202 THE ORCHID REVIEW. [JuLy, 1907. 
eighteen years later, when the work had descended to others. His own 
writings about Orchids we shall mention presently. 4 
Maxwell T. Masters was born at Canterbury on April 15, 1833, and was 
the youngest son of Alderman Masters, a well-known nurseryman of that 
city. He was educated at King’s College, London, and after obtaining 
degree went to Oxford as sub-curator of the Fielding Herbarium, under Dr, 
Daubeny. He also practised medicine for some time, commencing at 
Peckham in 1856, where he commenced the compilation of his Vegetable — 
Teratology. From 1855 to 1868 he was Botanical Lecturer at St. George's 7 
Hospital, and for some years he was examiner in botany at the University — 
of London, and for the Society of Apothecaries. He became a Fellow of ~ 
the Linnean Society in 1860, and ten years later was elected a Fellow o} 
the Royal Society. g 
In November, 1865, Dr. Masters was appointed co-editor of the Gardeners — 
Chronicle—in conjunction with the late Thomas Moore—and almost his 
earliest work was to prepare an obituary notice of his predecessor, Dr. — 
Lindley, who died on November ist of that year. This notice appeared in 
the issues for November 11th and 18th (pp. 1058-9, 1082-3). Masters was 
then 32, and the connection lasted for over forty-one years. During. this 4 
period horticulture has seen many changes, and there have been occasions i 
when difficult questions of policy have had to be decided, but the guiding — 
spirit of the Gardeners’ Chronicle could always be relied upon for a con- — 
scientious and unbiassed expression of opinion in the best interests of horti- 
culture. His position was an important one, and his influence in moulding — 
public opinion during this long period must have been enormous. The 
result may be seen in the position of the Gardeners’ Chronicle to-day. 
Dr. Masters was always a hard worker, and a supporter of institutions 
of a charitable or educational character. He was a regular attendant at the — 
Ghent Quinquennial meetings for many years, and in 1888 he was — 
decorated with the insignia of the Order of Leopold by His Majesty the 
King of the Belgians. In the same year he was elected foreign correspond 
ing member of the Institute of France. 
Always a loyal supporter of the Royal Horticultural Society, and a 
valuable ally of the reforming party during the stormy South Kensington 
period, he has taken an important part in its work. He was a trustee of | 
the Lindley Library, and one of the original members of the Orchid Com- 
mittee, founded in March, 1889, and for many years a Vice-chairman of the : 
Scientific Committee, over which he has presided since Sir Joseph Hooker - . 
ceased his active duties. He was apparently in his usual health at 4 
“meeting held on Tuesday, April 30th, which was the last time the writer ; 
met him, and on the following day was in his usual place at the office. he = 
_ Thursday the physician was called in and detected the presence of pleurlsyx 
