1921-22.] BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH 119 



him still a student in 185-1. In that year he joined New 

 College, Edinburgh, to study for the ministry, and he must 

 have shown exceptional ability in natural science, as John 

 Fleming, Professor of Natural Science in that college, 

 advised him to specialise in science. A period of further 

 study under John Hutton Balfour, George AUman, and John 

 Goodsir made him a possible successor to Dr. Fleming in 

 1858 v^hen John Anderson was elected to the chair in 

 New College. Forty-five years later Mr. Carruthers was 

 appointed to discharge the duties of tlie Chair of Natural 

 Science at New College during the session 1903-1904. 

 After a short period as Lecturer in Botan}^ at the New 

 Yeterinaiy College, Edinburgh, and Assistant Secretary to 

 the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Mr. Carruthers joined 

 the staff of the British Museum in 1859, thus reaching his 

 life's work. From this time onwards his sphere was in 

 London, but in 1879 he was a candidate for the Chair 

 of Botany in Edinburgh, when Professor Dickson was 

 appointed. 



A brief review of the work of William Carruthers has 

 more than a personal interest, for he was active during a 

 period when botany in Britain pa.ssed through great 

 developments. During his time notable advances were 

 made in fossil botanj^ and in this field Carruthers was 

 amongst the pioneers. His geological investigations occupy 

 many papers, beginning with discoveries of new Dumfries- 

 shire Graptolites in 1858, and a description of the geology 

 of Moffat in 1859, both published by the Royal Physical 

 Society of Edinburgh. The Transactions of the Botanical 

 Society include in 1866 his important paper on Lepklo- 

 dendron and Ccdamites. A more important contribution 

 from our present standpoint is that " On Fossil Cycadean 

 Stems from the Secondary Rocks of Britain," in the Trans- 

 actions of the Linnean Society of London in 1870. Amongst 

 these the description of the vegetative organs and fructi- 

 fications of Bennettites established a group which has 

 become an important link in the earl}^ ancestry of plants. 

 Recognition of this and later work followed, and amongst 

 other honours he was elected Fellow of the Linnean Society 

 in 1861, and president from 1886 to 1890; Fellow of the 

 Royal Society in 1871 ; president of the Geologists Asso- 



