OBITUARY NOTICE OF PKOF. LAWSON. XXV 



During his residence in Halifax he was always ready to give assist- 

 ance to struggling educational institutions. For years he delivered 

 courses of lectures in Chemistry and Botany to the students of the 

 Halifax Medical College. He was one of the organizers of the Tech- 

 nological Institute ; and when that useful evening school ceased to exist 

 through lack of funds, he conducted for some years, and intended to 

 conduct periodically, an evening class in theoretical and practical 

 chemistry, especially for men engaged in chemical industries. 



Soon after his coming to Xova Scotia, a Board of Agriculture was 

 established by the government, and his previous profound study of 

 British agriculture led to his appointment to the secretaryship of the 

 Board. He discharged the duties of this .office from 1864 to 1885, 

 when the functions of the Board were assumed directly by the govern- 

 ment, and he was appointed Secretary for Agriculture. His connection 

 with agriculture was rendered still more intimate from the fact that he 

 for many years himself conducted a farm, largely, I believe, a stock 

 farm, at vSackville, N. S. Whether intended to be so or not, it was 

 generally regarded as a model of what such a farm ought to be. 



Shortly after his appointment to the Professorship in Dalhousie 

 College, Prof. Lawson became a member of this Institute, and he soon 

 became one of our most active members. He attended our meetings 

 with the greatest regularity, and was always ready to give freely of his 

 time and energy with the object of promoting the interests of the 

 Society. His executive ability was early recognized, and he was elected 

 a member of the Council in 1864. Since that date there have been but 

 five years in which he was not so selected. He was Vice-President on 

 nine occasions, and has held the office of President during the last two 

 years. 



During his membership he communicated in all fifteen papers to the 

 Institute, including five which are as yet unpublished, and which, I 

 fear, have not been finally prepared for publication. These papers are, 

 for the most part, in the department of Botany, which, as our members 

 .now well, was his favorite subject. I may mention his " Monograph 

 )f the Ranunculacea3 of the Dominion of Canada," the paper " On the 

 iminariacea? of the Dominion," the " Monograph of the Ericaceas of the 

 miinion," and the papers " On Canadian Species of Rubi," " On the 

 Northern Limit of Wild Grape Vines," and " On the Canadian Species 

 of the Genus Melilotus," as being especially important contributions to 



