Later accomplishments in the field of Hongkong botany were made by various individuals. Hance, an accomplished botanist, published an enumeration and notes on plants. He also provided a further list of about 70 plants which he and others had discovered in the island after Bentham's work was finished. From the time of the publication of Hance's Supplement to 1886, material representing a further increase of between 300 and 400 species of plants had been discovered, which I and others had identified during that time to add to the previous records.
There are probably still a few undiscovered plants. I am publishing in due course a descriptive work of all the plants discovered since the first work was published in 1861, including descriptions of the plants in Hance's Supplement which were enumerated but not described, thus bringing the work up to date with what is now known of the Hongkong Flora, which is extremely rich in species in comparison with the area of the island, which is only 30 square miles. It is interesting to observe that the number of plants known to be indigenous to Hongkong is nearly the same as the number which are indigenous to the whole of the British Islands.
The island has been fairly well explored, largely by myself and collectors like Mr. Lamont, but few discoveries are now made. I have been arranging the work at my home in Yorkshire and using the materials at Kew, South Kensington Museum, etc. In the course of my work, I have been able to take advantage of visits to London for other purposes, and there still remains a considerable amount of work to do, which can be done with great facility by reference to the materials in London.
I regret that this and other correspondence has been somewhat delayed in augmenting due to my absence from England, to which I have just returned.
I have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your obedient servant,
Charles Ford.