342 JOHN DUNCAN, WEAVER AND BOTANIST. 



One evening, John and he set out to search for a certain 

 species at some distance, but by the time they reached 

 the spot, darkness had come down, and nothing could be 

 seen. The eager old botanist, nevertheless, knew the place 

 so well, though he had not been there for a year or two, 

 and though the plant had just appeared above ground, 

 that he found it after groping in the dark on hands and 

 knees and presented it to the lad. 



The botanical garden at the cottage was a frequent 

 means of instruction and study, and every plant there was- 

 examined and described. 



Taylor's progress was rapid and secure, and all holidays, 

 of which he had only two in the year, were devoted to 

 science. In time, he formed a more complete herbarium. 

 To extend his knowledge of the flora of the country, in 

 1875 he spent some time in Forfarshire, where John's 

 intimate knowledge of the country and the stations of plants 

 there proved of the highest service to him. Since then, 

 Taylor has advanced in Botany, and now possesses a very 

 good knowledge of it, both practical and theoretical. He 

 has accumulated a collection which includes, it appears, 

 most of the flowering plants, ferns, and grasses of Aberdeen, 

 Banff and Kincardine, as also species from the north of 

 England, where he has also botanised. 



His studies have not been confined to Botany. He 

 has gathered specimens in Archaeology, Geology, and 

 Mineralogy. In 1869, he began Phrenology, which he 

 studied both practically and theoretically for years, in books 

 and on the heads of his friends. From 1871 to 1876, he made 

 a series of Meteorological observations, in which John was- 

 much interested. He also studied Astronomy with great 



