608 Memoir of the late Thomas Pur ton, Esq. 



assistance in the compiling of his Flora, may be mentioned 

 the names of the late Sir James Edward Smith ; Drs. 

 Hooker and Greville; Dr. Williams, the late Regius Pro- 

 fessor of Botany at Oxford; and Mr. Baxter, the much- 

 esteemed and worthy curator of the botanic garden in that 

 university, whose death has been more than once recorded 

 in the prefaces of some lately published botanical works; but 

 who, nevertheless, is still actively and usefully employed, and, 

 we trust, may long continue so, both as superintendant of the 

 garden, and also as the well-known editor of Illustrations of 

 the Genera of British Flowering Plants, now publishing in 

 monthly numbers. Mr. Purton was also indebted for much 

 valuable assistance in the compiling of his Flora to his 

 esteemed friends, the late Rev. W. Bree of Allesley, and his 

 son, the Rev. W. T. Bree, the present rector of that place, 

 and your well-known correspondent, whose useful and in- 

 structive communications to your Magazine require no 

 panegyric from the writer of this article, one who highly 

 esteems the pleasure of his acquaintance. : moi b no t -\s1z3olP 

 Dr. Hooker, in the preface to part i. of vol. ii. of his 

 British Flora, states his being indebted to Mr. Purton, « c who 

 had so well illustrated the T'ungi in his Flora of the Midland 

 Counties, for copious MS. notes on all the species that have 

 come under his observation; and he would doubtless have 

 been more indebted to him, had not his lamented death put 

 a stop to his labours during the revision of this interesting 

 but difficult branch of botanical research. The Midland 

 Flora was published at two several periods; the first two 

 volumes in 1817, printed at Stratford upon Avon, and em- 

 bellished with eight coloured engravings, by James Sowerby. 

 It contains an excellent and well-written introduction to the 

 science, with a succinct detail of the most remarkable natural 

 classes of plants ; the whole taking up about 40 pages, and 

 conveying an explanation of the primary difficulties of the 

 science, in language not only sufficiently plain, but exceed- 

 ingly interesting, even to the youngest beginners. The plants 

 described in the two volumes are arranged after the Linnaean 

 system, with the natural classification attached to each, and 

 numerous and scientific notes, pointing out their medical and 

 other properties. The number described in these two volumes 

 amounts to 1171 species, all found in the midland counties, 

 and the greater number in the immediate neighbourhood of 

 Alcester; a place, from its possessing extensive woods and 

 low meadows, abounding in numerous wild and many of the 

 rarer species of plants. The third volume was published in 

 1821. It consists of an appendix, in two parts, the whole 



