38 PEOCEEDINGS OF THE 



President on several occasions between the years 1869-1882. It 

 was the unanimous wish of the Council that he should have 

 accepted the Presidency of the Society ; but the state of his 

 hcaltli unfortunately prevented him from undertaking the duties 

 incumbent on tliat post. 



Mr. Busk died on the 10th August, 188G, in his seventy-eighth 

 year. By his death the Society has lost a distinguished Pel low, 

 and British Science an enthusiastic worker, who has left his mark 

 on many fields of research. 



August Wilhelm Etchler was born at Neukirchen in Hesse, 

 on the 22nd April, 1839, the eldest son of his father, Johann 

 Adam Eichler, and received his early education at Eschwege 

 and Hersfeld. In 1857 he went to study at Marburg, giving 

 special attention to Mathematics and Natural History, but ulti- 

 mately, as the result of Wigand's lectures, devoting himself to 

 Botany, and he chose asthe subject of the thesis for his degree, 

 " On Leaf-development, with special reference to the forms of 

 bracts." 



He intended entering the scholastic profession, but, on the 

 recommendation of Buchenau and AVigand, he became in 1861 

 assistant to Martius at Munich, his special function being to 

 help in tlie preparation of the ' Plora Brasiliensis.' This colossal 

 work began to ai:)pear in 1840, then stopped until the present 

 Emperor of Brazil, Don Pedro II., in 1852, gave it the support 

 which it has since enjoyed. After the death of Martius, Eichler 

 became sole editor, and, according to Dr. Garcke, under his care, 

 46 parts were issued out of a total of 100. For his services in 

 this work, he was decorated with the third degree of the Brazilian 

 order of the Kose. With Eichler's death we have to record the 

 death of four editors of this noble work — Martius, Eudlicher, and 

 Penzl being the others. 



Dr. Eichler was Professor of Botany successively at Munich, 

 Graz, Kiel, and Berlin, the last from Easter 1878. After Alex- 

 ander Braun's death in 1877, the Chair of Botany in Berlin 

 University was divided. Eichler was appointed to the Chair of 

 Systematic and Morphologic Botany, in conjunction with the 

 charge of the lioyal Botanic Gardens and Museum ; whilst 

 Schwendener w-as cliosen Professor of Plant-Anatomy and Phy- 

 siology, and Director of the University Garden. In 1880 he was 

 elected a Member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences, and in 

 1881 a Eoreign Member of our Society, During the last few 

 months of his life his strength and eyesight failed ; and, after a 

 painful illness, he died at Berlin, on 2nd March, 1887, and was 

 buried 5th March. 



The Garden at Berlin owes much to Eichler's energetic ad- 

 ministration. Under his orders there were laid out an Alpine 

 garden, quarters for officinal and economic plants, plants in geo- 

 graphical groups, a new Victoria-house, and a series of tanks for 



