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the publication of the book, prospects looked favourable, but the 

 tragic death of Mr. Corry in 1883 deprived Stewart of a willing 

 and valuable colleague. 



To understand the labour involved in the preparation of 

 the book referred to we must carry ourselves back to the period 

 1870-1880, during which much of the field work was carried out, 

 mainly on Saturday afternoons and Sundays. There were not at 

 that time the facilities for exploring the country which now exist. 

 The bicycle was then known only to the venturesome athlete. No 

 swift tram-cars conveyed the botanist to the confines of the town. 

 Trains were few and tardy. This slow travelling rendered many- 

 places practically inaccesible without the spending of nights in 

 hotels, which the author of the " Flora " could ill afford. Then 

 again, books were not accessible as they are now. Stewart, though 

 the shyest of men, made up for this by getting into corresponence 

 with the leading systematic botanists of the day and claiming their 

 assistance which was willingly given. Babington, Backhouse, 

 Arthur Bennett, Holt, More and others were in constant com- 

 munication with him, and he plied them with questions and 

 specimens of critical plants. As the " Flora " advanced towards 

 completion there came Corry's death, and the whole work of 

 preparing the book for the press devolved upon Stewart who, 

 despite lack of time and of all that goes to make writing an easy 

 or pleasant occupation, carried his task to a successful conclusion. 



It was just thirty years ago, in 1881, that I made Mr. Stewart's 

 acquaintance. When I joined the Club in 1884, and set about 

 collecting plants for the prizes which are still offered, he was 

 untiring in his encouragement and assistance. By the time the 

 "Flora" was published he and I were doing most of our collecting 

 and exploring in company, and in the greater part of the work 

 which he carried out since that date I was privileged to take part. 

 Two Summers we spent together in a careful examination of the 

 flora of the Mourne Mountains for a report to the Royal Irish 

 Academy, and many days were devoted to exploring unworked 



