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married; and foon after, in 1772, he undertook the office 

 of mathematical tutor at the academy in Warrington. In 

 this place he publiflicd, in 1775, his " Dodlrine of the 

 Sphere," a work liiglJy appreciated, not only as a complete 

 treatife on the fubjcft, but as a model of geometrical de- 

 monftraiion. In the fame year he removed to Nottingham, 

 and became one of the miiiifters of the high pavement 

 meeting-houfe. Ardently attached to the principles of 

 liberty, and feeling no diffidence or timidity in the de- 

 claration of his fcutiments, his talents and difpofition con- 

 curred to give him influence amongft thofe who aficmbled for 

 pohtical purpofes ; and his charafteriftic energy of fpirit 

 and ftyle is difcernible in the addreffes and petitions that 

 ifiued from the corporation of the town. Of one of thefe 

 produftions Mr. Burke declared, that he had rather have been 

 the author of it than of all his own compofitions. So much 

 was Mr. Walker eileemed for his talents and temper, that 

 thofe who deteftcd his political principles fought his com- 

 pany and converfation, and both honoured and loved him. 

 His hofpitality and beneficence far exceeded his ability. 

 After a refidence of twenty-four years at Nottingham, he 

 was induced by a variety of circumdances to undertake the 

 office of theological tutor and direftor of a diffenting aca- 

 demy at Mancheiler. For the office of fuperintendant of a 

 public ceremony he was not peculiarly qualified, either by 

 the liberal difpofition of his mind, or the habits of his hfe ; 

 and he foon found this fituation unplcafant to him, more 

 efpecially as he was now advancing in years, and relaxation 

 from conftant labour became elFential to his enjoyment. He 

 therefore quitted this conneftion, and retired to the vicinity 

 of Liverpool. Since he had left Warrington, he bad pub- 

 liflied feveral fingle fermons; two volumes of fermons, cha- 

 raAerized by original thought and fervid expreffion ; " An 

 Appeal to the People of England," upon the teft-laws, 

 much admired and commended by Mr. Fox ; and the firft 

 part of a " Trealifo on Conic Sedlions," referred to with 

 deferved commendation in our article Conic Sedions. In 

 1807 Mr. Walker vifited London, in order to publifli two 

 additional volumes of fermons, and two volumes of Philofo- 

 phical eflays ; but he was fei/.ed with a diforder, which ter- 

 minated his hfe at the age of feventy -three, and his remains 

 were interred in Bunhill-fields, on which occafion Dr. Rees 

 delivered, at the vault, an oration, which was ])rinted by 

 his friends, and which contained a brief Iketch of liis cha- 

 rafter. " To a Hock of claffical knowledge," fays one of 

 his biographers, " he added an intimate acquaintance with 

 hiftory, ancient and modern, a famiharity with the beft au- 

 thors of various claflfes, a natural and glowing eloquence, 

 and a heart, in which every kind and focial affeftion occu- 

 pied a place." Athenaeum. 



Wai.kerV Cove, in Geography, a harbour on the weft coaft 

 of North America, in Behm's canal : fo called from Mr. Wal- 

 ker, furgeon of the Chatham. N. lat. 55' 42'. E. long. 

 229° 20'. 



Wai.keu'j Key, one of the fmall Bahama iflands. N. 

 lat. 26" 50'. W. long. 78' 54'. 



WALKERIA, in Botany, was fo called by Schreber, 

 in juft commemoration of the founder of the botanic gar- 

 den at Cambridge, the Rev. Richard Walker, D.D. vice 

 mafter of Trinity-college. To this foundation a lefture- 

 (hip is attached, and both together are in the gift of five 

 truftecs, unfhacklcd by any of thofe limitations which 

 nfually tend only to defeat the purpofe of fuch e(labli(h- 

 ments ; for Dr. Walker cxprefsly orders, by lus will, that 

 any pcrfon, even a foreigner, fliall be eligible to the ap- 

 pointment, and may, if he pleafes, read his Icftures in 

 Latin. The prefent worthy profeflbr of botany, the Rev. 



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Thomas Martyn, B.D. is the only perfon who has hitherto 

 held the Icfturefiiip in queftion, of which, as long as hi» 

 health would permit, he regularly performed the duties. 

