THE LATE JOHN ROY, LL.D. 73 



rarest species, and his readiness to communicate his know- 

 ledge to any one in want of it, rendered his companionship 

 no less helpful than agreeable. It was, indeed, only his more 

 intimate friends of similar tastes that were in any way in a 

 position to estimate aright his ability and intellectual power, 

 and the extent of his varied acquirements. Whatever work 

 he undertook was done without thought of personal interest. 

 The love of truth, as such, made him refrain from publishing 

 anything of the accuracy of which he was not absolutely 

 convinced ; and the drudgery of school routine prevented 

 him from having the time at his command to reach the com- 

 pleteness that he aimed at before making public the results 

 of much labour. Several important pieces of work were only 

 waiting their final revision when he should have leisure to 

 give it after demitting public duties ; but when the time of 

 demission arrived, his health was such as to put the possi- 

 bility of any work, save the lightest, out of his power. There 

 is reason to hope, however, that part at least of the \vork 

 prepared by him, and now in manuscript, is in such a state 

 as to be ready for publication as it stands. Having made 

 himself familiar with the flowering-plants, ferns, and mosses 

 of this country, alike in their native habitats and in the 

 herbarium, Dr. Roy devoted his attention more especially to 

 the freshwater Algae of Scotland, his knowledge of which 

 was, we believe, unequalled. After a time, he concentrated 

 his labours chiefly on the Desmids, a group of unicellular 

 algae very rich in species, of which many are singularly 

 beautiful. He extended his study of these plants to material 

 from all parts of the world from which he could procure it ; 

 and with this object, as well as to procure the literature 

 of the subject, he entered into wide correspondence with 

 botanists beyond the limits of Great Britain. He became a 

 recognised authority in this group, the determination of the 

 species in which demands long-continued and minute research. 

 His labours and merits as a botanist are very inadequately 

 represented by his published papers, a list of which, so far 

 as known to the writer, is appended to this notice. 



He was engaged for a number of years in collaboration 

 with the Rev. John Fergusson of Fearn, in Forfarshire, in the 

 preparation of a flora of the north-east of Scotland, from 



