FORMER SUFFOLK NATURALISTS II* 2.
Edmund Skepper
man is of interest to Suffolk Naturalists as the author of the Flora of Suffolk published in 1846. He was born at Oulton, on 20th October, 1825, and was trained as a druggist, probably by apprenticeship and worked at Harwich. In 1843 he was appointed as druggist to the Suffolk General Hospital in Bury St. Edmunds (now the West Suffolk General Hospital). While holding this appointment he married the daughter of Mr. Nunn, the druggist in the town and later joined the business. This business has continued up to the present time and until recently has been known by the name of Nunn, Hinneil, and Burdon. He produced his Flora and included the name of Professor John Henslow as coauthor without Professor Henslow's consent, though no doubt Professor Henslow had given much help and this was Skepper's way of acknowledging his advice and authority. The Herbarium he collected when working on the Flora was given to the British Museum. THIS
He died in 1867 and was buried in Bury St. Edmunds. This flora remained the only one available until a much more extensive volume was produced by 3.
The Reverend Doctor William Hind
This man was one of that great Company of clergymen who were also amateur naturalists. He was born near Belfast of a Yorkshire family for his father had come over and set up a cotton mill there. He was educated at Belfast Academy and Trinity College, Dublin, where he graduated B.A. in 1839. " He took Holy Orders and was appointed curate at Derriaghy, Co. Down, where he first developed an interest in botany. He came to England and was appointed curate at Pulverback (1845-48) and held various other appointments that included perpetual curate of Pinner where he went to live in 1861 and made a careful study of the plants of Middlesex, which he reported in the Journal of Botany in 1871, giving the location of many of his finds. A note, however, of his finding the fern Cystopteris fragilis (L) Bernh. so much further south than usual, says it is new to Middlesex and "the exact locality is for evident reasons withheld". He made a prolonged visit to Cornwall and listed over 500 plants that he had found, communicating this information to the Journal of Botany in 1873 and a comment is made that no similar investigation had been carried out since that done by William Turner in the 16th Century. *See also F o r m e r Suffolk Naturalists, Vol. 13, page 406.
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In 1875 he was appointed rector of Honington where he remained until his death which took place suddenly when he was addressing a clerical conference at Walsham-le-Willows, on 13th September, 1894. While he was at Honington, he published his Flora of Suffolk. He had hoped to have the help of Rev. Dr. Churchill Babington, who was Rector of Cockfield as he was a lichenologist, but he was specially interested in the Birds of Suffolk about which he published a book. The work on this book and ill-health prevented him from giving more than advice which Dr. Hind acknowledges. Hind did, however, receive the help of a large number of local amateur botanists and he built up a herbarium, which he gave to the Ipswich Museum. He had previously made a herbarium from other places before he came to Suffolk and this he presented to Trinity College, Dublin, who in acknowledgement of this valuable gift conferred upon him the honorary doctorate of L.L.D. His knowledge of the local flora was extensive and he was a persevering and painstaking worker, but after his death, following a check against the specimens in the Ipswich Museum, C. E. Salmon in 1907 published a critical survey which shows some disagreement with Dr. Hind. This was published in the Journal of Botany. Nevertheless Hind's Flora first published in 1889 and subsequently edited by G. E. Druce has not yet been superceded by an up to date Flora of the County. REFERENCES
Obituary Journal of Botany 1894, 352. Middlesex Plants. Journal of Botany 1871, 272. Cornish Plants. Journal of Botany 1873, 37. Salmon, C. E. Journal of Botany 1907, 388. D . J. M A R T I N