 Another IFalLeria, in honour of the fame liberal patron of 

 botanic fcience, was named by Miller and Ebret ; but that 

 genus having accidentally had various previous appellations, 

 is now eflablifhcd by the Linnaean one of Nolana, which 



the reader will find in its proper place Schreb. Gen. 150. 



Willd. Sp. PI. V. I. 1 145. Mart. Mill. Did. v. 4. (Mee- 

 fia ; Gai'rtn. t. 70. Lamarck lUuflr. t. 143.) — Clafs and 

 order, Pentandria Monogyma. Nat. Ord. uncertain ; akin 



to OCHNA. 



Gen. Ch. Cat. Perianth inferior, of one leaf, in five 

 ovate, acute, concave, fpreading, permanent fegments. Cor. 

 Petals five, lanceolate, acute, Spreading, rather longer than 

 the calyx. Stam. Filaments five, capillary, afcending, half 

 the length of the petals ; anthers roundifh. P//?. Germen 

 fuperior, globular, five-cleft ; ftyle briftle-lhaped, ereft, as 

 tall as the ftamens ; ftigma fimple. Peric. Drupas five, 

 obovate-kidneyfhaped, of one cell. Seed. Nut folitarj', 

 kidney-fhaped, rather bony. 



Efl". Ch. Calyx inferior, in five deep permanent feg- 

 ments. Corolla of five petals. Drupas five. Nuts foli- 

 tary, kidney-fhaped. 



1. W. /errata. Serrated Walkeria. Willd. n. i. (Mee- 

 fia ferrata ; Gtertn. v. i. 344. Tsjocatti ; Rheede Hort. 

 Malab. v. 5. 95. t. 48. ) — Native of various parts of the Mala- 

 bar coaft, flowering and bearing fruit at various feafons. We 

 have not heard of this plant in any garden, nor are its dried 

 fpecimens frequent in coUeftions. The Jlem is ftirubby, 

 about twelve feet high, with round, fmooth, leafy, alter- 

 nate tranches. Leaves evergreen, fmooth and ftiining, al- 

 ternate, on ftiort ftalks, elliptic-lanceolate, acute, more or 

 lefs evidently and acutely ferrated, four or five inches long, 

 furnifhed with a ftrong mid-rib, and many fine, tranfverlc, 

 reticulated veins. Stipulas none. Panicles terminal, with 

 racemofe, compound, angular, fmooth flower-ftalks. Floivert 

 yellowifti, about half an inch in diameter, without fccnt. 

 Fruit reddifti, (hining, acid and bitter, feated on the dark- 

 red enlarged calyx. Some of the drupas, in each flower, 

 are often abortive. The quahties of the various parts of this 

 fhrub fcem to be of an aftringent and tonic nature. 



Gsertner gives, as a fynonym to his Meefta, IVa/itra, a 

 Ceylon name, found attached to the feeds m the colleftion 

 at Leyden, from which he made his figure and defcription. 

 Schreber, in adopting Gartner's genus, found it necef- 

 fary to change his name, Meesia being appropriated to a 

 genus of mofles, which however is now funk in Bryum ; 

 fee thofe articles. We prcfume he meant to rc-cllablini the 

 old name Walkeria, of which, therefore, we retain the pro- 

 per orthography. It is not to be fuppofed that, in this in- 

 llance alone, he would adopt an entirely barbarous appella- 

 tion ; but the coincidence i^ fingular. Even this appella- 

 tion indeed proves to be corrupt. We have fought it in 

 vain in Hermann's Mufeum Zeylanicum, but we find there 

 Malkira, p. 9, whence, no doubt, it originated ; for Lin- 

 nx'us has written Ochna againft this MnlLira in his own 

 copy of Hermann's work, tlie very copy iifcd by him in 

 writing his Flora Zeylanica ; and the defcription of the leaves 

 in p. 93, 94, of the latter book, flieus his Ochna, var. a, 

 to be our IValkeria ferrata, whatever doubt may attach to 

 Burmann's t. 56. 



WALKERS, a fort of foreft-officers, appointed by the 

 king to walk about a certain fpace of ground, committed 

 to their care and infpcftion. 



Walkers arc the fame with what we othcrwifc call fo- 

 refters. 



4 O 2 WAL- 



