10 THE JOURNAL OF BOTANY 



tlie number of interesting things he found and the care and judge- 

 ment he showed in selecting and pressing specimens of them. He 

 was most generous in distributing his specimens, and it was always a 

 -delight to receive a parcel from him, for it was sure to contain many 

 plants of interest. He was, I think, much more apt in seeing dif- 

 ferences than likenesses, but if one felt sometimes that he was a 

 little inclined to regard his geese as swans, he always furnished his 

 friends with adequate material to form a judgement for themselves. 

 It is very sad that he should have dropped out so early from the 

 comparatively small band of good critical botanists." 



With regard to Marshall's specimens, those who shared his holiday 

 excursions tell stories of the shifts to which he was sometimes put to 

 ■carry out the process of drying satisfactorily, and of the trouble and 

 time he devoted to the work. At home it was no uncommon thing 

 for him to change the papers six times a day, beginning before 

 breakfast and ending late at night. He took great care in spreading 

 out leaves and flowers, adjusting pads for thick stems, and in all the 

 little details which go to make up perfect specimens. His labels, too, 

 were models of neatness and exactness, and his numbering each plant 

 distributed made reference easy ; his distribution numbers reached 

 about 4500. 



Besides the set which he always laid aside for the National Her- 

 barium, which is thus ])ossessed of a series almost as complete as his 

 own, and his liberal donations to private correspondents, Marshall 

 contributed largely to the two Exchange Clubs ; he also helped in 

 providing the specimens sent out by the brothers Linton in their 

 sets of Hieracia and Salices. 



Marshall was also a good and prompt correspondent — a fact of 

 which amateurs as well as botanists took full advantage. I have 

 often heard him say, when opening at breakfast a packet of plants 

 sent to name — ^" Oh, I really can't be bothered with these things 

 to-day ! " and I heard it with amusement, for I knew that before the 

 afternoon post went out, the specimens would be named and the 

 packet returned with a useful and encouraging letter — sometimes, 

 however, with a complaint of the insufficiency of the material supplied : 

 the poorness of the specimens often sent out even by botanists of 

 repute always irritated him, as was not unnatural in one who was 

 himself beyond reproach in that respect. There is no need to say 

 how good his letters were : most British botanists can from their own 

 knowledge bear witness to the fact. It may be noted incidentally 

 that Marshall had a considerable correspondence with critical botanists 

 on the Continent ; in the course of his contributions to this Journal 

 will be found references to letters from Haussknecht, Lange, Kiiken- 

 thal, Wettstein, Focke, Domin, von Sterneck, and others. 



Marshall was a very careful writer ; not only was his style clear 

 and concise, but his manuscrij^t practically required no correction 

 before sending to press — a testimonial which, as every editor knows, 

 is rarely given or deserved. He was careful, too, in his references ; 

 he had a small but useful botanical library of which he made good 

 use, and would often ask me for extracts from books which were 

 inaccessible to him. His occasional visits to town found him at the 



