Mr. J. TV. Ohver, Conservator of the Eastern Circle of Upper Bm-ma,
whose magnificent collections have produced several new and valuable species'. To
Mr. P. J. Carter, Conseiwator in Pegu, Lieutenant-Colonel Bingham, Conservator in
Tenasserim, and to Messrs. McHarg, Lowis, C. S. Rogers, Lane-Ryan, and others,
I am also greatly indebted. Por a set of bamboos collected in Sikkim I have to
thank the late Mr. E. Puchs, and for those of Orissa I have to acknowledge the
aid of Babu Sree Dhur Chakravarti. Por information regarding the bamboos of
Bombay, I have chiefly to thank Mr. A. Talbot and Mr. R. C. "Wroughton,
Deputy Conservators; while at the instance of the Hon'ble A. T. Shuttleworth,
Conservator of the Central Circle, sets from various districts were sent me by
Messrs. Pagan, "Wilkins, Osmaston, and Millett. Mr. T. P. Bourdillon, Conservator
of Porests in the Ti-avancore State, has sent me much important material to
supplement the valuable collections made by Sir D. Brandis in Tinnevelly.
Besides Porest Officers, I have to thank Mr. G. A. Gammie of the Government
Cinchona Plantations in British Sikkim, for sets of bamboos collected by him
on his tours in the Darjeeling hiUs; and Mr. C. B. Clarke, r.n.s., now President
of the Linnean Society, for valuable sets of his coUections in Sikkim, the Khasia
Hills, and ^Manipur. In the correction of the proofs I have to acknowledge the
INTRODUCTION. XVLI
assistance of Dr. G. King and Mr. J. P. Duthie. PinaUy, I wish to express my
thanks to Sir Dietrich Brandis, K.C.I.E., late Inspector-General of Porests in India,
for many valuable specimens and for notes and advice.
Wlierevcr possible, I have given the vernamlar names recorded by previous
writers or attached to the specimens received, while an index of these names will be
of help to some of those who may consult the worlc, in tracing the species they desire
to find. At the same time it must be remembered that vernacular names arc often
very unreliable, and that the same name may be given to two or more difl'erent
species in different parts of the country.
In regard to the plates attached to this work, it is well to record that the
main di-awings have all been done by native artists under my supervision, and chief
among these artists was Mahomed Idrees, a student of the Madras School of Art, who
worked under my supervision in Madi-as during 1888 to 1890. The rest have been
done by draughtsmen attached to the Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta, and one or
two by Mr. Hormusji, draughtsman of the Botanical Department, Saharanpur. Some of
the plates, as noted in the description, are borrowed; but most of them are from
actual specknens, and I have endeavoured to give, for each species, as far as possible—
(I) the leaves and leaf-sheath, (2) the culm-sheaths, (3) the flowers and inflorescence,
(4) dissections of the various parts. These dissections are entirely my own work, and
I hope, therefore, that I may be excused for their roughness in many instances. I
regret that I found it impossible to draw the parts of these dissections fuUy to scale
and to indicate their relative size. It would have taken far more time than I had
available for the work.
A S I I . EOT. BOT. GAKD. CALCUTTA, YOI,. T I L.
H. P.—Reg. No, 2868J—350-8-3-95.