66 The Scottish Naturalist. 



himantopus, or long-legged plover; and in Skye and on the 

 summit of Ben Nevis in 1794, where he for the first time found 

 the Sagina maritima. But Clova was the district which had 

 most charms for him, and to the exploration of which he de- 

 voted most time and attention. " The lofty mountains which 

 surround the upper part of Clova," says he, "present to the 

 botanist an interesting field for rarities ; not even Ben Nevis, 

 Ben Lawers, and Ben Lomond, and the high mountains of 

 Cairngorm, taken altogether, can furnish such botanical treasures 

 as are to be met with on the mountains of Clova." He has, 

 indeed, made Clova classic ground for the botanist. 



For these long rambles over hill and dale Don was gifted by 

 nature with capacities above most men. He was a tall, stalwait 

 man, who could do the work of two ordinary men, and his power 

 of endurance seems almost incredible. In these journeys he 

 was often without food for long periods. He has been known 

 to come into " Nanny Dagetty's," of an evening, direct from an 

 excursion, and astonish his friends by clearing the table of every- 

 thing eatable. They would rally him on his appetite ; but his 

 defence was, that he had tasted nothing for twelve hours at least, 

 and had during that time walked close on thirty miles, and 

 heavily laden too. He would bring with him plants, some of 

 them already dried and fit for the herbarium, roots and seeds to 

 be planted and sown in his garden, or sent to one or other of 

 his correspondents ; for he was in correspondence with some 

 of the most eminent naturalists of the day, such as Dr Patrick 

 Neill, Secretary of the Wernerian Society of Edinburgh ; Sir 

 Joseph Banks ; Sir J. E. Smith, President of the Linnean Society, 

 and others. There is a tradition in Forfar that a bishop of the 

 Church of England — doubtless Dr Samuel Goodenough, Bishop 

 of Carlisle — visited the town and inquired for Mr Don. It was 

 not thought that such a grand man could have come to see 

 George Don, and a messenger was sent with him to the resi- 

 dence of a Colonel Don. Seeing the Colonel at a distance, 

 he said, " That's not the man," and was then taken to the Gar- 

 den, where he found the botanist busy at work, and was soon 

 in cordial conversation with him, to the great wonder of his 

 guide. 



It is much to be regretted that the details and incidents of 

 these excursions, many of which were known to his associates, 

 have not been preserved. They would have furnished matter 

 lor a volume of deepest interest both to the general reader and 



