To John Scott [after 8 January 1868]
Dear Sir—
As you have asked my opinion, on the advantages of removing the C.B.G. to some other site, I have no hesitation in expressing a clear answer that numerous & great benefits wd be conferred on science by this step— I have always understood that the present Gardens stand at an extremely low level; & are therefore obviously unfitted for the culture of many plants as the conditions of life cannot fail to be of a [illeg] nature I conceive the chief advantage of a B.G. is to favor the importation & naturalisation of plants. plants foreign to the country where the Garden is established & the exportation of indigenous plants cultivated in the garden to other countries; with this aim as well as for the general scientific & experiment wd be an immense advantage if the Garden were situated near the Himalaya, so that plants requiring different climate, soil & [nutrients] could be observed cultivated & propagated.
As the garden has now been so [relatively cleared] away seems particularly favourable opportunity for any change., which may be delivered
I beg leave to remain | Dear Sir | Yours very faithfully | C. D.
Manuscript Alterations and Comments
0.1 Dear] ‘D’ over ‘d’; after del ‘My’
1.2 have … answer] above del ‘can clearly see that there would be’
1.2 that numerous] ‘that’ added pencil
1.3 benefits] after del ‘advantages’
1.3 be conferred] after del ‘thus’
1.3 by this step] interl
1.3 understood] above del ‘heard’ pencil
1.4 present Gardens] after ‘site of the’ del, pencil
1.4 stand at an] ‘stand at’ interl pencil; ‘an’ altered from ‘is’ pencil
1.4 level] interl pencil
1.4 are therefore] above del ‘therefore’ pencil
1.5 cannot fail] after del ‘must be in’
1.6 I conceive] after del ‘ There can be no doubt that’
1.6 importation] after del ‘introduction’
1.7 of plants.] of after del ‘as well as’; ‘plants.’ after del pencil ‘foreign’
1.7 plants … established] interl pencil
1.8 indigenous plants] ‘plants’ after interl ‘& others’ del pencil
1.8 cultivated] interl pencil
1.8 in the garden] interl
1.8 to other countries] interl pencil
1.9 as well … experiment] interl pencil; ‘experiment’ after del ‘object’
1.11 climate … could] interl above del pencil illeg
1.11 observed … propagated.] added pencil, after del pencil ‘cultivated.’
1.11 cultivated] interl pencil
2.1 so [relatively]] interl pencil
2.1 [cleared]] pencil above del pencil ‘swept’
2.2 seems] after del pencil ‘[illeg] of nearly all these things the present opportunity’; above pencil ‘the present seems an entirely’
2.2 particularly] above del ‘such’
2.2 any] ‘ny’ added pencil
2.2 which … delivered] added pencil