In addition to conveying his love of nature, Mackay thought that this research was advantageous to his missionary work "in humbling the proud graduate, conciliating the haughty mandarin, and attracting the best and brightest of the officials, both native and foreign."
除了對台灣的一草一木有感情、感興趣，馬偕認為這些研究對佈道工作也很有助益，「可以使驕傲的文士低頭」，「使自大的中國官吏悅服」，「喚起國內外最高明的人士對佈道工作的興趣。」