are now in our University Herbarium, and much of interest is detailed in Mr Munby's account of their explorations, communicated to vol. ix. of first series, and vol. i. of the new series of Loudon's "Mag. of Nat. History." In 1838 he extended his botanical knowledge by a residence in the Haute Garonne. Early the following year he started in a merchant vessel bound from Marseilles to Constantinople, but some accident to the ship compelled him to land at Algiers, with which place, and the flora of its immediate neighbourhood, he was so charmed that he resolved to remain in the country, and make a careful investigation of its botanical riches. This stay continued for five years, during which time his occupations were botanising, cultivating the orange tree, and shooting, and he thus acquired such a knowledge of the country, the Arabs, and the modern Arabic language, as no Englishman at that time possessed. In 1843, on his way to England, he visited Oran, where he became acquainted with Mr Welsford the British Consul, to whose daughter (Miss Jane Welsford) he was married the following year. This led him to settle near Oran, and purchase a small estate there called "La Senia," which he made his home for twenty-six years, occasionally visiting England. He often travelled into the interior of Algeria, shooting, botanising, &c., and gained amongst the Arabs a high reputation as a "Hakim," by his skill in treating them for ophthalmia. His wife's health failing obliged him to remove his family to Montpellier, where Mrs Munby died in 1860, and he brought home his five young children to Yorkshire, his native county. In 1862 he married Miss Buckeridge, who survives him, as also do his five children, two sons and three daughters. He had bought a small property near Farnham, called "The Holt," and resided there the last nine years, devoting himself to horticulture, the care of his farm, and his duties as one of the Council of the Horticultural Society.

Whilst in Africa he was often summoned to attend the French soldiers and their families, which professional services were considered of so much importance by the French Government that he was granted the protection of a guard of soldiers whenever he wished to go into the interior of

Algeria; but that protection was soon rendered quite unnecessary, as he had become well acquainted with many Arab chiefs, who would consult him upon the price of articles which they were in the custom of selling at Oran.

In his first work on Algerian botany, published at Paris in 1847, Mr Munby from his eight years' exploration of the country was enabled to add 200 species to the "Flora Atlantica" of Desfontaines, then the most recent authority, though dated as far back as 1804. In his second publication, entitled "Catalogus Plantarum in Algeria sponte nascentium," the number enumerated shows the large increase of 800 species mainly from the labours of Rebourd and Cosçon, and a second edition of this "Catalogus" further adds 364, making a total of 2964, containing many monotypic genera. For the above works Mr Munby received the cordial thanks of the French Government, substantiated by a donation. of valuable books. Several "Centuries" entitled "Plantæ Algerienses exsiccatæ," were from time to time distributed. by Munby, and at the period of his death he was preparing a work to be called "Le Guide du Botaniste en Algèrie."

Further details of Mr Munby's career will be found in an article by Dr J. D. Hooker, published in the "Gardeners' Chronicle" for 26th August. In it we are informed of the safe receipt at Kew of the deceased's valuable herbarium, and a selection from his living plants—a donation from the family.

From this source I venture to extract the following words as to Mr Munby's personal character, by his almost lifelong friend, Dr Percy, already alluded to:"I never knew a more genuine, more true, or more truehearted man. He had not a spark of guile; he expressed always what he thought, and in doing so he used the plainest of language, which some would call blunt. I deeply deplored his loss, and I deeply respect his memory."

EDWARD NEWMAN, who died at his residence at Peckham, London, on 12th June last, took up the study of natural history when a young man, as a relaxation from the labour of an active commercial occupation, and continued ardently devoted to it to the close of his life of seventy-five years. He was better known as a zoologist than a botanist, but may be regarded as one of the "all-round" naturalists, a

class which is now nearly or quite extinct. To the "Magazine of Natural History" he early contributed a series of articles on the "Natural History of Godalming in Surrey," his native place, subsequently reprinted under the title of "Letters of Rusticus." His botanical reputation rests chiefly on his writings in connection with British ferns, indeed his "History" of British ferns may be said to have begun a new era in our fern literature. True, the work of Francis was the first to meet the rising taste for ferns, but his figures were too small for clearness, and wanted the artistic elegance of those which adorn Newman's works; moreover, Francis gave little more than a digest of Smith, Hooker, and Mackay, whilst Newman, laying aside existing authorities, went principally to the plants themselves. In the first edition of this" History," published in 1840, besides appearing as a severe unionist, his classification was at great variance with the four authors mentioned above, in that he applied the either overlooked or neglected valuable character of the venation which Presl on the Continent, and Mr John Smith in this country, independently took the lead in bringing into notice. As an unknown author in the department, Newman's publication met with much opposition; but his views being almost immediately sanctioned by Mr John Smith, they became generally accepted, and the changes in nomenclature being adopted by Dr Balfour and Mr Babington, in the edition of the "Edinburgh Catalogue," of which they were joint-authors, and partially by Mr Babington a short time after in his "Manual," were rapidly acknowledged by the botanists of the country. In his second edition, issued in 1844, the Fern Allies are included, and the woodcuts of the book are beautiful; but in it we find the author had changed sides-had become in distinction. to a “lumper," a "splitter," and fanciful. In the following edition he fell into a seemingly wanton changing of names, a procedure which has justifiably created some bias against his fern-books, otherwise so commendable. In June 1841 the "Phytologist," a monthly magazine devoted to botany, especially to all relating to British plants, was started by Mr Newman, and was conducted with great spirit and success for some years. In the editorial work he had the assistance of Mr George Luxford, a good writer and

