PREFACE. fe\^':r!lg 



The pleasure which I have always felt in penning a brief annual 

 address to my readers, is on this occasion greatly diminished by the 

 painful duty which devolves on me, of recording the loss of one of 

 my ablest contributors and kindest friends. From its very commence- 

 ment, Dr. Bromfield took the warmest interest in the success of the 

 * Phytologist,' and both by his personal recommendation, and by the 

 powerful aid of his botanical knowledge, contributed equally to its 

 popularity, and to its sterling practical utility. This talented bota- 

 nist, and most excellent man, breathed his last at Damascus, on the 

 9th of October ; and for the following sketch of his active and ener- 

 getic career, I am indebted to the pen of a friend who enjoyed his 

 intimacy and knew his worth : — 



William Arnold Bromfield was born at Bouldre, in the New 

 Forest, in the county of Hampshire, on the 4th of July, 1801. He 

 was the only son of the Rev. John Arnold Bromfield, M.A., formerly 

 Fellow of New College, Oxford, and rector of Market Weston, in 

 Suffolk. The Rev. J. A. Bromfield being in ill health at the time of 

 the birth of his son, had retired from his clerical duties ; and he died 

 in the following October, leaving his son an infant, of only three 

 months old. 



At eleven years of age, William Arnold Bromfield was placed at 

 school, at Tonbridge, in Kent, under the care of Dr. Knox, of that place. 

 He remained here only about one year; but this short time was 

 sufficient for him to receive impressions which much influenced his 



