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part in discussions on Indian ferns with two other highly respected 
Indian pteridologists, Lieut.-Col. F. Henderson, who died in 1895, 
and Mr, H. C, Levinge who died in 1896. In 1898 Col. Beddome 
presented to Kew his Indian moss herbarium which is now incor- 
porated in the general collection. During his retirement he still 
devoted himself to the study of ferns and was always glad to assist 
in the determination of the species contained in the collections of 
other botanists. His last work of this kind was perhaps the task 
of naming at Kew the ferns collected by Mr. A. Meebold, during 
his Indian journeys, and those collected by Mr Ridl 
during his more recent Malayan journeys. This he completed only 
last year, and having finished with the ferns he took up for the first 
time the study of Selaginella and worked out with great care the 
Malayan specimens. His last visit to Kew was paid on 27th 
January, 1911, and was in connection with his final revision of the 
Selaginella list. 
Besides being a keen herbarium worker Col. Beddome was also 
an ardent. gardener, devoting much attention to the cultivation of 
various natural families which were especially attractive to him. 
His skill in raising and flowering, both out of doors and under glass, 
plants that are admittedly difficult to cultivate, was well known in 
gardening circles, The later years of his life were largely occupied 
in the preparation of interesting and useful annotated lists, which 
he prepared at Kew, and which were published in the Journal of 
similarly devoted indoors. These lists, besides carefully checking 
the names in use for the various species, embody the results of his 
own personal experience as a gardener, from 1882 onwards. e 
Campanula list appeared in 1907 ; the Gesneraceae and Acanthaceae 
lists were published in 1908. 
Some of the plants successfully flowered by Beddome have from 
time to time found a place in the pages of the Botanical Magazine, 
and on more than one occasion the collections of living plants at 
Kew have benefited by the presentation of specimens of rare 
species from his private collection at Sispara. 
Ropert Mackenzib Cross.—We regret to have to announce 
the death of Mr. R. M. Cross in Scotland at the age of 75. 
ros um i 
apprenticeship in the gardens of Sir James Colquhoun, Bart., at 
ss, and, after further service in Glasgow, entered the oyal 
Botanic Gardens, Kew, in June, 1857. He left in April, 1859, 
and shortly afterwards (see Kew Report for 1859, p. 3) was selected 
by Sir Clements Markham, on the recommendation of Sir William 
Hooker, to go out to Ecuador to assist Richard Spruce in the 
collection of Cinchona in the forests and to establish the plants in 
ardian cases at Guayaquil. 
The able way in which Cross performed these services and the 
successes which attended the hazardous journeys he undertook in 
