\ 



50 



MR. JAMES BRITTEN OX SOME 



collection of di\'i\vings o£ ])lants and animals, \vhicli was disposed of at the 

 sale of the Stafford Library at Sotlieby's in Novcnd)er, 191 i^, and became 

 the pro[icrty o£ the Dutch Government. See Jourju Bot. liJli, 75, 224. 

 Tlic (livnving of Pachypodhnn uanuiqtfa/nfm in Mas?on's collection is endorsed 

 by Diyander '' copied from a drawing oE (.^a[)ta]n Gordon^s " : Masson 



oumnKMnorated him in Stajx'lia (^lIoodUA Gordon!, 



p. 42 : 



Masson^s HEUnAiilUM.— Between 1774 and 178G Marison established 

 hiniselt near London, perhaps at Kensington, wliere he resided from 17U5 

 until he went to America in 171^7, In Nicdiols's AnecdoLs (viii. (520) in the 

 course of a letter to B. Gongli, Micliael Tyson (1740-t?0 : see Diet. Nat. 

 Biogr. Ivii. 49D) writes : ^' Masson 1/unself shewed me . . . his amazing Cape 

 Hot-Iiouse^ his IFortus Siccus, Ericie 140 species, Proteye many, ClifFortiye 

 more tlian 50, Gerania,&c. Src." When at Kcnsinoton liis herbarium was 



consulted by C'orrt^a de Serra, who '^ examined the Cape Broteas in Masson's 

 collcctiou whieli has occupied- us in these last weeks, and will occupy for 



^ lie pro))ably disposed of his collections before leaving 



some more. 



for America, as Gawler (afterwards Ker) writing in 1808 of GethfjUis sjjiraHs 



(Bot/ Mao-, t. iOSS) says: ^'Spontaneous specimens, as well as drawings, 

 made hy the late Mr. iMusson at the Cape of Good Hope of both specievS, 

 together with several unreeordeil ones, are now in the possession of Messrs. 

 Lee and KemuMlv, along with the ve^i of the Herbarium and desiii'us of that 



1? 



indefatigable col hector." Those were the drawings already referred to as 

 having atlorded material for Mr. Baker^s descriptions. 



In a letter to Smith, dated July 9, 1812, James Lee gives a brief summary 

 of Masson's Avork — for wdiich he thought '' he had been ill paid, considering 

 wdiat ho had done for the science of botany '' — which seems w^orth transcribing : 



'' He exploi"ed lh(* ^'ape of Good Hope twice, Madeira, the Canaries, 

 Azores^ Sftain, Gibraltar, Tangier, Minorca, Majorca, the West Indies, and 

 Canada. Masson was of a mild temper, persevering in his pursuits even to 

 a great enihuslasm, of great industry, which his specimens and drawings of 



evince ; 



fish, animals, Insects^ plants, and \iews of the countries he passed through, 



and thouo-h he passed a solitary life in distant countries from 

 Society, his love or natural history never forsook him'' (Smith, ' Corresp/ 

 18j). Three letters from Masson to the younger Linna}us are in Smithes 

 ' Corres[)ondence of Linmcus,^ ii. 559-565; in one of these, dated Aug. 6, 

 1776, he mentions having sent engravings of two species of Ma&soyiia, copies 

 of which are in the Department : they were subsequently published in Ait. 

 ilort. Kew. i. (1789). 



• I 



