A YORKSHIRE NATURALIST 189 



Graf zu Solmes Laubach [then] of Berlin, and finding 

 that Professor Treub of the Botanic Gardens in Java 

 was coming to England, I wrote to him. All these 

 friends responded to my call excepting Sachs, who 

 was too much of an invalid to leave home. Dr. and 

 Mrs. Asa Gray, Professor de Barie, the Marquis de 

 Saporta and his son, stayed in my own house. 

 I had written as I thought to Professor Pringsheim 

 of Berlin ; he promised to come, and I secured 

 for him a pleasant home with one of my friends ; 

 he arrived a day or two before the meeting 

 commenced, when I received a note from his 

 host, saying: "You told me Professor Pringsheim 

 " was a botanist, but he is a chemist." I saw at once 

 there was some mistake, and on inquiry discovered 

 there were two professors of the same name in 

 Berlin. I instantly telegraphed to the botanist, who 

 came at once hence my accident brought two dis- 

 tinguished men instead of one, for the chemist 

 proved to be an excellent addition to our gathering. 

 I happened to be one of the vice-presidents of my 

 section, and having so unwonted a gathering of 

 distinguished botanists under my chairmanship, we 

 held our meetings apart from the zoologists, who 

 were strong enough to dispense with our help. 



We hoped to bring around our own table as many 

 of the assembled naturalists as possible, but found 

 we needed guidance in arranging foreign guests. 

 In order to avoid contretemps, our good friend Graf 

 zu Solmes Laubach, who knew most of the assembled 



