LINNEAN SOCIETY OF LONDON. Iv 



from the later series (fifth and sixth) of Drummond's Swan-river 

 collections, Dr. Meissner having carefully examined the Protea- 

 cecB in the Linnean Society's herbarium during a visit which he 

 paid to England in 1850. One other communication was made 

 by Dr. Meissner to the Linnean Society, being a paper on some 

 new species of ChamtBlauciece, which was read on the 20th of 

 November, 1855. In 1866 Dr. Meissner again visited England, 

 when he attended the International Botanical Congress ; and he 

 was present at the dinner of the Linnean Society at Willis's 

 Rooms on the 24th of May in that year. On his return from this 

 visit, Dr. Meissner was taken seriously ill, and had some diffi- 

 culty in reaching home. He shortly afterwards resigned his 

 appointment of Curator of the Botanic G-arden at Basle ; and 

 we have been informed that his health was never completely 

 restored. He died at Basle on Saturday the 2nd of May, 1874, 

 after a prolonged and painful illness, in his 74th year. Dr. 

 Meissner was elected a Foreign Member of the Linnean Society 

 on the 5th of May, 1857. 



Thomas Newborn Robert Moeson was born at Stratford-le- 

 Bow, and received his early education at Stoke Newington. 

 Having lost his parents while he was yet young, and being left 

 without family-guardian or connexions, he was thrown to a great 

 extent upon his own resources ; but with a mind remarkable for 

 activity and power of perception, he overcame the difficulties of 

 his early life, became the founder of a business of the highest re- 

 putation, and formed acquaintances, which ripened into intimate 

 friendship, with some of the greatest chemists and philosophers of 

 the time in which he lived. When only 14 years of age he was 

 apprenticed to an apothecary in Fleet Market (now Farringdon 

 Street); but he had no liking for medical practice, and therefore 

 adhered to the pharmaceutical rather than the medical and sur- 

 gical part of the business. His predilection lay in the direction 

 of chemistry ; and this was probably favoured by the circumstance 

 of his being thrown into association with men of kindred tastes, 

 who formed a small Society for the investigation of scientific sub- 

 jects, and whose meetings were held in the neighbourhood of Fleet 

 Street. It was here that he first made the acquaintance of Fara- 

 day, and acquired so strong a bent in favour of scientific chemistry 

 that he determined to make its application, as far as possible, the 

 aim of his future pursuits. After the expiration of his appren- 



