310 Obituary Notices, 



one wlio pointed out our aims both in foreign courts, in 

 the House of Lords, and at the Roj'al Society ; and at the 

 same time another, who, -per ardua, the joiner's bench, the 

 clay-biggin' schoolhouse, and night herborisings snatched 

 after the day's teaching drudgery, had his claims as a 

 botanist recognised by Royalty, and his name ranked in 

 the honourable muster-roll of Dr Smiles' " men who have 

 risen.'"' Mr Croall was one of several otherwise obscure 

 ribservers brought to the front by the late John Hutton 

 Balfour. He thus contributed much information regarding 

 rare Scottish plants. Thus, so early as 1840, Dr Balfour 

 exhibited specimens of Convolvulus soldaneUa, found by Mr 

 Croall near Montrose, being the first time that it had been 

 noticed as a native of that part of the east coast of Scotland. 

 Mr Croall's career as common school teacher about Montrose 

 extended from 1839 to 18G3. It was during this period 

 he began his botanical career, inspired thereto mainly by 

 a jjaper on " Plants," read by a journeyman gardener before 

 the Montrose Scientific Institute, of which he and another 

 of our members — alas I now t-o be designated the late Dr 

 Gilchrist — soon became the main stoops. During this, his 

 novitiate, period, Croall used to start at twelve o'clock for 

 the Forfarshire hills on a night such as Friday preceding 

 a school holiday, so as to begin botanising at daylight, 

 and he afterwards walked distances of 30 or 40 miles, in 

 order to get home the same evening. In prolonged excur- 

 sions, made during the autumn holidays, to Clova, Deeside, 

 and the like places, he commonly slept on the heather, 

 carrying provisions in his pocket. He became a cor- 

 respondent of Balfour, Dickie, Hooker, and Darwin. About 

 the year 1855 he prepjared an herbarium of the plants of 

 Braemar for Her Majesty the Queen ; and in 18G0, British 

 Sea-Weeds : Nature Printed, was published by Bradbury & 

 Evans, of which he was chief author. Mr Croall also 

 became an authority on the zoology of the district^ especially 

 on conchology and entomology. 



In 1863 he became keeper of the museum and herbarium 

 attached to the City of Derby Library, which he also 

 supervised ; and in 1873 he was appointed curator of the 

 Smith Institute, Stirling. In both cities he spread a 

 taste for practical natural history pursuits. Indeed, he was 



