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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
(JANUARY, 1917
McCrindle's translation of Ptolemy's Geography of India and Southern Asia. Then, but only because by that time he found his hands quite full with the official duties which had devolved upon him, he made over the journal, at the end of 1884, to Sir Richard Temple and myself.
Meanwhile, from 1868 to 1873 Dr. Burgess was the Secretary of the Bombay Geographical Society. His work in this capacity and what he was doing as Editor of the Indian Antiquary, along with the two small books which he had published on Elephanta and Satruñjaya, attracted the attention of Government, and led to cfficial recognition of his special qualifications. It had already been realized by the Government of India that the extensive historical and archeological remains of India deserved a better fate than that the exploration of them should continue to be left to private and intermittent enterprise. A first step was taken in 1870, when General Sir Alexander Cunningham, who, indeed, had been cmployed previously for some years on official archaeological exploration but had retired from active service, was recalled to India to be at first Archeological Surveyor to the Government of India, and then when a staff of Assistants was provided for him, to be Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India. His time, however, and that of his Assistants was fully filled by work in Northern India. It was recognized that separate arrangements must be made for the South. And a second step was taken in January, 1874, when Dr. Burgess was appointed to be the Archeological Surveyor and Reporter to Government for Western India. He was peculiarly fitted for such a post by having already a clear appreciation of the different classes of Indian architecture, a quick perception of the salient features which called for description and illustration, habits of close observation and socuracy partly innate and partly due to his mathematical training, great skill as a draftsman and photographer, and a winning manner which got for him the cordial co-operation of other scholars in supplying readings and translations of inscriptions, the only part of the work which he could not deal with in person. And the selection of him for the newly made office was quickly justified by his production of a series of fine large volumes, handsomely got up and richly illustrated, and full of most liseful matter. In 1874 ap, eared his "Report on the First Season's Operations in the Belgaum and Kaladgi Districts;" in 1876, his "Report on the Antiqnities of Kathiawad and Kachh," including a contribution by E. Thomas on the "Sâh” and Gupta coins; and in 1878, his "Report on the Antiquities in the Bidar and Aurangabad Districts in the Territories of H. H. the Nizam." During this period he started, by a "Provisional List of Architectural and other Archaeological Romains in Western India," which was issued in 1875 aNo. 4 of the brochures of the Bombay Archæological Survey, & series of compilations, framed subsequently both for Bombay and for other parts in an amplified and more detailed form, the usefulness of which has been found very great. Also, he perfecced and taught to us who were cooperating with him the process of making the squeezes and impressions, both plain and inked, which enabled us to substitute real facsimiles of the inscriptions on stone for the small-scale photographs and the unreliable reproductions from eye-copies, tracings, and rubbings touched up by hand, which had been previously the only wa 8 of illustrating such records.
In 1881 Madras was added to Dr. Burgess's sphere of work, and be became Archæological Surveyor and Reporter to Government for Western and Southern India. He then brought out in 1883 his fourth volume for Western India, namely, a "Report on the Buddhist Cavetemples and their Inscriptions," the inscriptions being given mostly from a preliminary treatment of them by Pandit Bhagwanlal Indraji, published in 1881 in No. 10 of the brochures of the Bombay Survey, which was revised and added to by Professor Buhlor. In the same year he produced his fifth volume for Western India, a "Report on the Elura Cave Temples and the Brahmanical and Jaina Caves in Western India," with a treatment by Professor Bühler of the Nânåghất and Kayheri inscriptions and the Dasavatara inscription at Elurâ. In the meantime, in intervals of leisure Dr. Burgess had found time to co-operate with
