2 Anniversary Address. 



He was at that time preparing his " Flora of Berwick-upon- 

 Tweed," and had two pupils — John Barnes and William Lilly, 

 both of whom became my most intimate friends. They, be- 

 sides their other professional duties, assisted him in collecting 

 and arranging his plants, and I frequently helped them, and 

 so had with and through them the benefit of his example 

 and instructions. This was my first introduction to Botany, 

 and, for all I know of it, as well as for a great deal more 

 that I am sorry to say I have forgotten, I am indebted 

 directly or indirectly to Dr Johnston. It is now fi^ty years 

 since his first volume on Botany was published, and in it 

 one can see how much his mind was imbued with a love of 

 nature, and how he was qualified to impress upon others his 

 own zeal and enthusiasm in the pursuit of natural science. 

 In it also we can see how often the names of the men, who 

 afterwards became the first members of the Club, are quoted 

 as either finding new plants, or new habitats of known ones. 

 We can thus discover that they were all of one mind and 

 working together in one common cause, and how naturally 

 the Club arose out of their intimate scientific and social re- 

 lations. I can speak from personal experience of Dr John- 

 ston's charming social qualities, and to give you a clearer 

 idea of the extent of his general reading and of the taste and 

 elegance of his mental endowments, I would refer you to 

 passages from the poets Milton, Crabbe, Akenside, Southey, 

 Wordsworth, Cowper, and Byron, as weU as from Dr John- 

 son and other prose writers, with which he graces the heads 

 of his chapters. That the enthusiasm of Dr Johnston, and 

 the easy and liberal constitution of the Club as originally 

 formed, struck a chord which harmonised with the disposi- 

 tion of numerous minds, its extensive progeny of Field 

 Clubs throughout the country, as well as the present wonder- 

 ful increase of the Club, continue to shew. No doubt, since 

 the parent members have mostly been taken from among 

 us, we have been indebted to the same qualities in many 

 others like minded, especially in our past presidents, and 

 our honorary secretaries past and present. 



