Abstract
THE Report of the third Imperial Botanical Conference (see NATURE, 136, 402; 1935) held in London on August 28–30, 1935, has recently been issued (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, price Is.). Apart from the various discussions reprinted from NATURE, Sir Arthur Hill, president of the Conference, made an eloquent plea for the furtherance of the scheme for the creation of liaison officers from the Dominions and Colonies, thus ensuring closer co-operation with the National Herbarium at Kew. Since 1883, an assistant for India has been working at the Kew Herbarium, supported by the Government of India. The Government of the Union of South Africa similarly maintains an assistant for Africa at Kew. As in these cases, there are preserved in the Kew Herbarium most of the early collections of Australian and New Zealand plants and many from Canada. Naturally, these historic collections cannot leave the country, and it is highly desirable that young botanists from the Dominions should be given the opportunity of working on these collections, of getting into touch with botanical colleagues, and of acquiring a knowledge of methods of work in large British and Continental herbaria and libraries at present out of their reach. A resolution was therefore passed at the Conference that the authorities be asked to appoint liaison officers and exchange officers from Australia, New Zealand and Canada. It was also resolved that the “exchange both of members of the staff and research students between the Universities and Research Institutions and relevant Departments of the Empire” should be encouraged, and the establishment of a permanent committee for this purpose be recommended.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Co-ordination of Botanical Research in the British Empire. Nature 137, 268 (1936). https://doi.org/10.1038/137268c0
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/137268c0