g5 PROCEEDINGS OF THE 



JoHANN Xaveb Egbert Caspart was born at Kiinigsherg on 

 January 29th, 1S18, the son of a commission-asent : he received 

 liis early education at the Kneiphof Gymnasium, leaving it at 

 Michaelmas in 18:37 to study Philosophy and Theology at the 

 Albertina, a collegiate foundation in his birthplace. As a relief 

 to his severer studies he took up the study of entomology 

 and botany, a thing i-arely done by theological students. ITe 

 jjasscd both examinations in theology, with no intention of 

 becoming a clergyman, but to obtain the means of getting funds 

 for a TJnivei-sity "training. Unhappily the means were wanting, 

 and he Avas compelled to teach in schools and give lectures during 

 1841-43. 



At Easter in 1843 he proceeded to Bonn to study natural his- 

 tory and modern languages, whei'e he stayed until Michaelmas 

 1846. At first he gave most of his attention to zoology, and 

 during the greater part of the time was assistant to the zoologist 

 Goldfuss, but without giving up his plant studies. Indeed, while 

 there in 1845 he was teaching natural history and mathematics 

 in schools. 



In 1846 he accepted the post of tutor to a rich merchant's son 

 at Elberfeld, with whom he travelled through France and Italy, a 

 nine months' tour, in 1846-47 : considerable collections were the 

 result, both of animals and plants; the shells were afterwards given 

 to the Berlin and Popplesdorf museums. He remained ^vith this 

 family until 1848, and kept up a friendly correspondence with 

 them to the last, dedicating a genus of fossil palms found in amber 

 to the mother of his pupil, as Bemhergia. In this year he took 

 his degree of Phil. Doc. at Bonn, and from this time onward a 

 host of articles proceeded from his prolific pen, more than 290 

 being his literary record. On quitting the Bembergs, Caspary 

 came to England and lived in this country till 1850, at first at 

 Greenwich, then at Cromer and London ; in the latter year he 

 travelled with his pupil's family to Germany and the Netherlands; 

 after this he left for France, which he traversed from north to 

 south, with another pupil. 



liecalled home by the deaths of his parents within a very few 

 days of each other, a post at Berlin was given to him in the fol- 

 lowing year, 1851, in the same month in which Alexander Braun 

 was appointed to the direction of the botanic garden there. 

 Between the two men there soon sprang up a strong friend- 

 ship, which afterwards developed into the marriage of Caspary 

 with one of Braun's daughters. In 1855 he took a journey 

 to North Bohemia in order to study on the spot the forms of 

 water-lilies there growing, a group of plants he had taken 

 up in the previous year, and destined to be his speciality in 

 afterlife. 



At Easter 1856, at the pressing request of his old professor 

 Treviranus, he returned to Bonn to take upon him the excursions 

 ami share the lectures on botany. AVith this was joined the post 



