The files listed below are from the India Office Records. They cover the following topics: botanical gardens; botanical collecting; useful plants (economic and medicinal). The material testifies to the pioneering work of surgeon-naturalists, who expended much energy in making British India a vital part in a larger process: the transmission of plants and scientific techniques and ideas around the globe.
Selected Digitised Material
With summary descriptions. Fuller descriptions accompany the digitised images.
In Order of Reference:
F – Board of Control Records
- Teak plantations. 1793-1800 IOR/F/4/99/2028
- Forests of India. 1802-1804 IOR/F/4/168/2950
- Cultivation of the potato. 1803-1804 IOR/F/4/179/3224
- Edible vegetable products of India. 1810-1811. IOR/F/4/379/9495
- Saharanpur Botanic Garden: reports by George Govan. 1820-1821. IOR/F/4/660/18324
- Cotton and tobacco cultivation in the United States of America. 1827-2 8 IOR/F/4/1079/29439
- Spice gardens of Tinnevelly. 1826-1828. IOR/F/4/1187/30806
- Saharanpur Botanic Garden. 1825-1829. IOR/F/4/1191/30877
- Dye produced from redwood tree. 1831-33. IOR/F/4/1330/52529
- Agricultural and Horticultural Society of Calcutta. 1830-34 IOR/F/4/1546/61487
- Papers relative to cotton experiments in the Bombay Presidency. 1835-36 IOR/F/4/1635/65498
- Cotton cultivation in Madras. 1835-36. IOR/F/4/1667/66696
- Cultivation of cotton and senna. 1837 IOR/F/4/1737/70400
- Hemp plantation in Saharanpur botanic gardens. 1839 IOR/F/4/1754/71645
- Employment of Robert Wight as agricultural researcher in Madras Presidency. 1837. IOR/F/4/1755/71755
- Sugar cane cultivation in Bombay. 1837-1839. IOR/F/4/1771/72784
- Rubber Tree of Assam: Report by William Griffith. 1837-1838. IOR/F/4/1787/73597
- Proposed establishment of botanic garden at Nirguri, Poona. 1836-1838. IOR/F/4/1789/73724
- Nursery gardens in Bombay rejected. 1829-1839. IOR/F/4/1798/73869
- Employment of convicts in agriculture. 1836-1837 IOR/F/4/1815/74864
- Saharanpur Botanic Garden: Hugh Falconer’s report. 1835-1840 IOR/F/4/1828/75444
- Cassia and cinnamon. 1837-1839. IOR/F/4/1833/75987
- Exchange of vegetable products between Europe and India. 1838-1839. IOR/F/4/1867/79308
- Dapuri Botanic Garden: report by Alexander Gibson. 1839-1840. IOR/F/4/1907/81500
- Cotton cultivation in India. 1838-1841. IOR/F/4/1935/83556
- Cotton cultivation in Bombay. 1842 IOR/F/4/1949/84747
- Flax cultivation. 1841. IOR/F/4/1950/84888
- Cotton farms in Coimbatore. 1841-42. IOR/F/4/1952/84992
- Naturalising seeds and plants from other countries in India. 1839-41 IOR/F/4/1957/85401
- Experimental cotton farms in Madras. 1842. IOR/F/4/1964/86089
- Introduction of potato in Dapuri Botanic Garden. 1841-42 IOR/F/4/2011/89780
- Teak forests of India. 1841-1843 .IOR/F/4/2018/90404
- Rice cultivation in Coimbatore. 1841-43. IOR/F/4/2025/91369
- Gardens at hospital for the insane. 1841. IOR/F/4/2042/92957
- Cultivation of senna in the Deccan. 1843. IOR/F/4/2068/95036
- Export of wheat from India to England. 1847. IOR/F/4/2189/107224
- Species of grass. 1846-47. IOR/F/4/2192/107464
- Flora of the Angami Hills. 1847. IOR/F/4/2271/116122
- Barley cultivation in the Nilgiri Hills. 1849. IOR/F/4/2372/125902
- Ootacamund Botanic Garden. 1848. IOR/F/4/2399/129335
- Agri-Horticultural Society of the Punjab. 1851. IOR/F/4/2429/132616
- Botanical writings of George Gardner, Superintendent, Royal Botanic Gardens, Ceylon. 1847-50 .IOR/F/4/2434/133384
- Medical garden at Darjeeling. 1850. IOR/F/4/2444/134239
- Saharanpur Botanic Garden, including papers re tea cultivation. 1851-52. IOR/F/4/2498/141673
- Posthumous compilation of William Griffith’s papers. 1852 IOR/F/4/2514/143770
- Saharanpur Botanic Garden: arrangements for the collection and transmission of seeds and plants, William Jameson. 1852. IOR/F/4/2528/145895
- Saharanpur Botanic Garden. Reports on the garden by Alexander Gibson and by John Ellerton Stocks. 1851-1853. IOR/F/4/2533/146763
