William Carey founded the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India (AHSI) in 1820 to create a “science” of agriculture and horticulture to “improve” India. The Board of Agriculture and Internal Improvement (1793–1822) in England was his model. But in India, the AHSI dealt with a severe lack of knowledge and a contradictory relationship with landlords, or zamindars. In the early years of the Society, William Carey and other AHSI officers recruited Bengali zamindars and Indian princes. They worked together with them in committees and awarded them largely ceremonial positions as “native” officers. Under the influence of this entanglement, the Society collected and published information about already existing practices from around India, and many of these Indian members were involved in plant collection and horticultural projects. Nevertheless, fault lines were seen. All efforts to publish pamphlets or manuals in Indian languages failed, creating a limited discourse of exclusion.