ISABELLA GIFFORD. 81 



nuts, covered closely by the husk, ripening late, with heavy foliage. 

 It would be possible, I think, to form ten or twelve vara, of the 

 order of "prasoox" and "terotina," which would include £§ of the 

 nut stubs in the forest; possibly, if these varieties were judiciously 

 diagnosed, $• of the nut-stubs could be fairly included ; and the 

 varieties, formed on such characters as I have indicated, would be 

 at least as worthy attention as much of the Epilobium-work in 

 Haussknecht's book. If I were by circumstances confined to local 

 botanic work, I might think it worth while to put out an attempt 

 to divide Corylm Avellana into varieties in this way, as these 

 varieties have an economic value already known by the children 

 who nut. I do not think I should do much harm, beyond starting 

 new names to cumber indices for all time, if I chose to put out 

 these vars. as species. 



But I should find that the remaining £, or ^ of the nut-stubs 

 which could not fairly be included in my ten or twelve varieties as 

 circumscribed would be more or less "intermediate" between the 

 artificial characters I had assigned to my varieties. If I then 

 proceeded to describe these intermediates seriatim as hybrids 

 between my varieties, I believe I should be doing little 'more 

 than playing a game of words, and should be following a course 

 calculated to bring the science of systematic botany into contempt. 



ISABELLA GIFFORD. 



By the death of Miss Gifford, on the 26th of December, the last 

 link of the chain of lady phycologists, which had extended over a 

 period of more than a century, has been broken. The earliest of 

 these active workers, to whom British phycologists are so much 

 indebted, was Miss Hutchins, of Bantry, who died about 1816, 

 and was commemorated by Brown in his genus Hntchinsia. Since 

 then there has been a continuous band of ladies, principal among 

 whom may be named Mrs. Griffiths (Griffithsia), Mrs. Gatty 

 (Gattya), Miss Ball (BaUia), Miss Cutler (Cutleria), and Miss 



Wl 



Watt 



and other writers. A new school of female workers is arising, from 

 whom much may be expected, but the former list is closed by the 

 death of Miss Gifford. 



She was the only daughter of Major George St. John Gifford, 

 one of a large family of brothers (all more or less distinguished), 

 which included Theophilus Gifford, whose promising career was 

 early cut short in an engagement in the Peninsular War, and 

 whose gallant deeds have been recorded by Sir William Napier. 

 Captain Gifford was with Sir John Moore at Corunna. When the 

 war was over, he returned to England, and some time afterwards he 

 married Isabella, youngest daughter of John Christie, Esq., of 

 Wick House, Hackney, and of Glanusk, in the county of Brecon. 



w j Capt. Gifford lived in Wales, and 

 acted as land agent to his father-in-law. 



Joubkai* of Botany,— Vol. 30. [Makch, lb92,l a 