- Teak forests of India. 1853. IOR/F/4/2534/146952
- Species of Nettle Grass grown in Assam: Report by Major Hannay. 1852-1853. IOR/F/4/2535/147062
- Proposed establishment of a public garden near Amritsar city. 1853. IOR/F/4/2540/147892
- Calcutta Botanic Garden. 1826-1854 IOR/F/4/2595/157429
- Ootacamund Botanic Garden: equal footing with Calcutta Gardens. 1854-56. IOR/F/4/2681/183465
- Dapuri Botanic Garden: report by Alexander Gibson. 1854. IOR/F/4/2684/185611
H – Home Miscellaneous
- ‘A botanical history of the (paat and dooncha) hemp and flax plants of Bengal, with the mode of cultivation and manufacture’ by William Roxburgh. 1794. IOR/H/375_pp_243-61
- Clove, nutmeg and ‘all other valuable plants of the Moluccas’ collected at the Spice Islands by C. Smith and shipped to British possessions in India. 1798. IOR/H/375_pp_473-546
- Robert Kyd: papers including his proposal to establish a botanical garden at Calcutta. 1786-1788. IOR/H/799
L – Departmental Collections
- Dapuri Botanic Garden. 1859 IOR/L/E/3/836 no 13 coll 2 vol 2
- The natural history and biology of the teak tree, by N A Dalzell. 1869 IOR/L/E/3/851 no 14
- Rubber trees in Brazil. 1877 IOR/L/E/5/70 no 50
- Cinchona febrifuge. 1878-79 IOR/L/E/5/70 no 66
- Cinchona bark. 1871-72 IOR/L/E/5/70 no 67
- Cinchona: a review. 1883 IOR/L/E/5/70 no 68
- Cinchona and Joseph Hooker. 1882 IOR/L/E/5/70 no 69
- Cinchona from Columbia. 1878 IOR/L/E/5/70 no 70
- Forest produce of India. 1869 IOR/L/E/5/70 no 71
- Cinchona: patent for mossing. 1866. IOR/L/PJ/3/1356 no 2
- Cinchona plantations in Nilgiri Hills. 1866 IOR/L/PJ/3/1356 no 3
- Salary claim by Superintendent, Government Cinchona Plantations IOR/L/PJ/3/1356 no 12
- Cinchona: observations by Clements Markham IOR/L/PJ/3/1356 no 15
- William Mcivor, Superintendent, Government Cinchona Plantations IOR/L/PJ/3/1356 no 20
- Cinchona: patent for mossing IOR/L/PJ/3/1356 no 22
- Therapeutic effects of cinchona IOR/L/PJ/3/1356 no 23
- Cinchona: analyses of samples IOR/L/PJ/3/1356 no 32
- Report on cinchona plantations. 1867. IOR/L/PJ/3/1356 no 42
- The medical uses of berberry. 1856. IOR/L/PJ/3/1068 no 15
- Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India. 1857-58. IOR/L/PJ/3/1073 no 4
- Saharanpur Botanic Garden: Report. 1858. IOR/L/PJ/3/1084_no_135_coll_22
- Calcutta Botanic Garden: cyclone damage. 1865. IOR/L/PJ/3/1094 no 86 no 50
- Report on the Government Botanical and Horticultural Gardens, Ootacamund: Report by W.G. McIvor. Memoir on this by Hugh Cleghorn. 1856. IOR/L/PJ/3/1346_no_3_coll_19
- Cinchona on the Nilgiri Hills. 1867-68 IOR/L/PJ/3/1357 No. 28
P – Proceedings and Consultations
- William Roxburgh describes experiments with indigo. 1790. IOR/P/3/53_2_Jul_1790_pp_350-72
- Robert Kyd describes the mahua tree. 1790. IOR/P/3/53_30_Jul_1790_pp_680-95
- Plants found in Kashmir on a tour from Fatehgarh to Srinagar by Captain Hardwicke and described by Mr Hunter. 1798. IOR/P/4/62_15_Oct_1798_pp_765-68
- Nathaniel Wallich recommended for employment at the Calcutta Botanic Garden. 1809. IOR/P/7/17_10_Feb_1809_No_26
- Letter from the Secretary of the Medical Board on the culture of medicinal plants at Saharanpur under Superintendent John Forbes Royle. Bengal, 1826. IOR/P/11/57_25_May_1826_nos_42-43
- Supplementary medical garden to be established at Saharanpur. Bengal, 1826. IOR/P/11/59 29 Jun 1826 nos 31-32
- Two locals employed by Wallich to collect orchids in the Khasi Hills. 1837. IOR/P/13/24 9 Aug 1837 nos 46-48
- Cases for tea seedlings. 1854 IOR/P/14/39 16 Mar 1854 nos 101-107
- Plants introduced into the Calcutta Botanic Garden from China by Robert Fortune. 1856. IOR/P/14/68/ 16 Oct 1856 nos 51-52
- Reports on the Nopalry Gardens. 1789. IOR/P/241/10 20 Jun 1789 pp 219-26
- Letter from William Roxburgh on the pepper plantation, Samalkota Gardens. 1789. IOR/P/241/11 24 Mar 1789 pp 939-45
