OBITUARY 53 



agriculture, with literary ability, and also with a wide knowledge in 

 curious and little-known antiquarian lore. 



Mr. Wilson was the son of a farmer in the parish of Rayne, in 

 Aberdeenshire, and was educated in the parish school there. He 

 was trained in Aberdeen as a land surveyor and civil engineer and 

 in 1 86 1 he acted as resident engineer during the construction of the 

 section of the Buchan branch of the G. N. S. Railway on the section 

 between Dyce and Ellon. Having married Miss Stephen of North 

 Kinmundy, Newmachar, he turned his attention chiefly to agriculture 

 as a profession during the rest of his life, studying it as a science, 

 and carrying on many and varied experiments. Among the subjects 

 of his experiments may be noted the growth of various cereals and 

 other plants with a view to obtaining evidence on the alleged 

 transmutation of species in cultivation ; the singling of turnips so as 

 to secure the heaviest yield ; the pollination of grasses and other 

 plants ; and the ascertaining by volume and weight the true value 

 of the crops of various cereals, and of the best commercial measure 

 for these. He also made very careful observations and experiments 

 on the growth of various fungi parasitic on agricultural plants. Nor 

 did he refrain from experimenting upon himself, trying the effects of 

 ergot in food, fortunately without ill effects. Even at the age of 

 eighteen his literary tastes were manifested in a magazine, called the 

 " Rural Echo," which he edited, and in great part wrote, but which 

 continued only about half a year. While resident at North Kinmundy 

 he published the results of his scientific studies in several books, 

 as contributions to various societies of which he was a member, and 

 in agricultural journals. Other results were published by correspon- 

 dents to whom they were communicated for the purpose, e.g. by Mr. 

 W. G. Smith, in his little work on " Diseases of Plants." " The 

 Botany of Three Historical Periods," published in 1878, and "A 

 Bushel of Corn," published in 1883 (which gained him the gold medal 

 of the Highland Society), are excellent examples of Mr. Wilson's 

 method of work in this field, of the wide range of topics that the 

 subjects as treated by him suggest, and of the curious and interesting 

 information from many sources that he brings to bear upon them. 

 More speculative are his " Unity of Matter " and " Creation the 

 Work of To-day." His shorter scientific papers will repay perusal, 

 such as "Experiments with Turnip Seeds" (Trans. Edin. Bot. Soc. 

 1877) and on " Ergot," as all are based on acute and careful experi- 

 ments and observation. 



He also published works in the widely different realm of poetry. 

 The first of these appeared upwards of twenty years ago under the 

 name "A Creed of To-morrow." In 1884 appeared a volume of 

 " Songs and Poems," of short pieces, several of them being jeux 

 d'esprit of a botanical nature, such as "Fungus Hunting," and "A 

 Mycological Serenade." A longer work, " The Lyric of a Hopeless 



