PROCEEDINGS—PERTHSHIRE SOCIETY OF NATURAL SCIENCE. lv 
the affairs of the Society; on the other hand, we have found our¬ 
selves in a position to do what we have long seen to be a necessity 
of the future, namely, the appointment of a professional scientific 
curator to take charge of our Museum. 
At the first meeting after Dr. White’s death I brought forward a 
brief obituary notice, dwelling more especially on those traits of his 
character with which we were familiar as his companions in the field 
of scientific research. This I propose to supplement to-night by a 
short biographical sketch and review of his scientific work, dwelling 
more particularly on his work in connection with our own Society. 
THE LATE DR. F. BUCHANAN WHITE. 
Francis Buchanan White White was the elder son of F. I. White, 
M.D., F.R.C.P.Lond., of Perth, and was born at Perth on 20th March, 
1842. He received his early education in Perth, partly at the 
school in connection with St. Ninian’s Cathedral, and partly from a 
private tutor. Even in these early days his taste for natural history 
pursuits was strongly marked. The Lepidoptera were his earliest 
favourites, and before he left school he must have had a fair know¬ 
ledge of the moths and butterflies to be found around Perth. On 
turning up the volumes of an old journal, called u The Entomo¬ 
logist’s Weekly Intelligencer,” we find numerous short notes bearing 
his signature, written from 2 Athole Place, Perth, and with dates 
running from 5th May, 1857, to 6th July, 1859. Most of these are 
records of captures of rare insects around Perth, with offers of dupli¬ 
cates for exchange; but even the Very earliest of the series gives 
promise of the originality which characterised so much of his later 
work, the title being “A New Bait for Moths.” In looking over 
these early notes we begin to understand how it was that he came to 
acquire such an intimate knowledge of the topography of Perthshire. 
With him the taste for Natural History rambles became a passion, 
which was early developed, and which never waned until failing health 
deprived him of the power of walking, a few weeks before his death. 
Towards the end of i860, at the age of 18, he went to Edinburgh 
University to study Medicine, and for the next five years we have 
no published records of scientific work, his time apparently being 
occupied with his college work. In 1864, at the age of 22, he 
took his degree, with honours, as Doctor of Medicine, and also 
graduated as Licentiate of the Royal Colleges of Physicians and 
Surgeons, Edinburgh. It is interesting to note that the subject 
which he chose for his graduation thesis, and for which he received 
honours, was one which combined his two favourite sciences, namely, 
Entomology and Botany. Its title was “ The Relations and Simili¬ 
tude of Insects and Plants.” This subject he afterwards worked out 
in greater detail. 
On completing his college course he returned to Perth, and two 
years later, in February, 1866, he married Margaret Juliet, youngest 
daughter of Thomas Corrie of Steilston, Dumfriesshire. After his 
marriage nearly a year was spent in travelling on the Continent with 
his wife. During that period they visited France, Switzerland, Italy, 
Savoy, and Germany, most of the time, however, being spent in Swit- 
