466 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [Dee, 



tions to Scotland and its islands, France, Switzerland and Iceland, 

 and made extensive preparations for a prolonged exploration of 

 Ceylon, which plan was, however, frustrated by the disturbances 

 which broke out in that island. 



During this period, 1806 — 14, he formed the acquaintance of 

 all the principal scientific men in England and on the Continent, 

 and commenced that intercourse and correspondence which never 

 ceased till the day of his death. In 1815 he married the daughter 

 of Dawson Turner, of Yarmouth, himself well known as a good 

 botanist, and settled at Halesworth, in Suffolk. Here was laid 

 the foundation of his now magnificent herbarium, and here com- 

 menced a long series of valuable botanical works, which followed 

 each other at short intervals up to the present time. An increas- 

 ing family and a decreasing income induced him, in 1820, to 

 accept the Regius Professorship of Botany in Glasgow, at which 

 place the next twenty years of his life were passed, and where his 

 popularity as a lecturer, his admirable method of training his 

 students, and his genial and attractive manners, soon made his 

 house a rendezvous for all scientific men who visited Scotland — 

 we might almost say England. Gradually his correspondence and 

 his herbarium alike increased ; the latter receiving large contribu- 

 tions from his numerous pupils, who, in foreign countries, remem- 

 bered with gratitude the teacher who had placed science before 

 them in so attractive a form. 



In 1836 he received the honor of knighthood from William the 

 Fourth, in acknowledgment of his distinguished botanical career, 

 and the services he had rendered to science ; and in 1841 his con~ 

 nexion with Scotland terminated, and a new era of his life began 

 with his appointment to Kew. To be Director of Kew Gardens 

 had long been the ambition of Sir William Hooker's mind ; and 

 throughout his long residence in Glasgow he never abandoned the 

 possibility of eventually being placed in that position. He was 

 encouraged in these views by a nobleman well known for his dis- 

 tinguished patronage of literature and science, and himself a keen 

 horticulturist and no mean botanist. We allude to the late 

 John, Duke of Bedford, who, through the influence of his son, 

 Lord John Russell, a statesman then rapidly rising into power, 

 exerted a silent but most powerful influence with the Government 

 and officers of the Queen's Household, in effecting the transference 

 of the Gardens to the public. Sir William's appointment was 

 indeed drawn up by Earl Russell ; it gave him a salary of £300 



