1921-22.] BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH 121 



could ascertain whether seeds were good or bad. The 

 Royal Agricultural Society" consulted with Mr. Carruthers, 

 with the result that he became consulting botanist to the 

 Society and retained this post for thirty -eight years. By 

 1883 several of the larger seed firms beofan to orive 

 guarantees of purity and germination, and through the 

 agricultural societies these could be checked by an im- 

 partial test. The seed-testing stations arose from this 

 beginning, so that now no farmer need purchase bad seed. 

 Another great change was the increased attention given to 

 " natural "' grasses suitable for meadows and pastures. Mr. 

 Carruthers has thus taken an important part in develop- 

 ments of great consequence to agriculture. He has seen 

 his forecasts confirmed and brought into the ordinary 

 practice of a fraternity, the farmers, who are not too easy 

 to move. Weeds, injurious plants, and parasitic fungi also 

 came within the scope of his work as consulting botanist, 

 and all agricultural botanists must acknowledge the' use- 

 fulness of his reports and observations. 



It is not without interest in the career of a public 

 servant to see the man himself. William Carruthers had 

 another side. The • British Weekly,'' in a lengthy obituary, 

 refers to him as " one of a band of zealous elders of the 

 English Presbyterian Church," who took an active part 

 in Church organisation, including a union of the two 

 branches of that Church in England. He edited the 

 ■' Children's Messenger " for forty-two j^ears, thus demon- 

 strating by actual labour his interest in his Church. He 

 was also keenly interested in Puritan history and biography. 



Personally I cannot add much, but there was an occasion 

 when a student, returning from a period of study abroad, 

 invaded the British Museum and received a cordial wel- 

 come from the Keeper, who along with Mr. George Murray 

 gave every facility for reference to the cryptogamic collec- 

 tions of the Museum. This, I believe, represents the 

 experience of all botanists who sought the assistance of 

 William Carruthers. William G. Smith. 



