LINNEAlSr SOCIETY OF LONDON. 85 



distributed by the Botanical Society o£ London were mainly made 

 up from the collections of AVatson and Syme. In 1857 that 

 Society was dissolved, wlien the Thirsk Botanical Exchange Club 

 became the medium of interchange, afterwards, in 1866, being 

 transferred to Londoii. In the year last mentioned Syme took 

 part in editing a new edition (the fifth) of the ' London Catalogue 

 of Plants,' and his hand was also in the sixth and seventh. 



The work on wliich his reputation will rest is his edition of 

 Sowerby's ' English Botany,' which he undertook at the strong 

 recommendation of friends, the late Eev. AV. W. Newbould being 

 one who afterwards took great jjleasure in alluding to that fact. 

 By this time, 1863, he had amassed a large herbarium of British 

 and Euro2)ean plants, many being the results of his widely ex- 

 tended trips in Grreat Britain. The whole of Syme's portion, 

 eleven volumes, from 1863 to 1872, when the Grasses were finished, 

 was dictated to his wife, who has since placed upon record his 

 pains to make the work as complete and truthful as he could. 

 Those to whom the work is familiar know full well the admirable 

 description fi-om the specimens, which the third edition of 'English 

 Botany ' presents ; here also, for the first time, was introduced 

 into full acceptance subordinate grades of plants, intermediate 

 between undoubted species and equally undoubted varieties — 

 that of sub-species. To many, this attemj)t to place jilants in nicely 

 graduated ranks of sujier-species, sub-species, varieties, and forms, 

 is not regarded with much favour ; but there can be no diflPereuce 

 of opinion as to the way in which that plan was there carried out. 



In 1868 he left London for the family estate of Balmuto, near 

 Kirkcaldy, Eife, henceforth adopting the name of Boswell-Syrae, 

 until 1875, when, by the death of his uncle, he became the head 

 of that branch of the Boswell family, and discontinued the use of 

 his patronymic. It was also in 1875 that he received the honor- 

 ary degree of LL.D. from the University of St. Andrews. Erom 

 1870 to 1875 he distributed the plants in the Exchange Club, and 

 his critical remarks in each annual report were reprinted each 

 year in the 'Journal of Botany ;' after he gave up the arduous 

 part of distributing, he remained a referee, and his coumients 

 were furnished to 1883. He long had a plan of revising 'English 

 Botany ' and publishing it without the plates ; but his health 

 failed and caused the compulsory relinquishment of that, and of 

 finishing the twelfth volume, which had been drafted by liim, but 

 was carried to completion by Mr. N. E. Brown, A.L.S. 



For the last two years of his life he was kept a close prisoner 

 by an ulcerated leg, in addition to valvular disease of the heart, 

 and, after two slight attacks of paralysis, he died on the 29th 

 January, 1888. 



His British herbarium has, since his death, been bought by Mr. 

 E. J. Hanbury, of Stoke Newington, who intends to arrange it 

 for the ready consultation of Britisli botanists ; but his European 

 herbarium remains in the hands of Mrs. Boswell. 



