192 Obituary — James McMurtrie — Henry Potonie. 



In addition to his writings on the Challenger, Sir John Murray 

 published in The Depths of the Ocean valuable contributions on 

 oceanic life in its relation to geology ; the condition of our planet 

 in past ages ; on the origin of coral reefs ; on geography, oceanography, 

 and marine biology. Sir John Murray married, in 1889, Isabel, only 

 daughter of the late Mr. Thomas Henderson, ship-owner, of Glasgow. 

 He leaves two sons and three daughters. 



He was made a Knight of the Prussian Order pour le Merita in 

 1898. He received numerous medals, and was an honorary member of 

 a great number of British and foreign scientific societies. 



JAMES McMURTRIE, F.G.S. 

 BOKN 1840. Died Februaky, 1914. 



We regret to record the death of another excellent geologist, and 

 valued friend, Mr. James McMurtrie, F.G.S., of 5 Belvedere Road, 

 Durdham Park, Bristol, who passed away on February 2, in his 

 74th year. 



Mr. McMurtrie was for forty years connected with the estates of 

 the Waldegrave family, and was manager of their collieries at Radstock 

 until 1902. It was from this coal-field that many of the ferns figured 

 by Brongniart in his Histoire des Vegetaux Fossiles, 4to, 1828, were 

 obtained. 



Mr. McMurtrie was elected a Fellow of the Geological Society of 

 London in 1873. He was a typical Scotchman and served as President 

 of the Bristol Caledonian Society in 1906. 



Born at Dalquahrran, in the parish of Dairy, Ayrshire, McMurtrie 

 began life under his father, who was manager of the collieries at 

 that place. He entered for a short time upon commercial life in 

 Liverpool, but soon removed to Newcastle-on-Tyne, becoming a 

 mining pupil at the Towneley Collieries at Byton, where he was 

 articled to Mr. Robert Simpson. Having completed his articles 

 McMurtrie (in 1862) at the age of 22 went to Radstock, Somerset. 

 During his forty years' residence he carefully studied and mapped 

 the coal-seams of that difficult area and collected some very fine 

 and characteristic coal- plants which he subsequently presented to 

 the Geological Department of the British Museum, Natural History, 

 Cromwell Road, London. 



HENRY POTONIE. 

 Born November 16, 1857. Died October 28, 1913. 



We regret to record the death of this distinguished palasobotanist. 

 Born in Berlin he was educated in that city and in Paris, and at the 

 age of 21 gave special attention to the study of botany. In 1880 he 

 was appointed an assistant in the Botanic Garden at Berlin ; five 

 years later he became Palaeobotanist to the Geological Survey of 

 Prussia; in 1891 he was appointed Professor of Palseobotany in 

 the School of Mines, and in 1901 occupied a similar post in the 

 University at Berlin. His Lehrhuch der PJlanzenpaldontologie was 

 published during the years 1897-9, and a second edition was in 

 preparation. He was author also of other books on recent and fossil 

 botany, and of many important papers on fossil plants. 



