Obituary Notices of Fellows deceased. 



Schwendener took no part in the controversy, nor did he pubHsh anything 

 more on Lichens. Whilst still at Basle, he turned his attention to a line of 

 research more in accordance with the natural bent of his genius, the study of 

 the mechanics of the structures of plants. The first fruit of his labours in 

 this direction was his ' Das mechanische Prinzip im anatomischen Bau der 

 Monokotylen ' (1874), in which he demonstrated that the anatomy of these 

 plants, and more especially the distribution in them of the supporting 

 tissue (stereom), is in accordance with the recognised principles of con- 

 structive engineering. This line of research he pursued to the end of his 

 career, applying mechanical principles to the elucidation of various structures 

 and physiological processes. Before he left Basle in 1877, he published a 

 considerable work on phyllotaxis, considered from this point of view, ' Die 

 mechanische Theorie der Blattstellungen.' When at Berlin, he wrote a 

 number of papers on such subjects as the twining of plants, the ascent of 

 sap, the mechanism of the stomata and of the pulvini of leaves. Nearly all 

 of these appeared in the ' Monatsberichte ' of the Prussian Academy ; they 

 were republished in two volumes in 1898. 



Not only was he active in research, but he was also successful as a 

 teacher. He inspired a number of his students to prosecute research along 

 the lines that he had laid down. He inaugurated, in fact, that study of 

 structure in relation to function, which has since been so brilliantly 

 developed, in particular by Prof. Gr. Haberlandt, once his pupil, now his 

 successor, at Berlin. 



Schwendener's name will always hold a distinguished place in botanical 

 history, as that of the discoverer of the true nature of Lichens, and of the 

 founder of the study of the physiological anatomy of plants. 



The information concerning Prof. Schwendener given in this notice was 

 kindly supplied by Prof. Dr. Hans Schinz, Director of the Botanic Garden, 

 Zurich. 



S. H. V. 