botanist. From his position as a printer, he was able to carry on this venture with as little expenditure as possible, but it was never a commercial success, and on the death of Luxford in June 1854 it came suddenly to an end. Its companion periodical, the "Zoologist," started in 1843, and edited by Mr Newman to his death, is still continued. His other chief Zoological works are his "Illustrated Natural History of British Butterflies," followed by that of "British Moths," and his "Dictionary of British Birds." Probably few have done more to render popular genuine natural history in its various branches than Edward Newman. He became a Non-Resident Fellow of this Society as far back as 10th December 1840.

NEIL STEWART, eldest son of the late Thomas Stewart, house painter in Edinburgh, died 8th December 1875, in his sixty-first year. Fond of botany and kindred sciences, he utilised his good abilities as a botanical draughtsman in the illustration of natural history subjects. He executed a large number of botanical drawings for the Botanical Classes in the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, and for a number of years was the elected artist to our Society, of which he became an Associate in 1850.

In 1871 he contributed a paper to the Society on the question whether colour in flowers has any function to perform in the fertilisation of the ovule. An abstract appeared in Vol. XI. of the Transactions.

GILBERT A. C. STEWART, late of Melrose, where he died. on 12th January 1876, was elected a Fellow of the Society during his residence in Edinburgh as a medical student, in December 1865, and for the Session of 1866 his herbarium gained the University Gold Medal. In November 1868 and April 1869, he brought under the notice of the Society the more or less complete naturalisation of a number of exotic plants along the banks of the Gala and the Tweed, the introduction of which he traced to foreign wools used at the neighbouring factories. On the last-mentioned occasion he showed specimens of a large series of these plants. The list has been increased by the subsequent investigations of our Associate, Mr Brotherston.

II. Recent Contributions to the Flora of Iceland. By W. LAUDER LINDSAY, M.D., F.R.S.E., F.L.S.

(Read 5th December 1876.)

Since I visited Iceland (in 1860), and published a "Flora of Iceland "* (in 1861), several small collections of Flowering plants and Ferns-made mostly in the southwest of that island-have been sent to me from time to time. These collections came directly from Reykjavik, from my worthy friend and correspondent, Jón Árnason, Inspector of the College there.† He had used his official influence to induce various of the Students of the said College to make, during their summer holidays, and in their native districts, botanical collections, in order to their transmission through him to me. The collections that reached me prior to 1870 were placed in the hands of Professor Charles C. Babington, of Cambridge, and the names of the plants of which they were made up were no doubt included by him in his "Revision of the Flora of Iceland" (published in 1871). But other collections have been made and sent since 1870, have been deposited in the National Herbarium at Kew, and have recently been examined by Professor Oliver and J. G. Baker, F.L.S., the Botanists attached to that Establishment.

To these gentlemen I am indebted for the appended list of the aforesaid most recent plant-collections made in Iceland by the Icelanders themselves. It appears to me desirable to publish the short list, in order to the encouragement of botanical students in Iceland itself. The fact that their gatherings are duly appreciated and utilised in this country will no doubt stimulate to further gatherings of

In the "Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal " for July 1861. This gentleman is one of the most distinguished living Icelandic littérateurs—an indefatigable collector and transcriber of the grand old Sagas of his native land; but best known on the Continent of Europe and in England by his two large volumes of "Icelandic Folk-lore," published at Leipsic in 1862 and 1864. Selections from these Tales or Traditions were given in an English dress, in two volumes, in 1863 and 1866, under the title of "Icelandic Legends, collected by Jón Árnason, and translated by George E. J. Powell and Eirikr Magnusson."

In the "Journal of the Linnean Society" (Botany) vol. xi. 1871, pp. 282-348.

TRANS. BOT. SOC. VOL. XIII.

B