Ohituanj Notices. 13 



to no less than 240 young, which would have put Priam 

 himself to shame, seriously alarmed Malthus, and taxed 

 the energies of all the accoucheurs in Edinburgh and its 

 surrounding districts. She was gathered from the rocks at 

 North Berwick by Sir John Dalzell, and at his death was 

 handed over to Professor John Fleming, then to Dr 

 M'Bain, who, in prospect of his death, w^as most solicitous 

 to find a proper guardian for such a treasure. Some to 

 whom he spoke declined to undertake so responsible a 

 duty, till, at last, our excellent friend Mr Sadler was 

 asked and cordially responded to the request, and on March 

 1st of this year the old lady was duly handed over to his 

 care by Dr M'Bain, and, as most of us know, she receives 

 that kind attention and tender regard to which her years 

 and history entitle her. This last fact regarding our 

 departed friend serves to show the unabated interest which 

 even to the end he took in objects of natural history. 

 He died at Logie Villa, Trinity, on March 24, 1879. 



August Heinrich Kudolph Grisebach was born at 

 Hanover, on the 17th of April 1814, and died on the 9th 

 of May 1879. At a very early period in life he manifested 

 a great love of botany ; and an incident is recorded regard- 

 ing him, when only twelve years of age, wdiich shows at 

 once his ardour and decision of character which enabled 

 him to overcome diflSculties that would have arrested the 

 progress of any ordinary boy. He had himself no insigni- 

 ficant collection of plants, for in his botanical excursions 

 he had explored very completely the neighbourhood of 

 Hanover ; but so anxious was he to obtain a more extensive 

 supply, that he even summoned the courage to write to 

 Professor Sprengel at Halle, requesting the professor to 

 exchange plants with him ; which request, T need not add, 

 was kindly and generously responded to by Sprengel. 



At fifteen he was sent to school at Ilfeld, where he 

 remained two years. Here, also, he fully availed himself 

 of the large opportunities which tlie surrounding country 

 afforded him for his botanical studies. 



In 1832, at the age of eighteen, he entered the Univer- 

 sity of Gcittingeu, and continued to study there till 1835. 

 His principal teachers were Schrader and Bartling, and 



