18 
THE FLORIST’S JOURNAL. 
thorough knowledge of these subjects under his father, who made 
the best of all possible teachers ; and along with these studies, and 
afterwards, he made himself no mean scholar in Latin, Greek, 
and Hebrew, and in the more useful modern languages. 
Mr. D. Don continued in his father’s nursery until he tho¬ 
roughly understood the nature and method of cultivating all the 
plants which it contained; and as along with his practical occu¬ 
pation, whether in the observation of the plants or the best methods 
of their growth, he was a general student, he made himself, while 
yet merely a lad, a botanist of no mean acquirements and capa¬ 
cities, — we will not say pretensions, for few men, of any thing 
like equal capacity, have been so unpretending as Professor Don. 
Upon leaving Forfar he went to Edinburgh, in order to enjoy a 
wider range both of study and of occupation; and while there he 
had a charge of the conservatories and. stoves in the grounds of 
Messrs. Dickson, brothers, nurserymen at Broughton, in the close 
vicinity of that city, who had at that time one of the best collec¬ 
tions in Scotland. 
After remaining there for some time, Mr. Don removed to 
London, where his brother George was at that time, and engaged 
in the Physic Gardens at Chelsea. Then, or soon after, Mr. 
Lambert, the great encourager of the botanical arts, was in want 
of a librarian ; and Mr. Don’s practical experience, general know¬ 
ledge, and suavity of manner, recommended him as amply suited 
for the vacant situation; and he accordingly went to reside in the 
town mansion of Mr. Lambert, to the mutual satisfaction of both 
parties, and the gratification of Mr. Lambert’s professional friends 
and visitors. This situation, and more especially the manner in 
which the duties of it were discharged, brought Mr. Don into ge¬ 
neral acquaintance with the higher classes of the botanical world; 
and, indeed, while merely librarian to Mr. Lambert, he was looked 
upon as a star of no ordinary magnitude. Soon after the death 
of Sir Joseph Banks, the illustrious Mr. Robert Brown resigned 
his situation of Librarian to the Linnaean Society and Curator of its 
Museum, and Mr. Don was chosen as a worthy successor to that 
first botanist of the age. 
In this new situation, Mr. Don was found to be a most valuable 
acquisition to the Society; and his knowledge and manners en¬ 
deared him to all, while his general character and conduct extended, 
his name widely over the botanical world, in terms which, great 
