638 Obituary. 



intention, of complimenting me, by making me an honorary member of the 

 Bury botanic garden. I beg of you to say to him, I feel exceedingly 

 obliged by so flattering a compliment, and that I will endeavour to prove 



myself worthy of it." " Now, Sir, here end all your 



queries, you have truly in this multimi in parvo — but my eyes ache, and 

 we must have larger paper in future." 



Fifth Letter, received August 24. 1828. — " As an old botanist, I love 

 most dearly my first sight of a plant that is new to me. And as your 

 object is to send chiefly things that quite puzzle you, a few must appear 

 riddles to me, and I shall have, or have had, all the pleasure of solving 

 them. Besides, every packet is a sort of lottery, in which any new plant 

 is a prize ! Hence you will see my zeal is at least equal to your own. 

 I once was near joining with a public botanic garden here, and I much 

 regret it fell to nothing. Alas ! we have noiv not one public botanic garden 

 left near the metropolis of this rich kingdom ; and yet I think such a thing 

 would pay well. . . . Paper's short, — now aid me, spirit of clearness 

 and brevity !"...." About some of your specimens I will decide in 

 November or December next; when I propose incorporating all my more 

 newly acquired specimens with the glued ones ; and when many of your 

 well-groivn examples will be added, to amend or extend the collection ; 

 in which every specimen is acknowledged from whom, or what garden, it 

 came ; and when, as far as possible. I have been about 40 years amass- 

 ing them. A few odd ones were even gathered still earlier, when I was 

 a boy. I was a gardener, practically, at seven years old." .... 



" I will prove any crocuses, colchicums, or any other hardy bulbs you 

 like to send, as I know them well, am fond of them, have grown most of 



them, and now have many." **' You say you know Mi*. 



Thomas Bridges, who is gone to Chile. If you, or any of your very 

 intimate friends, are writing to him, please to say to him, I will buy 

 specimens of plants of him on his return. I told him I should only buy 

 insects. And now botany takes up so much of my time, I shall, perhaps, 

 drop entomology. 



Sixth Letter, dated October 29. 1828. — "The delays you apologise 

 for have, I fear, infected me with delaying likewise." 



" Mem. I actually inspect and examine every page and plate referred 

 to, so that you may safely frini any you like to publish." 



Seventh Letter, dated November 29. 1828. — "I have near 20 species 

 of jEryngium in my herbarium." . ..." I have glued down, almost 

 always, at least a portion, often the whole, of every number you have sent ; 

 for, as Mr. Hodson has thought me worthy of being one of your honorary 

 members, I feel it my duty to authenticate, at all times hereafter, every 

 thing in my power concerning your garden, and my herbarium will prove 

 the names (should the plants die) of all you have sent to me, together 

 with their locations, durations, and periods of bloom." 



Eighth Letter, dated December 13., received December 16. 1828. — 



" Having stitched all your letters chronologically together." 



[This extract may seem not worth giving, but it shows that Mr. Haworth 



applied system even to his correspondence. — J. Z).] " Mr 



Sweet, to whom I showed your plant, when it was alive." 



" I must have (in herbarium) above threescore species of <^nothera.". 



" O'xalis corniculata ti Linn. Sp. PL is the original British 



kind, and I obtained British roots of it, about 40 years ago (where native 

 I know not), from Mr. Knowlton, the grandson of old Thomas Knowlton, 

 who was gardener to Sherard when the celebrated Hortus Elshamensis 

 was compiling. I had also the Dillenian mesembryanthemums, from the 

 same source, and through Oxford gardens, where Dillenius was professor." 

 . . . . " I love the Oxalides." .... "I have now answered 



