The Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta

Abstract

THE Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta, is celebrating the completion of its 150th year on January 6, during the jubilee meeting of the Indian Science Congress, and a number of distinguished botanists from Great Britain expect to attend. The Garden was started at the suggestion of Lieut.-Colonel Robert Kyd, and continued as the Honourable East India Company's Botanic Garden until the Company relinquished its control of the government of India in 1857, when it became the Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta. Colonel Kyd was appointed superintendent of the Garden and continued in that position until his death in 1793. Then it was decided to appoint a special officer, and the East India Company's botanist, Dr. William Roxburgh, held the post from 1793 until 1813. Roxburgh published his “Flora Indica”, which became the basis of many subsequent Indian botanical works. In spite of a series of well-known superintendents (F. Buchanan (afterwards Hamilton), N. Wallich, W. Griffith, Hugh Falconer, T. Thomson, T. Anderson, C. B. Clarke, G. King), the Garden suffered vicissitudes of progress and serious set-backs. Cyclones practically devastated the grounds on more than one occasion, and once the Herbarium became seriously depleted through supplying other herbaria too lavishly. Recovery began under the administration of Dr. (afterwards Sir) George King, who retired in 1897; and still further improvements were made under Sir David Prain, who succeeded King and remained superintendent until 1905. Since that date, the Garden has continued performing important functions under the administration of several successive superintendents. The present superintendent is Mr. K. P. Biswas, who, until his recent promotion, was curator of the Garden Herbarium. For several months since relinquishing his curatorship, Mr. Biswas has been working at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The Garden lies on the right bank of the River Hooghly, at Sibpur, just outside Calcutta ; and is now about 270 acres in extent. Apart from work of a ‘pure’ botanical nature, much work of economic importance—chiefly to India—is being pursued along lines similar to those obtaining at Kew. The authorities are to be congratulated on the Garden attaining its 150th anniversary, and Mr. Biswas on his recent appointment as superintendent.