74 PBOCEEDINGS OE THE 



and shortly afterward, under his patronage and pecuniary support, 

 Miss Florence Woolvvard began to issue her well-known ' The 

 genus MasdevaUia, with additional notes by F. C. Lehmann ' on 

 the cultivation of the plants. The coloured plates were drawn 

 chiefly from specimens in cultivation in the Marquess's houses, 

 with descriptions by the artist herself. The first part came out in 

 1891 and the last in 1896, forming a handsome folio volume of 

 87 platas. 



The Marquess died on the 17th January, 1900, and was buried 

 atNewbattle, Dalkeith, one of theseats of his family, on January 23rd. 

 Concurrently \^ith the funeral a memorial service was held at the 

 Chapel Eoyal, 8t. James's Palace. 



Edwaed Joseph Lowe was a man of varied and wide interests, 

 and died on 10th March, 1900, at his seat, ShirenewtonHall, near 

 Chepstow, in his 75th year. He was born in 1826, and, possessed 

 of ample means, he was able to devote himself to his favourite 

 pursuits without having to provide for his daily wants. His 

 earliest works were on meteorology, his first book being a 'Treatise 

 on Atmospheric Phenomena,' in 1846, followed by ' Prognostica- 

 tions of the Weather,' in 1849, and the 'Climate of Nottingham 

 in 1852,' published in 1853; next appeared the ' Couchology of 

 Nottingham ' in the same year. With Scolfern he wrote the 

 account of Meteorology, which appeared in the seventh volume of 

 Orr's 'Circle of the Sciences' in 1854; partly rewritten and revised, 

 as an independent work in 1856 as ' Practical Meteorology.' He 

 was editor of the ' Magazine of Natural Philosophy,' which only 

 ran to seven numbers in 1855-56. 



His most extensive work was ' Perns, British and Exotic,' which 

 came out from 1856 to 1860, in eight volumes, with coloured 

 plates, concurrently with his ' Natural History of British Grasses,' 

 two volumes (1857-58), also with coloured plates. A more popular 

 book was his ' Beautiful Leaved Plants,' with illustrations in 

 colour, two volumes (1859-61), which was translated into French 

 in 1865. The 'Natural History of New and Eare Ferns' appeared 

 in 1860-62 ; ' Our Native Ferns,' two volumes, in 1862-67 ; and 

 he began a work of which the first part only came out, ' The 

 Natural Phenomena and Chronology of the Seasons of the British 

 Isles,' in 1870. 



' British Ferns and Where Found ' was an introductory work 

 in the 'Young Collector' Series in 1891; and the last from his 

 pen was ' Fern-Growing : Fifty Tears' Experience in Crossing 

 and Cultivation,' 1895. 



Lowe was passionately devoted to raising varieties of ferns from 

 spores, and claimed to have originated many unusual forms, not 

 merely by hybridization, but from multiple parentage. Unusual 

 varieties of plants and animals had a great charm for him, and he 

 had under his eye, in his own estate overlooking the British 

 Channel, multitudes of interesting examples. 



His entrance into the Linnean Society dates from 3rd February, 