- Reports on the Nopalry Gardens. 1789 IOR/P/241/12 11 Apr 1789 pp 1192-94
- William Roxburgh discovers the bread fruit tree in India. 1789. IOR/P/241/12 26 May 1789 pp 1609-16
- Reports on the Nopalry Gardens. 1789. IOR/P/241/15 15 Dec 1789 pp 3435-42
- Reports on the Nopalry Gardens. 1789. IOR/P/241/15 17 Nov 1789 pp 3185-96
- Reports on the Nopalry Gardens. 1789. IOR/P/241/15 24 Nov 1789 pp 3251-59
- Reports on the Nopalry Gardens. 1789. IOR/P/241/15 29 Dec 1789 pp 3540-47
- William Roxburgh to send bread-fruit plants to London via Madras, and other plants and seeds to Joseph Banks at Kew. 1790. IOR/P/241/21 20 Dec 1790 pp 3294-98
- Reports on the Nopalry Gardens. 1789. IOR/P/241/27 20 Dec 1791 pp 3371-402
- James Anderson requests trees from China for the Nopalry to be delivered to Andrew Berry. 1792. IOR/P/241/31 17 Feb 1792 pp 597-99
- Cultivating coconut: William Roxburgh recommends this 'by securing to the labourers the fruit of the industry'. 1793. IOR/P/241/37 8 Mar 1793 pp 1009-13
- Indigo and fever bark: Andrew Ross and William Roxburgh papers. 1793. IOR/P/241/37 Feb 1793 pp 555-57
- Coconut and sago palm cultivation: directions to Residents of Nagore and Travancore. 1793. IOR/P/241/37 Feb 1793 pp 643-45
- Coconut cultivation: suggestions by William Roxburgh. 1793. IOR/P/241/38 Mar 1793 pp 1049-52
- Transporting coconuts from Colombo; cultivating indigo. 1793. IOR/P/241/40 Jul 1793 pp 2290, 2465-68
- Flax; Hindu method of making sugar. 1794 IOR/P/241/46 May 1794 pp 1435-73
- Botanical Gardens at Bangalore. 1804 IOR/P/242/67 Sep 1804 pp 4657-59
- Observations on fruit and potatoes, by Benjamin Heyne IOR/P/242/73 21 Jan 1805 pp 684-88
- Public garden at Ootacamund. 1847. IOR/P/248/36 9 Apr 1847 pp 1258-62
- Gardens at Ootacamund. 1853 IOR/P/249/17 15 Feb 1853 pp 747-903
- Horticulture in Bangalore. 1856 IOR/P/249/57 16 Sep 1856 pp 4852-62
- Garden at Bangalore. 1856 IOR/P/249/53 13 May 1856 pp 2331-47
- Samulcotta Botanic Garden. 1799 IOR/P/254/42 Sep 1799 pp 6090-91
- Pepper cultivation in India. 1786 IOR/P/274/40 17 Jun 1786 pp 1251-66
- Committee at Dapuri to discuss establishing botanic garden at Ahmadnagar, for growing coffee, tea and other exotics. 1836. IOR/P/347/46 11 May 1836 nos 191-94
- Charles Lush submits a proposal for a permanent establishment of a botanical garden at Dapuri. 1836. IOR/P/347/46 18 May 1836 nos 65-70A
- Charles Lush’s first report on the botanical garden at Dapuri; notes the advantages for growing babul trees. 1836. IOR/P/347/49 29 Jul 1836 nos 145-49
- Request that the Society cause a quantity of the best Nilgiri seed potatoes to be purchased and sent to Gibson; quarterly account of the botanic garden. Dapuri, 1838. IOR/P/347/71 21 Nov 1838 nos 42-44
- Alexander Gibson proposes to supply the medical stores extracts of the medicinal plants taraxacum and sarsaparilla. Dapuri Botanic Garden, 1847. IOR/P/349/46 11 Aug 1847 nos 4028-30
- Dapuri Public Garden: quarterly accounts. 1851 IOR/P/350/47 22 Jan 1851 nos 462-63
- John Ellerton Stocks at Dapuri Botanic Garden sends to London lists of plants for ‘forthcoming Exhibition of Indian Products’. 1852. IOR/P/351/8 10 Nov 1852 nos 8521-24
- Planting and growing of coconuts: memorandum by Alexander Gibson. Dapuri Botanic Garden, 1854. IOR/P/351/28 29 Mar 1854 nos 1894-1902
- Propagating teak trees from cuttings: memorandum by Alexander Gibson at Dapuri Botanic Garden. 1854. IOR/P/351/32 31 Jul 1854 nos 4103-04
V - Official publications
- Madras. Government Botanic Gardens and Parks: Administration report. 1854-60 IOR/V/24/1688
- Forest Department, Madras: Administration reports. 1860-70 IOR/V/24/1281
- H. H. Spry. Cultivation of useful and ornamental plants. 1841 IOR/V/27/570/1
- Hugh Cleghorn, Memorandum upon the pauchontee or Indian gutta tree of the western coast. 1858. IOR/V/27/626/5
- Growth of Cotton in India by J Forbes Watson. 1859 IOR/V/27/631/1
- Silk of Assam. 1890 IOR/V/27/632/12
