145 
the author of ‘The Botanical Guide to Manchester/ a remark- 
able man, who was known to Mr. Binney only when age had 
overtaken him. For many years he sat for hours daily in the 
office reading. Mr. Buxton, a shoemaker but a poor man, 
had never made above ten shillings a week all his life, 
and he lived, of course, in a poor street. It was remark- 
able, however, how fine his taste was, and how well in- 
formed he was found on all subjects, an educated gentle- 
man, timid and shy as a child. Mr. Binney helped him to 
have his book published, and to obtain for it a fair sale. 
The delicacy of his treatment of this man was remarkable 
when men of great importance in the eye of society were 
sent away with a growl. 
His pleasure in promoting and attending meetings of the 
scientific working men was great. 
The small annuity obtained for Mr. Sturgeon was owing 
to the persistency of Mr. Binney. 
Still, a purely benevolent life was not that of Mr. Binney; 
he was a man of business and a geologist. Geology had at 
an early period put out of his mind much of his knowledge 
of science, and his attention to the many affairs on hand 
very much in later years interfered with his geology. He 
has left a fine collection of geological specimens, and a for- 
tune to his wife and three sons as well as three daughters. 
It was his strong desire to have the rooms of the Society 
retained, but enlarged ; and he intended to assist in raising 
a fund of five thousand pounds for this purpose, and also for 
obtaining the services of a librarian and editor. The Society 
has certainly suffered by his loss in this respect, but it has 
not the less suffered by the absence of his face and the full 
sympathy and clear sense which he introduced into so much 
of the work of the Society, although we often thought that, 
liberal as he was in politics, time had made him too con- 
servative of some of the forms of the Society. We learn 
slowly to see the evils of rapid innovations. 
