no David Douglas. [Sess. 



able to gather, his published work consisted of Notes on 

 the following subjects : " Strange Plants gathered at Leith ; " 

 " The Falcon ; " " The Whale ; " " Plantago lanceolata ; " and 

 " Anacharis alsinastruni." 



The Herbarium collected by Douglas bears testimony to his 

 accomplishments in botanical science. He had commenced 

 gathering plants in the woods near Makerstoun in Eoxburgh 

 during 1859, when a lad of fourteen. His diligence seems 

 never to have abated ; but judging by the large number of 

 preparations made in '76 and '77, he must have worked at 

 high - pressure during these years. Leaving out of account 

 the Mosses (now in the possession of one of our members, 

 Mr Mark King, who was an intimate friend), Douglas's 

 cabinet contained 1345 specimens, mounted with scrupulous 

 care, accurately named and numbered in accordance with 

 the seventh edition of the ' London Catalogue.' This fine set 

 of dried plants was presented to Mr Brotherston, a gentleman 

 who had studied Entomology, and intended to devote his 

 leisure time to Botany. But the pressure of business, and 

 other pursuits, hindered the fulfilment of Mr Brotherston's 

 intentions in this matter, and thinking it a pity that the col- 

 lection should lie unused in a lumber-room, he generously 

 handed over to me the entire Herbarium. 



In the month of November 1880 David Douglas con- 

 tributed to ' Science Gossip ' a note on the Water Thyme 

 {Anacharis alsinastrum). In that article he mentions the 

 various points that make this aquatic plant an attractive 

 study to botanists. It is an immigrant from America, and 

 thrives better in the land of its adoption than in its native 

 rivers. It is of interest to the physiologist, as it shows 

 peculiarly well under the microscope the circulation of the 

 protoplasm. Although the Water Thyme had been known to 

 botanists for forty years, Douglas was the first who discovered 

 the male flowers in Britain. He found them in a pond on the 

 Braid Hills early in August 1880. In subsequent years male 

 flowers were collected in the same pond by Mr Kinnear, a 

 former member of this Society. As a natural result of this 

 discovery, Douglas received applications for specimens from 

 collectors in various parts of the country — among others, from 

 the Professor of Botany at Cambridge. But a prophet has no 



