898 
ACCOUNT OF THE LIVERPOOL BOTANIC GARDEN. 
removal of the Garden to its present site—his collection was purchased and. 
added to the Herbarium, after having been put up to public auction, and no 
buyer could be found. The bulk of it consists of dried specimens of foreign 
plants which have been cultivated in the Garden ; and as cultivation effects such 
a change in the appearance of plants, they must be considered of little value for 
the purposes of reference. The native plants dried from the neighbourhood of 
Liverpool form a valuable addition to the Herbarium, although in the commoner 
species they are not near so complete as they might be made. The dried speci¬ 
mens of foreign Ferns, though mostly what have been cultivated in the Garden ? 
are highly interesting, and very numerous. Mr. Mac Nab, of Edinburgh, has 
added largely to the Herbarium in specimens of Scotch plants; probably they 
formed part of Mr. Shepherd’s collection. The most interesting portion of the 
collection of British specimens in the Herbarium, consists of those purchased from 
the widow of the late Colonel Velley, of Bristol, who was suddenly killed by a 
fall from a stage coach. They are most beautifully preserved, every leaf and 
leaflet having been laid out with scrupulous care; and in many instances the 
calyx, corolla, &c., are dissected and the different parts gummed down, with 
letters of reference. His numerous notes and interesting remarks, written in an 
extremely neat hand, show that he was ardently attached to the pursuit of 
Botany, and that he neglected no opportunity of following up his love of the 
science. He paid particular attention to marine plants, and it appears that he 
had excellent opportunities of collecting them, as many of the specimens are from 
Portsmouth, the Isle of Wight, and various other places on the coast. There are 
eight folio volumes filled with specimens of Algce^Confervce, and Fuci , laid down 
on large sheets of fine drawing-paper, and they are accompanied in many instances 
with drawings of a magnified view of the fructification in different stages. He 
devoted a great portion of his time to this subject, and contributed an able article 
to the Transactions of the Linncean Society; and Mr. Henry Shepherd informs 
me that he had commenced a large folio work, some sheets of which were 
amongst his papers. This collection of marine plants, with drawings and notes, 
would prove invaluable in the hands of some botanist competent to avail himself 
of the information it contains. To the Grasses and other difficult departments 
of Botany, he appears to have devoted much attention ; his notes on the Grasses 
are very numerous, and are accompanied by drawings. 
Mr. Henry Shepherd, the present curator, succeeded his uncle, after holding 
the situation of sub-curator under him for many years; he is a Fellow of the 
Linnsean Society, is well acquainted with Botany, and cannot be too highly 
spoken of for his urbanity of manners and kindness in imparting information to 
all who desire it. He is possessed of an excellent library and herbarium, and 
assisted Mr. Roscoe in his splendid work on the Scitaminece , the dissections of 
