Mr.  W illiam  Carrutliers. 
5 
celebrations  be  received  the  Society’s  thanks.  In  1907  Mr. 
Carruthers  was  sent  by  this  Society  to  Sweden  as  its  representa- 
tive at  the  bi-centenary  commemorations  of  the  birth  of  Linne, 
and  at  that  time  the  ancient  University  of  Upsala  conferred 
on  him  the  honorary  degrees  of  M.A.  and  Ph.D.  He  had 
also  been  elected  President  of  the  Geologists’  Association  in 
1875  and  of  the  Royal  Microscopical  Society  in  1901. 
His  care  in  attention  to  detail,  without  losing  sight  of 
salient  points,  his  power  of  lucid  exposition  of  a subject,  and 
his  willingness  to  satisfy  any  genuine  desire  for  knowledge 
have  made  him  a most  useful  officer  both  to  the  British  Museum 
and  to  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  of  England. 
S.  W.  C. 
The  Botanist’s  Work,  1871-1909. 
In  1871  no  provision  existed  in  England  for  the  farmers 
ascertaining  the  quality  of  seeds  supplied  to  them,  or  obtaining 
the  advice  of  a botanist  in  other  matters  that  might  be  of 
service.  The  Council  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society 
requested  me  to  furnish  it  with  a statement  regarding  the 
ways  in  which  a botanist  might  assist  the  farmer.  Having 
considered  the  statement  prepared,  the  Council  resolved  to 
secure  the  services  of  a botanist  and  invited  me  to  undertake 
the  work.  With  the  permission  of  the  trustees  of  the  British 
Museum  I accepted  the  invitation  and  entered  on  my  work  in 
1871,  under  the  direction  of  the  newly  formed  Botanical 
Committee,  whose  chairman  was  Mr.  W.  E.  Welby,  M.P.  Shortly 
afterwards  Mr.  (now  Sir)  Charles  Whitehead  succeeded  him 
and  occupied  the  chair  for  many  years.  A small  salary  was 
fixed  upon  for  the  botanist,  with  somewhat  large  fees  for 
consultation.  These  prevented  the  members  of  the  Society 
consulting  the  Botanist  to  any  great  extent.  A few  years  later 
the  salary  was  increased  and  the  fees  reduced  to  a nominal 
sum,  a change  which  brought  many  more  applications. 
Quality  of  Farm  Seeds. 
The  first  matter  to  which  the  Committee  gave  its  attention 
was  the  quality  of  the  seeds  supplied  to  the  farmer  for  his 
crops.  The  investigations  made  by  the  Botanist  showed  that 
the  quality  of  seeds  for  pastures  was  most  unsatisfactory. 
Scarcely  one  sample  of  meadow  fescue  examined  was  free 
from  rye-grass,  a much  cheaper  seed,  which  often  amounted 
to  more  than  half  of  the  sample.  Other  deliberate  adultera- 
tions, for  the  dealer’s  gain,  were  common,  but  they  were  not 
introduced  by  or  known  to  the  local  merchants  in  county  towns 
who  supplied  the  farmer.  The  germination  was  so  low  that 
some  samples  examined  germinated  less  than  10  per  cent.  This 
