379 



Selections from the Correspondence of Dr. George Johnston. Collected 



and arranged by his daughter, Mrs. Barwell-Carter. 

 Edited by James Hardy, LL.D., Hon. Secretary to the 

 Berwickshire Naturalists' Club. (Edinburgh: David Douglas, 

 1892). Demy 8vo, with portrait, pp. xxxv, 541. 



Dr. George Johnston, of Berwick-upon-Tweed, belonged to 

 that race of " all-round " naturalists which the progress of science 

 has since rendered impossible, and to a race of letter- writers whose 

 style had not been ruined by the penny post. It was said of him 

 at the time of his death that " no department, either of zoology or 

 botany, was neglected by him, and though chiefly conversant with 

 those classes which observers generally neglect, he added something 

 to the existing knowledge of nearly all." Having also a rich store 

 of antiquarian information, and being gifted with a genial and 

 kindly humour and a keen desire to foster in others a love of his 

 favourite sciences, it might be anticipated that Johnston's corres- 

 pondence would be well worth reading, and so indeed it proves. 



It is, however, much to be regretted by botanists that his 

 daughter, Mrs. Barwell-Carter, has only been able to include in 

 this volume of Selections a very few letters prior in date to the pub- 

 lication of the Flora of Berwick in 1829-31. Though the publica- 

 tion in 1853 of the first and only volume of the Natural History 

 of the Eastern Borders, which is exclusively botanical, shows that 

 the author's interest in botany was by no means on the wane 

 during the later part of his life, those of his letters which are pre- 

 served in his daughter's volume refer more particularly to his 

 original researches in marine zoology, especially that of the 

 Mollusca and Coelenterata. The "happy thought" (which we 

 owe presumably to the editor, Dr. James Hardy of the Berwick- 

 shire Naturalists' Club), of appending a classified ■ Natural History 

 Index ' of all species referred to in the letters, shows, however, that 

 they contain not a few references to plants, and, as might be 

 expected from the author of the Flora of Berwick, those to Crypto- 

 gamia almost equal in number those relating to the Phanerogams. 

 Though interested in roses, brambles and Hieracia, Johnston would 

 hardly be ranked as a critical botanist now-a-days, at least so far 

 as his knowledge of flowering plants is concerned. 



Some botanists will, no doubt, be interested in this volume for 

 its personal references to their fellow-workers of the past, and for 

 the excellent summary biographies which are added in the notes, 

 as in Dawson Turner's Richardson Correspondence and in other 

 similarly well-edited volumes. Of these personal references there 

 is also a complete index. Among Johnston's chief correspondents 

 were P. J. Selby, Joshua Alder, Kev. David Landsborough, William 

 Tiiompsou of Belfast, Mrs. Alfred Gatty, and the editor of the 

 volume now under notice. The work is illustrated by a very 

 pleasing portrait ; it seems singularly free from misprints or other 



mistakes, and its general "get-up" is excellent. 



G. S. Boulger. 



