Nov. 1909.]|_ BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH 49 
Brazilian botanist, was the Director of the Botanic Gardens at 
Rio de Janeiro. He was elected a corresponding member of 
this Society in 1881. Born in 1842, he originally intended 
to qualify himself for a medical career, but changing circum- 
stances led him to abandon that intention. Turning his 
attention to botanical science through Professor Allemao of 
Rio, he undertook a long series of botanical expeditions in 
the Amazon basin—in the Southern States and in Uruguay 
and Paraguay. He founded a museum at Manaos, an 
important city on the Amazon river, and this had his care 
until 1899, when he became the Director of the Botanic 
Gardens at Rio de Janeiro—a post which he held until his 
death. He does not appear to have been much of a 
collector, notwithstanding the unrivalled opportunities 
ottered by his extensive journeys in botanical quest. He 
studied from life the plants he found, and filled his port- 
folios with careful drawings and analyses. The task to 
which he mainly devoted himself was the elaboration of 
monographs of the palms and the orchids of Brazil—a wide 
field of study. Up to 1891, he published diagnoses of 
no less than 573 new species, 25 new genera, and | 
new tribe of orchids. Orchids, of the two, formed his 
favourite study. He was unable, however, to carry this 
to a conclusion, and his work was handed over by him to a 
more fortunate rival, Professor Cogniaux, who completed 
the work for the “Flora Braziliensis” of Martius. In the 
Kew collection there are several hundred copies of Professor 
Rodriques’ plates. He was more fortunate with the mono- 
graph of the palms, working under a commission from the 
Government of Brazil, taking up the work as a field 
botanist, studying, analysing, and drawing his specimens 
on the spot. The publication of his “Sertum Palmarum 
Brasilianarum ” was carried out by the aid of a vote of the 
Brazilian Congress. Other scientific interests attracted him, 
and his published works include subjects pertaining to 
archeology, paleontology, ethnography, and the Indian 
languages. 
Of the other deceased corresponding members I cannot 
give you much detail. Professor EMIL CHRISTEN HANSEN, 
who was elected by the Society in 1887, was the head of 
the Physiological Department of the Carlsberg Laboratory 
