1849.] Liunean Society. 41 



history, but botany in particular was his favourite pursuit. At that 

 time Sir William Hooker filled the Chair of Botany in that Univer- 

 sity, and Mr. Gardner so far attracted his notice as to lead him to 

 open to him the range of his fine herbarium, and allow him the free 

 use of his extensive botanical library. The ardent zeal of the young 

 student urged him to make the best use of these rare advantages, 

 and his progress was great and rapid. His numerous attainments 

 and many excellent qualities soon obtained him the steady friendship 

 of his generous teacher, and he continued the pursuit of his studies 

 till the end of 1835, when having expressed his eager desire to 

 explore the botanical treasures of tropical climates, Sir William 

 Hooker obtained the cooperation of twenty-four subscribers who 

 contributed towards the expenses of his journey and agreed to 

 purchase sets of the dried plants he proposed to collect, while a 

 number of others engaged to receive from him such living plants as 

 he might select on account of their beauty or rarity. Among the 

 latter was the late Duke of Bedford, who was one of the young 

 botanist's most liberal patrons, and Brazil was selected as the most 

 appropriate field for his exertions. 



Previous to his departure, he published a pocket herbarium en- 

 titled ' Musci Britannici,' on the plan of Funke's ' Deutschlands 

 Moose,' where dried specimens illustrative of each species were neatly 

 fixed according to the arrangement in Hooker's ' British Flora.' Mr. 

 Gardner embarked at Liverpool on his projected expedition in May 

 1836, and arrived in July foUowdng at Rio de Janeiro. The receipt 

 of his first set of 400 species, collected on the Corcovado and moun- 

 tain ranges immediately surrounding that cit}% showed how faithfully 

 and successfully he discharged the duties of his mission, and proved 

 the harbingers of the extremely fine collection he subsequently made 

 in the interior of Brazil. The next field of his exertions was the 

 lofty range of the Organ Mountains covered with primaeval forests, 

 which he explored with great success, being the first to scale the 

 loftiest peak of that range, where he obtained much to reward his 

 exertions. His activity was unceasing, and his time entirely devoted 

 \\'ith the greatest ardour to a pursuit which presented him with so 

 many novelties and opened to him so attractive a career. During 

 his researches among the riches of this fertile region he acquired 

 such a knowledge of the Portuguese language, and studied so to 

 adapt himself to the habits of the people, as to enable him to carr}' 

 into effect his original design of traversing the interior provinces 

 of Northern Brazil, in quest of their botanical productions, which 

 until that period had only been imestigated by Pohl, Von .Martins, 



