74 The late Mr John Sadler. By William Craig, M.D. 



assistant, and for nearly a quarter of a century John Sadler "was 

 known as the accomplislied assistant to the Professor of Botany. 

 During these years he rendered valuable assistance to Professor 

 Balfour in the work of the class. For many years he had the 

 principal share in conducting the work of the miscroscopic class. 

 He also rendered valuable assistance at the weekly Saturday 

 excursions, excursions which were largely attended by students 

 and greatly enjoyed. He also assisted in revising the proofs of 

 Professor Balfour's numerous and valuable publications ; and in 

 the second edition of Balfour's Flora of Edinburgh, Sadler appears 

 as joint author. 



Few Professors had such a power of infusing enthusiasm into 

 their students as Professor Balfour, and undoubtedly much of 

 this power lay in the way he conducted his weekly Saturday 

 excursions. Saturday after Saturday the Professor accompanied 

 by a band of students proceeded to the country to examine the 

 flora of some district, often travelling many miles by rail to 

 reach the destined ground. There was something about these 

 excursions which it is difficult to describe, but which tended to 

 inspire the young mind with a love for botanical study, and there 

 can be no doubt that these weekly excursions were not only 

 greatly enjoyed by John Sadler, but also tended in no small de- 

 gree to make him the distinguished botanist he ultimately became. 



He, like the Professor, was always present at these Saturday 

 excursions, and thus had an opportunity of becoming well 

 acquainted with the flora of the country around Edinburgh. 

 Few men were so zealous in the field as Professor Balfour, and 

 undoubtedly young Sadler caught much of his fire and ardent 

 love of his favourite science. He also, like his master, became 

 a keen observer, and few men ever possessed in a greater degree 

 the faculty of distinguishing plants than John Sadler. This was 

 a marked feature in his character. He would often astonish his 

 scientific friends by the quickness with which he could discrim- 

 inate between species of plants closely resembling each other. 

 His knowledge in this respect was remarkable, and it was a 

 knowledge he was ever ready to communicate to others. 



After removing to Edinburgh he generally spent his holidays 

 in botanical rambles in the Scottish Highlands, his favourite 

 resort being the Breadalbane Mountains. The flora of the 

 Perthshire Highlands especially that of the Breadalbane Moun- 

 tains, is beyond all question the richest in Scotland and of these 



