Ixii PEOCEEDEEfGS OF THE 



political offices. His mother, a daughter of the Finance Minister 

 of Wiirtemberg, was an accomplished woman, to whom, under his 

 father's superintendence, von-Mohl was indebted for much of his 

 early education. He was afterwards for twelve years a student 

 at the Grymnasium at Stuttgart, where the instruction was prin- 

 cipally confined to the dead languages, especially Latin, and 

 where science and modern languages were almost entirely ne- 

 glected. Von Mohl's predilection for natural science was mani- 

 fested when he was quite a boy ; and whilst at the Grymnasium he 

 occupied his leisure time in studying botany and mineralogy. 

 His strong constitution enabled him to undertake long excur- 

 sions, resulting in extensive collections, not only of phgenogamous 

 plants, but of mosses and the lower cryptogams, which he care- 

 fully dissected and examined under the microscope. He devoted 

 also a considerable time to the study of mathematics, especially 

 optics. 



In the autumn of 1823 Von Mohl went to the University of 

 Tubingen and commenced the study of medicine. He graduated 

 iu 1828, and it was his father's wish that he should adopt medi- 

 cine, and especially surgery, as his profession. Von Mohl, how- 

 ever, thought otherwise, and the father yielded to the son's 

 wishes. The latter went for a time to Munich, and there the 

 congenial society of such men as Schrank, von Martins, Zucca- 

 rini, and Steinheil, and the abundance of scientific materials for 

 his favourite study, conspired to convert what was intended for 

 a visit into a lengthened residence. In 1831 Von Mohl was nomi- 

 nated first Assistant at the Botanical Garden of St, Petersburgh, 

 an oflice which he never entered upon, owing to his having been 

 chosen in 1832 to be Professor of Physiology at the then existing 

 Academy at Berne. In 1834, upon the appointments conse- 

 quent upon the foundation of the new University of Berne, he 

 was passed over, and in the spring of 1835, upon Schiibler's death, 

 he returned to Tiibingen in the capacity of Professor of Botany. 



Prom this time Von Mohl was only occasionally absent from 

 Tiibingen, except in the year 1843, when, on account of his liealth, 

 he made a lengthened stay in the Southern Tyrol and iu Italy. 

 In that year he sufiered from a catarrhal affection, which occa- 

 sioned much anxiety, and induced his physician to recommend a 

 warm climate, which restored him to health. At a later period of 

 life, at the commencement of his 60th year, he suffered from pleu- 

 ritis ; but from this, as well as from the bad effects of an attack of 



