BiograjiMcal Notice of the late Dr. J. K. Clray. 283 



in after life procured him many " unfriends." In 182G the 

 Zoological Club was developed into the Zoological Hociety, 

 "Nvhich Dr. Gray at once joined, and he Avas one of its most 

 active Fellows until ill health confined him to his house. 



In the mean time, in 1824, he had become an assistant 

 in the Natural-History De])artment of the British ]\Iuseuni, 

 of which hcAvas ap])ointcd Keeper in 1840, on tlie resignation 

 of JMr. Cliildren. With this great national establishment his 

 life has since been inseparably connected. 



In 182G he married the Avidow of his cousin, the only son 

 of Dr. E. W. Gray, his granduncle, a former secretary of the 

 lloyal Society ; and this lady, who survives to mourn Lis loss, 

 assisted him in all his subso([uent labours, and is herself the 

 author of the Avell-known '■ Figures of Molluscous Animals.' 



For more than fifty years Dr. Gray's life Avas one of un- 

 ceasing activity. Considerably more than a thousand books, 

 memoirs, and notes on almost all departments of zoology, 

 ■attest the extraordinary A'crsatility and energy of his mind ; 

 and his earliest efforts, Avhen little more than a boy, Avere 

 devoted to the kindred science of botany, in Avhich he, Avitli 

 the cooperation of his father, Avas the first to introduce the' 

 Jussieuan Natural System to English botanists. It may be a 

 question whether his efforts for this purpose, in the ' Natural 

 An'angement of British Plants,' Avere not the cause of that 

 ignominious rejection by the Linnean Society of Avhich Ave 

 liaA'e already spoken. 



But even the exertions necessary to produce the A'ast mass 

 of Avritten zoological papers Avhich bear his name did not ex- 

 haust his activity ; and Ave find him shoAving a strong interest 

 in such A'aried matters as sanitary and metropolitan improve- 

 ments, education, prison discipline, and the abolition of im- 

 prisonment for debt, the improvement of the treatment of 

 lunatics, and the ojjening of museums, libraries, picture- 

 galleries, and gardens to the public. Dr. Gray claimed to liaA'e 

 been the original proposer of the system of a Ioav uniform rate 

 of postage to be prepaid by stamps — a system carried out by 

 RoAvland Hill, and now adopted all OA'cr the Avorld. He took 

 much interest in the question of the adoption of a decimal 

 scale of coinage, Aveights, and measures in this country ; and 

 betAveen 1854 and 1857 published numerous articles and 

 pamphlets on this subject. His opinion was that if a decimal 

 system were to be adopted, it shoidd be organized on the 

 principle of making the larger coins decimal multiples of a 

 small existing unit, such as the penny, instead of decimal 

 divisors of a large unit, such as the pound. 



In considering the immense mass of Avork published by Dr. 

 Gray, the zoologist may sometimes be inclined to Avish that 



