Ixix 



Royal Society. This gave him much pleasure, and consoled him, in 

 some measure, for the implacability of his own countrymen. In 

 1866 he and a few others founded the Socio te Linneenne de Paris. 

 He Avas elected President, and continued to act as such until his 

 death. For some years the Proceedings of this very small Society 

 were published in BailloiVs own periodical, ' Adansonia,' and then a 

 ' Bulletin Mensuel ' appeared, and has continued to appear down to 

 the present time, entirely owing to the energy and industry of 

 the President. This organ was not published, but distributed to 

 the leading botanical establishments ; hence, there is no record of 

 Baillon's numerous articles therein in the Royal Society's catalogue 

 of scientific papers. Yet, omitting these, the catalogue contains the 

 titles of 230 of his papers, published between 1854 and 1883. But 

 Baillon was a most prolific writer, and covered a considerable range, 

 though systematic botany was his chief study. I need only name 

 his 'Adansonia,' twelve volumes, 1866 to 1879; ' Dictionnaire de 

 Botanique,' four volumes, 1876 to 1892; 'Histoire des Plantes,' 

 1867-95, and still unfinished. Baillon, too, was the only French 

 botanist who occupied himself on the rich collections of flowering 

 plants in Paris from Madagascar ; being the author of the uncom- 

 pleted ' Histoire des Plantes de Madagascar,' forming a portion of 

 Grandidier's great work on Madagascar. 



Baillon was one of the few existing botanists having a good 

 knowledge of the phanerogamic flora of the world. As a writer, 

 however, he was more critical than methodical, and many of his 

 original observations and, suggestions have been overlooked by 

 botanists who have subsequently gone over the same ground. This 

 is owing to the fact that the titles of many of his articles do not 

 sufficiently describe their contents. JSTot infrequently a new genus 

 or a new species is described in the body of a paragraph, and some- 

 times so informally, that only by careful reading is it possible to 

 arrive at the fact. This often caused the author himself chagrin, 

 especially as he was very sensitive and apt to believe that his work 

 had been purposely ignored. I had almost forgotten to mention that 

 the Euphorbiaceos were one of his favourite families, and his ' Etude 

 Generale du Groupe des Euphorbiacees " is one of his most finished 

 works. I cannot here enter into a more critical examination of his 

 works, but I may add that the illustrations almost throughout are of 

 a high order of merit. 



W. B. H. 



William Topley was born at Greenwich, on March 13, 1841. His 

 early education was obtained at local schools ; he entered the Royal 

 School of Mines in 1858, and remained a student there till 1861. 



His active geological career began in 1862, when he was appointed 



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