Unknown source for Indian botany

[Wheeler, Don]

The library at the New York Botanical Garden has a manuscript entitled
"Diarium Plantarum Bengalia" dated 1797.  It is bound and contains 364
numbered pages.  Some pages are blank, but most contain descriptions of
plants in Latin together with some bibliographical references, usually
to Hortus Malabaricus and Rumpf, and frequent references to figures,
although it is not yet clear what those references are.  

 

The first assumption was that the manuscript was associated with William
Roxburgh, but one Roxburgh expert believes it is not.  The jury is still
out on that question.

 

The manuscript was given to the New York Botanical Garden in 1934 by the
American Museum of Natural History.  It was earlier in the library of
the New York Academy of Sciences from at least 1880 until 1905, when
NYAS transferred its library to AMNH.  

 

Gordon McDaniel at NYBG is researching the manuscript, its provenance
and authorship.  If you have ever seen reference to this manuscript, or
have any ideas as to who, other than Roxburgh, might have written it,
please contact him off-list at

 

 gmcdaniel at nybg.org

 

Thanks  

 

Gordon McDaniel

Head, Cataloging Services

The LuEsther T. Mertz Library

The New York Botanical Garden

Bronx, NY  10458

718/817-8619