128 Ehrenherg^s Discoveries — Notices of Eminent Men. 



In his own country his influence was highly salutary : he di- 

 rected his attention especially to the improvement of the national 

 education ; and we cannot be surprised at finding such a person 

 very soon at the head of nearly all the institutions for literary and 

 public purposes. He founded the National Museum of Bohemia, 

 of which he was the President ; gave to it his library and his va- 

 rious collections, and further enriched it at various periods of his 

 life. He was, indeed, zealous in all that concerned Bohemian 

 nationality, and was an accomplished master of the language and 

 literature of his country : since his death I am assured that there 

 is hardly one Bohemian of any class who does not mourn for him 

 as for a most respected benefactor. Throughout Germany, he 

 was looked to by all who felt an interest in science with a respect 

 and regard which he well merited. The emperor Francis held 

 him in the highest esteem ; he gave him the title of Privy Coun- 

 cillor, and the Grand Cross of St. Leopold, held in that monarchy 

 as a distinguished honor. 



In the preceding sketch I have mentioned Schlotheim as one of 

 the predecessors of Count Sternberg in fossil botany. Although 

 this writer died in 1832, and was an honorary member of this So- 

 ciety, he has never been noticed in the annual address ; I may 

 therefore here add a few words with reference to him. Baron E. 



F. von Schlotheim was Privy Councillor and President of the 

 Chamber at the court of Gotha, and his collection of Petrifactions 

 has long been celebrated throughout Gerqiany. Besides his Flora 

 of a Former World, or Descriptions of remarkable Impressions of 

 Plants, which appeared in 1804, he published, in 1820, 'Petrifac- 

 tenkunde, or the Science of Petrifactions according to its present 

 condition, illustrated by the Description of a Collection of petrified 

 and fossil remains of the animal and vegetable kingdom of a for- 

 mer world.' And in 1822 and 1823 he published Appendixes to 

 this work. His collection was also further made known by arti- 

 cles in Leonhard's Mineralosical Pocket Book and in the Isis- 



After his death a new description of this collection was announ- 

 ced, but whether it appeared I am not able to say. Schlotheim's 

 introduction to his account of his collection contains some exteu- 

 si\e geological views. 



It is only justice to M. de Schlotheim to add here what is said 



M 



getables have been of such inestimable value to the geologist, and 



