468 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. X. 



army, and he studied for that purpose, but he eventually joined 

 the service of the Old North- West Company, leaving Scotland in 

 1820 for Canada. Shortly after thi.s time a union of the Old 

 North-West and Hudson's Bay Companies was formed, and Mr. 

 Barnston continued with the new company, in which he remained 

 for forty-one years. He was stationed in the course of that time 

 at various points from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to British Col- 

 umbia. He crossed the Rocky Mountains into British Columbia 

 as early as 1825 or 182(3, making the return journey in winter 

 on snow-shoes. When in British Columbia he established the 

 fiist factoiy on the Fraser Biver. When at York Factory in 

 1824 he assisted in fitting out Franklin's party, and at Norway 

 House, thirty years later, he aided the expeditions under Rae 

 and Anderson and Stewart. He married in 1830 Miss Matthews, 

 daughter of Mr. W. Matthews, one of tlie pioneers with Jacob 

 Astor. In 1867 he retired from the service of the Hudson's Bay 

 Company and took up his i-esideuce in Montreal, where he died 

 on the Uth March, 1883. in the 83rd year of his age. Mr. 

 Barnston throughout his residence in the Hudson's Bay Territory 

 was a diligent collector in botany and zoology, and contributed 

 collections of insects, plants, &c., to the British Museum, the 

 Natural History Society of Montreal, the McGill University and 

 other institutions. In 1872-73 he was President of the Natural 

 History Society, At Montreal he occupied himself with the 

 determination and arrangement of the specimens he had collected, 

 and prepared notices of them for publication, more especially in 

 the Canadian Naturalist. The most in)portant of his papers 

 are the following : — On the geographical distribution of the Ra- 

 nuncuJacece in British America, 1857 ; on the geographical 

 distribution of plants in the British possessions in North America, 

 1858; on the geographical distribution of Cruclferce and of the 

 genus Allium, 1859; sketch of the life of Douglas, the botanist, 

 1860; on the swans and geese of the Hudson's Bay Territories, 

 1861 ; on the genus Lutra, 1863; on plants collected by Mr. J. 

 Richardson in British Columbia, 1878. In 1860 a report was 

 prepared and published by ^Ir. W. S. D'Urban on the Coleop- 

 tera in Mr. Barnston's collection. Mr. Barnston published other 

 papers in journals in Great Britain of which we have as yet no 

 detailed information. 



On motion of Mr. W. Muir, seconded by Dr. T. Sterry Hunt, 

 the following resolution was passed : — 



