318 HISTORY OF THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN. 
of the company. The committee also thought it eee be becoming 
hat Mrs cNab should participate in some measure in the 
testimonial, and the Mave conceived it proper that ‘that lady should 
be presented with this silver salver, silver divider, and silver sugar 
basin. There is another member of Mr. McNab’s family to whom 
the committee feel deeply indebted. This-is Miss McNab—the 
limner of Eat beautiful portrait of her father, which is now before 
you, and a copy of which is to be presented in an engraving to every 
contributor. As a work of art this portrait does great credit to the 
talented artist. This work-box, which bears an appropriate 
inscription, Mr. McNab will, therefore, do us the pleasure to present 
to his daughter. In conclusion, I crave a bumper to the health of 
our excellent friend.” 
Mr. McNab, on rising, said— 
“ Professor Traill and  Saeeane you can easily conceive what 
my feelings must be Tens bie nable I am to give expression to 
hem. You have do Diol Ww hich I never expected, and of 
which I feel Fam altogether unworthy. _Fain wo si I give utterance 
do so. I have never bee ned to lic epeikseg and, to 
make the matter worse, Page Tittle voice pen but even if I were 
now how 
climate. But yet I have not learned this : how to tell a species from 
a variety, nor how to distinguish betwixt one genus and anot ther. 
It is very true that there is a plant which — been named after me,* 
but this did not take place aa any merit of mine as a botanist, 
though I believe it eo done out of a Lstoanent to my wanderings 
entered on that field without treading on groun nd belonging to my 
superiors, which is an interference no good subject should be guilty 
of. For the last forty-three years I have had a considerable S deal , 
to do in recommending persons to situations of responsibility both 
as head gardeners and under gardeners, and my invariable advice 
to them has been to serve their employers well and faithfully, as 
being tie best way to gerd eae te and in the event of ned 
friendship of their dea eects I have been told that every master 
a Macnabia, ypic g Ae RC Africa, was named by Bentham 
in 1839. 
