Ɛpsilon

WCP2486

Letter (WCP2486.2376)

[1]1

TELEGRAMS,

WINDLESHAM.

THE CAMP.

NEAR SUNNINGDALE.

[1909]2,3

My dear Wallace

In the accompanying sketch of the "Flora of British India"4 I have given (p. 14) about 4000 species of Flowering plants & 250 of Ferns as approximate estimates for Sikkim: but I have no materials for estimating the numbers of Mosses, Hepaticae, Lichens, Fungi & Algae (Diatoms & Desmidia) which together must amount to many multiples of the Flowering plants of Sikkim, in which country I collected 250 Musci & 100 Hepaticae, besides a large number on the Nepal frontier which no doubt inhabit Sikkim also.

I am not aware of any subsequent collection of these Orders having been made; nor of any additions of note to the 4000 Flowering plants.

In Kumaun, a section of the Himalaya [2] 500 miles West of Sikkim & of much greater area, only 2000 species of Flowering plants & 185 Ferns are recorded.

If I can give you any further botanical information please let me know. I shall be much interested in the further development of 'The World of Life',5 but I find my brains are solidifying & I am overwhelmed by the discoveries in Science. "Nature" makes me giddy.

Ever sincerely yr | Jos. D Hooker.6 [signature]

1
In ARW’s handwriting, “Answd”. The letter has not been found.
2
A letter from ARW to Koorders on 17 June 1909 mentioned “Sir Joseph Hooker’s recent estimate of the Flora of Sikkim which he thinks may be the richest for the area”. See also WCP3854 https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP3854
3
In pencil in unknown handwriting, “[before 1910?]”.
4
Hooker, Joseph Dalton. 1906. A Sketch of the Flora of British India. Clarendon Press, Oxford.
5
Wallace, A. R. 1910. The world of life: a manifestation of creative power, directive mind and ultimate purpose. London: Chapman & Hall.
6
Hooker, Joseph Dalton (1817-1911). British botanist and explorer. Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 1865-85. President of the Royal Society 1873-78.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Letter (WCP2486.2376)]

For more information about the transcriptions and metadata, see https://wallaceletters.myspecies.info/content/epsilon

Revision history

Transcribed by Lucas, Paula [2018-08-15] Transcription checked by Chua, Christine [2026-04-18]

Please cite as “WCP2486,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP2486