LINNEAN SOCIETY OF LONDON. 77 



for practical systematic work, and, as a consequence of this, a sure 

 sifting of essentials from non-essentials in each respectiA'e grade." 

 Sir Joseph Hooker brought an insight no less remarkable. 

 But if a distinction may be made, his vast experience of plants 

 in the living state had given him a keen appreciation of the value 

 of morphological characters as a gnide to affinity. This Bentham 

 had not to so great an extent ; but his knowledge of the ])ractical 

 value of distinctive characters fortaxonomic purposes had become 

 trained almost into an instinct. It must not, however, be supposed 

 that Bentham had not in his day been a close observer of Nature. 

 His ' British Flora,' drawn up on the same lines as those adopted 

 for the ' Flora Australiensis,' was criticised as if its author had 

 no knowledge of plants in the field. The way, however, in 

 which he handled tiie facts on the nature of close and varying 

 species extracted from Darwin the characteristic exclamation, 

 " Good Heavens ! to think of the British botanists turning up 

 their noses, and saying that he knows nothing of Britisli 

 plants"*. 



I cannot omit some mention of Bentham's services to this 

 Society as its President from 1863-1874. His devotion to our 

 interests knew no bounds. Bentham was a man who shrank 

 from no labour, however great, which would further an end in 

 which he was interested. I believe we owe to him the aduiirable 

 ' Index ' to the last ten volumes of the old series of our ' Transac- 

 tions ' f. And when the Society moved into its present quarters 

 he superintended tlie removal of our library, and actually arranged 

 the bulk of the books upon the shelves with his own hands. But 

 it is iu his Addresses that his best memorial as our President will 

 be found. I may be permitted to say a few words on the most 

 important. That for 1863 deals with the discussions relating to 

 the origin of species. One passage is worth quoting, as showing 

 how very gradual Avas Bentham's adhesion to the new views : — 

 " I scarcely think that due allowance is made for those who, like 

 myself, through a long course of study of the phenomena of 

 organic life, had been led more and. more to believe in the immu- 

 tability of species within certain limits, and have now felt their 

 theories rudely shaken by the new light opened on the field by 

 Mr. Darwin, but who cannot surrender at discretion so long as 

 many important outworks remain contestable." He was in cor- 

 respondence with Darwin about some of these outworks ; and 

 the latter, writing to Bentham about the elfect of the Address 

 as a whole, said : — " I verily believe that your Address, written as 

 it is, will do more to shake the unshaken and bring on those 

 leaning to our side than any thing written directly in favour 

 of transmutation "J. It is very interesting to find that in 1870 he 

 thoroughly grappled with what had evidently perplexed him much 



* 'Life and Letters,' vul. ii. p. SiJU. 1' (/. Proc. Liim. Soc. 18()()-(.)7, p. u. 

 I ' Life aud Letters,' vul. iii. p. 26. 



