98 IN MEMORl AM. — WILLIAM CRAWFORD WILLIAMSON, LL.D., F.R.S. 
In 1872 Professor Williamson was relieved from teaching 
geology on the appointment of Professor Boyd Dawkins on the staff 
of Owen's College, he was thus enabled to devote himself more fully 
to purely biological work. 
We have already said that Williamson by heredity and by 
environment was highly favoured in his scientific career ; he was 
equally fortunate in gathering around him a body of zealous and 
enthusiastic helpers from the practical field geologists of Lancashire 
and Yorkshire, who placed most liberally in his hands many hundreds 
of specimens collected by them in the coalfields of the two counties. 
Of these honourable mention must be made of John Butter- 
worth, F.R.M.S., of Shaw, near Oldham, who was one of the first to 
prepare thin sections of fossil plants suitable for microscopic examina- 
tion ; Messrs. Nield, Wbitaker, Isaac Earnshaw and George Wilde 
all rendered efficient aid, and in later years many valuable specimens 
were collected and prepared by James Lomax, who is well-known for 
the large sections made by him. If these Lancashire geologists vied 
with each other in searching for and sectionising material for study 
those of Yorkshire were not behindhand; many new and choice 
specimens reached the professor's cabinet by the self-denying and 
devoted labours of James Spencer and James Binns, of Halifax. 
The present wi'iter also had many opportunities of adding his 
mite to the great work, and has heard Professor Williamson express 
more than once his sense of indebtedness to those whom he was 
pleased in his humorous way to call his lieutenants, without whom 
he could scarcely have accomplished so much as he did. As a 
Gilchrist lecturer he came into contact with many working naturalists, 
and doubtless some of his helpers had their interest in fossil botany 
first excited on attending his lectures : the Professor's happy style 
of lecturing won the approval of the hard-headed and slu^ewd artisans 
of the northern towns, his mastery of the art of dehneating with chalk 
on the black board, and his homely and clear language appealed to their 
love of facts and strong common sense. His influence was felt also 
in other directions as may be gathered from the following reminis- 
cences for which I am indebted to Dr. H. C. Sorby, F.R.S., &c., who 
writes me, I first made the acquaintance of Professor Williamson 
