44 The Scottish Naturalist. 



many years he was assistant to Dr. J. H. Balfour, Professor of 

 Botany in the University of Edinburgh, and took an active part 

 in teaching the classes, and particularly in the excursions with the 

 students during the summer, in which his minute knowledge of 

 the localities of the flora around Edinburgh rendered him a very 

 efficient guide. He also made frequent excursions with the 

 botanical class to the Scottish Highlands. He had a good know- 

 ledge of the alpine plants of Scotland, and in 1874 he discovered, 

 in the Corrie of Loch Kander in Braemar, two additions to the 

 British flora — viz., Carex frigida (a species found also on the 

 mountains of Central Europe and Asia) and Salix Sadleri, 

 described and named by Dr. Boswell from the specimens then 

 found. 



Mr. Sadler acted as secretary to the Botanical Society of Edin- 

 burgh from 1858 until 1879, when he was appointed to be 

 Curator of the Edinburgh Botanic Garden; and the botanical 

 papers written by him almost all appeared in the transactions of 

 the Society, from the year 1863 onwards. 



He gave considerable attention to the Mosses of Scotland, 

 especially to those found near Edinburgh ; and several of his 

 articles record the results of his study of these plants, of which he 

 added several species to the flora. He wrote occasionally on 

 other Cryptogams also (ferns and fungi), and assisted Dr. Balfour 

 in drawing up his small " Flora of Edinburgh," published in 1863. 

 For several years he published observations on the times of 

 flowering of the plants in the Botanic Garden, and on the effects 

 of the winters on plant-life in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh. 

 A collection of several hundred British mosses prepared by him 

 was purchased for the herbarium of the British Museum in 1861. 



Sir Charles Wyville Thomson, born at Bonsyde, near 

 Linlithgow, on 5th March, 1830; died in Edinburgh, on 10th 

 March, 1882. He studied medicine in Edinburgh, having 

 entered on the study at the age of 15. While a student he joined 

 the Botanical Society there, and also became secretary to the 

 Royal Physical Society. In 1850 he succeeded Dr. Dickie as 

 Lecturer on Botany in King's College, Old Aberdeen. After Dr. 

 Macgillivray's death he was appointed, in 1853, to the same 

 office in Marischal College, Aberdeen, the two colleges at that 

 time constituting distinct and independent universities. But a 

 vacancy occurring in the chair of Natural History in Cork, on 

 Professor Nicol's appointment to the same position in Marischal 



