CHAP. XII.] HIS LAST ILLNESS. 139 



by the extreme thoughtfulness and kindness of his disposition. 

 Dr. Moxon was ever a great favourite, they having many sym- 

 pathies in common, and both being lovers of Nature's works. 

 But my father was beyond human skill, and the eyes of his family 

 were rudely opened to the shock that nothing could save him. 

 His lungs were too far gone ; and he was also suffering from 

 that seemingly incurable complaint, diabetes. But his family 

 owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Moxon for the untiring zeal 

 and kindness he displayed in lessening and soothing his patient's 

 sufferings. 



Throughout his illness my father's vigour of mind never 

 forsook him : to the last he retained the full use of his faculties. 

 At first he took delight in reading, in looking through and 

 properly arranging his carmine injections ; and when he became 

 too weak to write himself, he dictated to others. The following 

 letter from his pen, on the " Distribution of Seeds by Panthers," 

 appeared in the ' Standard ' on October 17th, 1876 : 



An interesting fact in natural history was revealed during the recent 

 visit of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales to India. In one of 

 the hunting excursions in the neighbourhood of Baroda a panther was 

 shot, and numerous seeds were found to be attached to the skin. The 

 seeds had two perfect hooks, manifestly designed to attach themselves to 

 foreign bodies. As the panther moved about it collected the seeds on the 

 skin and carried them about wherever it went, but when it rubbed against 

 the shrubs it of necessity brushed some off, and thus distributed them. 

 These seeds were taken from the skin by an officer who was one of the 

 hunting party, and several came into the possession of Mrs. Home of 

 Staines, a great lover of horticulture, who did me the favour of sending me 

 specimens. I was so struck with the incident and the remarkable character 

 of the seed, that, after accurately figuring it, I desired it to be sown at 

 " My Garden," when it rapidly grew into a handsome plant, and produced 

 beautiful clusters of tubular flowers. It was immediately recognized to 

 belong to the genus Martynia, and on examination both Professor Oliver, 

 of the Royal Gardens, Kew, and Dr. Masters agree that it is Martynia 

 diandra, a plant which, although introduced into this country as far back 

 as 1731, has scarcely ever been cultivated for many years. I have 

 placed my specimen in the hands of Mr. Sowerby, the secretary of the 

 Royal Botanic Society, Regent's Park; and the plant, with one of the 

 seeds taken from the panther's skin, are now exhibited in the great 

 conservatory. 



Later, in November, he dictated the following little letter, 

 which was sent to the ' Gardeners' Chronicle,' and was copied 

 into many papers : 



