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COL. HENRY MAUEICE DKUMMOND-HAY. 



A FINE example of the type of naturalist with wide interests, 

 now too rare, passed away on January 3rd, 18'JG, in the person of 

 Col. H. M. Drummoud-Hay, of Seggieden, near Perth. Born in 

 1814, he was a sou of Admiral Sir Adam Drumniond, his mother 

 being a daughter of the fourth Duke of Atholl. He assumed the 

 name of Hay on his marriage with the heiress of Seggieden. He 

 joined the 42nd Highlanders in 1882, and remained in the army 

 till 1851, serving much of the tnne abroad, chiefly in Malta, the 

 Bermudas, and Nova Scotia. Returning to Perthshire, he served 

 from 1853 to 1872 in the Perthshire Reserve Forces. 



A strong taste for natural history showed itself from an early 

 period of his life, and was not lessened to its close. Probably most 

 of his interest was given to birds, especially to their habits of 

 nesting and migration, his residence abroad being fully utilised in 

 such studies ; but he made an extensive collection of lishes, illus- 

 trated by drawings, at the Bermudas (which was sent by him to the 

 American Fishery Commission in 1860, and was much commended) ; 

 and he was also keenly interested in the land and fresh-water 

 mollusca. 



Botany also received attention from him, though in a less 

 degree ; and he gave valuable aid in the exploration of the flora of 

 Perthshire, from the depths of the lochs to the hilltops. His 

 published papers, most of which appeared in the Scottish Naturalist, 

 of whicli he was a warm supporter, chiefly relate to the birds of 

 Scotland ; but among them we find a few on botany, such as "An 

 improved Method of Preparing Plants for the Herbarium " (1872) ; 

 " On the Flowering Plants of the Carse of Gowrie, in Perthshire" 

 (1874); "Notes on a Botanical Excursion to the Breadalbane 

 Mountains, Perthshire" (1875); and "Effects of the past Winter 

 (1878-79) and present Summer (1879) on Hard-wooded Plants." 

 All these show close and accurate practical acquaintance with 

 botany. His name was commemorated by his friend and co- 

 worker, Dr. Buchanan White, in the variety Dninimund-Uayi of 

 lihinanthus Crista-galli L., first observed in a joint excursion in 

 Perthshire. He took a very active part in promoting the welfare 

 of the Perthshire Society of Natural Science ; and the admirable 

 Museum formed by the Society owes much to his labours on its 

 behalf. He was for several years its Honorary Curator, and he 

 made the office no sinecure, spending much time and care in the 

 collections, the birds and nests being his own peculiar charge. He 

 had the great pleasure of living to witness the successful completion, 

 and formal opening by Sir William Flower during the present 

 winter, of an extension that has more than doubled the original 

 size of the Museum. 



J. W. H. Trail. 



