liv PBOCEEDIKGS OP THE 



a most marked manner. The two friends were also engaged on a 

 work on the British Tanicata, which, after the death of Mr. Alder, 

 it was hoped Mr. Hancock would have been able to finish ; but 

 failing health interfered much with its progress ; and his last long 

 and painful illness put a stop to its completion. 



In 1858 the Eoyal Society awarded Mr. Hancock the Eoyal 

 Medal in recognition of his scientific labours ; and in 1866 the 

 Zoologico-Botanical Society of Vienna conferred upon him and 

 Mr. Alder the Diploma of Honorary Fellows. 



In private life Mr. Hancock was greatly respected. He was a 

 genial and amiable man ; and amongst those who were privileged 

 to enjoy his friendship his loss will be deeply felt. 



He was elected a Fellow of this Society on the 6th of March, 

 1862, and died on the 24th of October, 1873. 



Gael Friedeich Meissnee (formerly written Meisnee) Pro- 

 fessor of Medicine in the University of Basle, was born at Berne, 

 in Switzerland, on the 1st of November, 1800. "When a young 

 man he appears to have paid some attention to zoology, as some 

 of his earlier writings in the Eeports of the Basle Academy and in 

 the * Bibliotheque Universelle ' relate to zoological subjects. 

 From the year 1837, however, he devoted himself esclusively to 

 botany, paying special attention to the orders Leguminosce, Pro- 

 teaceee, Thymelece, and JPolygonecB, of which (in Lehmann's ' Plantae 

 Preissianse ') Dr. Meissner described the species which occur in 

 western and middle Australia. His contributions to botanical 

 science appeared chiefly in the ' Linnaea,' the ' Botanische Zeitung,' 

 and Dr. Hooker's 'Journal of Botany.' In the 14th volume of 

 De Candolle's ' Prodromus ' he furnished the accounts of the Poly- 

 gonecB, Proteacece, and ThymeleacecB ; and in the 15th volume of 

 the same work he described the Lauracece and the Sernandiacecs. 

 The description of the same five families in Martius's ' Flora Bra- 

 siliensis,' and the accounts of the Convolvulaeece and Ericacece 

 in the same work, were also written by Dr. Meissner. To Wal- 

 lich's * Plantae Asiaticse Eariores ' Dr. Meissner contributed a 

 synopsis of the species of the Polygonece in the Indian Herbarium 

 of the Linnean Society. On the 16th of January, 1855, there was 

 read before the Linnean Society the introductory part of a paper 

 by Dr. Meissner entitled "New Proteacece of Australia," which 

 paper was afterwards published in Hooker's ' Journal of Botany ' 

 (vol. vii. 1855). The materials for this paper were mainly derived 



