Papers on trees and woods

Tables, articles and other material regarding trees and woods in Ceylon, Fiji and New Zealand, and in general.

John Abercromby Alexander (b. 1854) was appointed Forester in Ceylon in 1885, although he may have lived there earlier, possibly engaged in a planting enterprise. He served as Assistant Conservator of Forests, Central Province, 1889-1893, and appears to have remained on the island until around 1886. He joined the Royal Colonial Institute in 1892. Abercromby lived at Venture Estates, Kalthuritty, Travancore, India, 1896-1898, and in Bedford, England, 1898-1901. By 1905 he was working for the Department of Agriculture of the Companhia de Mocambique at Beira, but how long he remained in Portuguese East Africa is unknown. He was the author of 'Notes on flora of coasts and islands of Portuguese E.A.' in 'Transactions and proceedings of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh', 1906.

Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).

Received from the Headquarters of the Hants and Dorset Branch of the R.C.S. on the dissolution of the branch in 1977.

Includes index.

MSS 11

MSS Addenda, vol. I.

A catalogue of the collection can be found on ArchiveSearch.

The R.C.S. Photograph Collection includes Alexander's photographs, Y303E.

This collection level description was created by RAS using information from the original typescript catalogue.

Alexander, John Abercromby, b 1854, forester