1910-1S11.] 



42-3 



like to express my gratification that I am permitted to take part in 

 this evening's proceedings ; I deem it a privilege to be allowed to 

 do honour, on the present occasion, to the memory of my old 

 friend and yours. There are in the room to-night members who 

 knew Mr. Stewart before I was born, and who are better acquainted 

 with his work than I am. I crave their indulgence if what I say 

 this evening appears to them inadequate, or if it contains 

 inaccuracies. 



With the main results of Stewart's botanical work we are 

 all acquainted. The Flora of the North-East of Ireland is the 

 inseparable companion of every one who is interested in the plants 

 of our home counties, while to those who study the Botany of 

 Ireland as a whole, or who have visited the districts they treat, his 

 papers on the flora of Rathlin Island, of the Fermanagh hills, of 

 Slieveanieran, and of the Shannon estuary, are equally familiar. 



To appreciate Stewart's work fully we must keep in mind the 

 circumstances under which it was carried out. In the interesting 

 biographical sketch which Mr. Waddell has just given us he has 

 laid stress on the want of education in early days, and the want of 

 time all along, which were such serious obstacles to Stewart's 

 scientific advancement ; and he has told us how resolutely these 

 difficulties were overcome. Of Stewart's earliest botanical work — 

 that is, the work done before the Club was founded in 1863 — we 

 know little. He must have worked hard, because Tate's Flora 

 Belfastiensis, published in the first year of the Club's existence, 

 contains many records of his and an acknowledgment of much 

 assistance rendered ; also, his earliest botanical paper of which 

 more than the title remains, read before the Club in December, 

 1865, shows that he was already acquiring that critical knowledge 

 of our plants which afterwards distinguished him. It deals with 

 such species as Ranunculus trichophyllus, Barbarea intermedia, 

 Hieracium umbellatum, not hitherto recognised by local botanists. 



He soon began to extend his researches, and to visit, during 

 his few and brief holidays, distant districts, which were then much 



