28 TRANSACTIONS, NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 
also an extensive acquaintance with seaweeds. As both he and 
Robertson resided at Millport during the summer, they had many 
pleasant rambles together, and Robertson’s earliest experiences in 
dredging were acquired in his company. Under Hennedy’s 
direction, Robertson became an enthusiastic collector of seaweeds; 
and in this delightful occupation, as well as in many of his later 
scientific researches, he found a talented and helpful colleague in 
his wife, whose tastes were very closely akin to his own. This 
pursuit brought him into correspondence with Dr. G. A. Walker 
Arnott, Professor of Botany in Glasgow University, and with 
Professor W. H. Harvey of Dublin, author of the Phycologia 
Britannica and numerous other standard works on alge. -One of 
Mrs. Robertson’s relations, Miss Mary Ann Alston, had presented 
him with a collection of seaweeds from the Isle of Man, and in 
acknowledging her gift Mr. Robertson wrote as follows :—‘‘ Many 
thanks for the beautiful book of seaweeds you so kindly sent to 
me. I have a great love for the book of nature. It yields me 
inexhaustible sources of pleasure, and opportunities of seeing and 
admiring the beauty and extraordinary works of the great 
Designer. No one doubts the genuineness of His book. No one 
ventures to aspire to the smallest share of the work. It has no 
apocryphal portions nor misunderstood passages. The smallest 
blade of grass carries the unmistakable impress of its omnipotent 
Author on it, The tiniest plant, far beyond the reach of the un- 
aided eye, demonstrates the beauty, the harmony, the perfection 
of His works. How much more interesting is a walk in the green 
fields or on the sea-beach when you can recognise in almost every 
plant an old acquaintance, and call them by their names. A 
collection of preserved plants teems with impressive memorials of 
the past, and calls up associations of happy days long gone by, 
bringing to memory dear companions who shared in the pleasure 
of gathering the specimens that are almost held sacred for these 
friends’ sake.” 
Many a distinguished zoologist has, as it were, served an 
apprenticeship to science by first working in botany, and this was 
the case with Mr. Robertson. Up to the time when he became 
a member of the Natural History Society of Glasgow, he had 
never attempted the systematic study of zoology, and his earliest 
work in biology was confined to botanical research. While 
