Mau. 1803.] BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINliUHGIf. 587 



A Notice of Mi;. \l. Maksiiam, of Stratton, Noiifolk- 

 siiiRE, a Scientific Investigatok of Forestry of Last 

 Century. By Dr. David Christison, President. 



In all ages, and probably in every science, there have 

 been investigators who were in advance of their time. 

 Many such are well-known to fame, but there are others 

 who, either from an excess of modesty, or from a want of 

 appreciation of the value of their work, or for some other 

 reason, have taken no efficient steps to make known their 

 observations, which, consequently, either have been im- 

 perfectly preserved or have been altogether lost to science. 

 Such seems to have been the case with the subject of this 

 brief notice, to whom my attention was drawn by the 

 following accident. 



In the posthumous volume of Essays by Dr. John "Walker, 

 Professor of Natural History in Edinburgh University 

 during the latter part of last century, reference is made to 

 the dimensions of the great oak at Cowethorp given by Mr. 

 Peevor in " Bath Memoirs, 17 SO." In the hope of finding 

 measurements of other trees, at this early period, by Mr. 

 Peevor, I looked up the reference, but with much difficulty, 

 as Professor Walker, alarmed apparently by the formidable 

 length of the title, " Letters and Papers on Agriculture, 

 Planting, etc. Selected from the Correspondence Books of 

 the Bath Society for the encouragement of Agriculture, 

 Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce. Bath, 17 HO," had 

 contracted it in his reference so as to make it almost un- 

 recognisable. Having searched the catalogues of the 

 Edinburgh libraries in vain, it occurred to me that the 

 proper place to hunt for " Bath Memoirs " was in Bath, 

 and by the kindness of Mi'. Dymond, the distinguished 

 archceologist, Curator of the Bath Library, the hunt was at 

 last successful. On turning up the passage the necessity 

 for verifying quotations was exemplified, as it turned out 

 that Mr. Beevor was not the measurer of the Cowethrop 

 Oak at all, nor apparently of any other tree, but had 

 merely forwarded to tlie Editor the measurements of Mr. 

 Marsham. Thns I lost INIr. Beevor but found Mr. Marsham, 

 a Norfolk squire, who, in the middle of last century, a 

 period when the manners of his class are depicted to us as 



