Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London - University Library

LINNEAX SOCIEXr OF LONDON. 5 I
fame had preceded him ; he rearranged the Botanical Section of
the Leicester Museum . . . and assisted the scientific and philosophical
societies of the town ... In the last few months Mr.
Preston suffered from a distressing complaint, which he hore with
great courage and patience. He was a man oi: strong and simple
Christian faith, a devoted brother, a fast friend, genuine as pure
gold, and siugularlv modest."
The writer has "to thank J. F. Duthie, Esq., F.L.S., Edward
Meyrick, Esq., E.E.S., F. E. Thompson, Esq., and Miss Preston,
for tlieir invaluable lielp in drawing up the foregoing obituary.
[B. D. J.]
Bernard Renault was born at Autun on March 4th, 1830.
During the early part of his scientific career his attention was
devoted to Physics and Chemistry, to which he made some original
contributions. It was in these sciences that be took his degree at
Paris in 18G7, and he then filled an official post as chemist in the
Xormal School of Cluny. But his life's work was destined to take
a different course. The neighbourhood of his native place, Autun,
is peculiarly rich in silicified remains of plants, of Permo-Carboniferous
age, and Renault soon became iuterested in these specimens,
and began to investigate their structure. He at once found himself
on the road to important discoveries. Starting with the
anatomy of fossil Ferns of the genera Amichoropteris, Zj/gopteris,
n,ndBotr)/02iteris,he was led to found the new family Botryopteride?e,
based not merely on vegetative characters, but on a detailed
knowledge of tlie fructification in two of the genera.
Another early work of the highest value is his investigation of
the structure of the remarkable genus Sphenophyllum, i-epresenting
a group now wholly extinct, unless indeed, as some have lately
maintained, the Psilotaceae are to be included in the same division.
He further elucidated the structure of fossil members of the
Equisetales by his investigation of the anatomical and reproductive
characters of Annularia.
The striking results which Renault was attaining in Fossil
Botany soon attracted the attention of Adolphe Brongiiiart, the
great master of that science, who summoned him to Pai'is, where
he obtained the post of Assistant Naturalist, at the Museum of
Natural History. This modest appointment he continued to hold
to the close of his life. Unfortunately, the efforts which were
made to create for him a position more worthy of his eminent
merits remained without result.
The work in which Brongniart specially desired the co-operation
of his younger colleague \\ as the investigation of silicified seeds, a
subject which has proved of the utmost importance to morpholof^ical
Botany. Renault was always careful to compare fossil with
analogous recent structures ; and in the course of his work on the
seed, he re-discovered the pollen-chamber of Cycads, in ignorance
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