66 PEOCEEDIKGS OF THE 



institutioDS of tlie to-u-n are perpetuated in the adrairatle arrange- 

 ment of the Museum, whicli was carried out uuder liis direc- 

 tions in a manner far in advance of that met with in similar 

 provincial collections. He was also one of the founders of the 

 Essex Archaeological Society. 



The devotion of such portions of his time as could be spared 

 from professional duties to the Municipality naturally left few 

 opportunities for original research. Nevertheless his first pub- 

 lisbed paper, entitled " Observations on the Pollen-tube, its 

 Growth, Histology, and Physiology," appeared in 1856 ; and 

 much scientific work, wliich bore fruit subsequently, was cer- 

 tainly undertaken during his residence in Colchester. About 1860 

 lie took a practice at ]31ackheath, where he was able to give 

 more time to purely scientific work, devoting himself especially 

 to the study of Corals ; and lie was finally led to practically 

 abandon medical practice in order to devote himself entirely to 

 original research. After leaving Blackheath he settled near 

 ^Regent's Park, and in 1864 he was appointed one of the Honorary 

 Secretaries of the Zoological Society, an office he held for seven 

 years ; and in 1866 he was elected Fellow of the Eoyal Society. 

 In 1870 he was called to the Chair of Greology at King's College ; 

 and a Pellowship was conferred in 1871. Shortly afterwards he 

 accepted also the Professorship of Geology at Cooper's Hill, both 

 of which appointments he held until his death. In 1872 he 

 was elected Vice-President of the Geological Society, an office 

 which he held until his election to the Presidency in 1876 and 

 1877. In 1881 he was awarded the Wollaston Medal, the highest 

 honour which the Geological Society can bestow. He served 

 on the Council of the Eoyal Society from 1876 to 1878 ; was 

 President of the Geological Section of the British Association in 

 1879, and of the Microscopical Society from 1881 to 1883. He 

 served on the Council of this Society from 1888 to 1891, and was 

 Vice-President in 1890 and 1891 ; and in 1890 was invited to 

 accept the Presidency, an office which unfortunately he felt 

 obliged to decline on account of his then delicate state of health. 

 He died after a long and painful illness on the 28th of May, 1891. 



The amount of work accomplished by Prof. Duncan was enor- 

 mous ; and his wide range of interests, as well as his grasp of 

 detail in many diverse spheres of knowledge, was remarkable. 

 His first published paper, which appeared in 1856, was botanical, 

 as previously mentioned, and between that date and 1874 he 

 produced several papers on vegetable physiology ; and still later 

 he worked out the parasitic Algss which he had discovered in 

 some Silurian corals. Duncan's chief biological work, however, 

 was zoological, the Corals and the Echini being the sj^ecial sub- 

 jects of his research; and his first important work was a series 

 of memoirs on the Eossil Corals of the West Indies, certainly 

 the most valuable contribution which had been made up to that 

 time to our knowledge of the later Tertiary Corals. This work 

 Tv^as followed by a long list of memoirs descriptive of the Coral 



