PLANTS DESCRIBED BY ARDUINO. 293 



nature, but we cannot help thinking that those who took this view 

 knew but little of him : to us he appeared, to be a man of a 

 particularly hospitable and sociable disposition, and the ready How 

 of humorously-told anecdotes of his experiences during his botanical 

 expeditions did not suggest a silent man. He was very fond of 

 children and young people, and often referred, in his letters, to 

 being assisted in collecting by young friends. The death of one of 

 these, Miss Minnie Cocking, seems to have much affected him, for 

 in a letter to Mr. Broome he wrote : — " It has been a sad Christinas 

 for me. I do not know whether you remember my speaking to two 

 young girls one clay in the library. One of them took fever, and to- 

 day was buried. I was very fond of her — she was such a dear, 

 merry, affectionate little creature, and as good as she was pleasing. 

 I knew her from an infant, and few days passed without seeing her." 

 Although particularly simple and unaffected in manner, there was 

 a rare dignity about the man that could not fail to impress all 

 with whom he came in contact. 



Mr. Ralfs bequeathed his collections of microscopic plants to the 

 Botanical Department of the British Museum, but his will was not 

 witnessed, and had consequently no legal force. His son has, how- 

 ever, in consideration of his father's wishes, generously resolved to 

 place the collection in the British Museum. 



The portrait which we reproduce is from an excellent photograph 

 taken some eight years ago by Mr. R. H. Preston, of Penzance. 

 For the biographical information we are largely indebted to our 

 friend Mr. E. D. Marquand, who lived for some years at Penzance, 

 and whose genial companionship did much to brighten the later 

 years of Mr. Ralfs's life. We are also indebted to Mr. Ralfs's son, 

 Mr. J. H. Ralfs, of Liverpool, and to Miss Nicholls and Mr. Hen- 

 wood Teague, of Penzance. 



H. & J. Groves. 



PLANTS DESCRIBED BY ARDUINO (1759— 17GS). 



By F. N. Williams, F.L.S. 



In tracing back the early history of some of the Caryophyllea, 

 I was led to inquire into the identity of Arduino's species, and the 

 priority of his names ; the result of this inquiry is embodied in the 

 present paper. Among the few important botanical works published 

 between the second edition of Linmeus' ' Flora Suecica' (1755) and 

 the second edition of the 'Species Plantarum' (1762) was the first 

 instalment of Peter Arduino's ' Animadversionum Botanicarum 

 Specimen,' which was published at Padua in 1759. This little- 

 known book (in which the smooth latinity of the author's style is in 

 pleasing contrast with the angular pseudo-classicism of some con- 

 temporary works) contains descriptions, accompanied with excellent 

 figures, of twelve species. The binomial nomenclature is not 

 adopted, but each plant is cited under its generic name, followed by 

 a specific phrase. The following list gives the names of the species 

 with which these plants are now identified : — 



