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Obituary Notice of Sir Robert Christison, Bart

John Hutton Balfour Hon. Sec. M.D.

To cite this article: John Hutton Balfour Hon. Sec. M.D. (1883) Obituary Notice of Sir Robert Christison, Bart , Transactions of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh, 14:1-4, 266-277, DOI: 10.1080/03746608309468412

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Download by: [University of Cambridge] Date: 13 June 2016, At: 18:04 266 Obituary Notice.

Ordinary Fellows elected during 1880- 81. JAMES BREBNER. JAMES GALLOWAY. PATRICK GEDDES. JAMES ALEXANDER, Jun. JOHN M. MACFARLANE. GEORGE MURRAY. ANGUS ALEXANDER M cLEOD. WILLIAM E. DIXON. JOHN WHYTE. FRANK CURWEN BEDDARD. JOHN C. POTTAGE. WILLIAM IVISON MACADAM JAMES M. ANDERSON, S. S. C.

Non-Resident Fellows. ROBERT HALLWAY GUNNING, M.D. DANIEL SCOTT.

Members resigned, . 3 Members deceased, . 5

Total Number on Society's Roll of Fellows. Resident, . 155 Non-Resident, 221 Lady Associates, 10 Associates, . 30

Obituary Notice of Sir Robert Christison, Bart. By JOHN HUTTON BALFOUR, M.D., Hon. Sec.

(Read 9th February 1882.) We have to record this night the death of one of our most distinguished members, Sir ROBERT CHRISTISON, Bart. This event took place on Friday, 27th January 1882. Robert Christison was born on 18th July 1797. His father filled the Chair of Humanity in the from 1806 to 1820. He was educated at the High School of Edinburgh, and afterwards prosecuted Downloaded by [University of Cambridge] at 18:04 13 June 2016 his studies, literary, classical, and medical, at the Uni- versity of Edinburgh, commencing in 1811. He received the degree of M.D. in 1819. His twin brother was the late minister of Foulden, in Berwickshire. His elder brother, John, who is now also dead, was an Advocate in Edinburgh. Before practising in Edinburgh, Dr Christison prosecuted his medical studies in and . In the latter city he had the opportunity of studying chemistry under Robiquet, and under Orfila. During Sir R. Christison. 267 Christison's residence in Paris the following eminent " Pharmaciens" (thus entitled) were in the French School of Pharmacy, viz., Pelletier, Caventou, Desfosses, Lasaigne, Robert, Henri, G-uibourt, Braconnot, Chevalier, Vauquelin, Robinet, and others. On his return from the Continent of Europe he com- menced medical practice in Edinburgh as a physician. In 1822 (when 25 years of age) he was appointed by the Crown Professor of Medical Jurisprudence in the University of Edinburgh as successor to Dr Alison. In 1823 he became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh. Christison married in 1827 Henrietta Sophia, daughter of Mr David Brown of Greenkno we, Stirlingshire. Mrs Christison died in 1849. Three sons were born of this marriage ; the eldest, Alexander, born in 1828, now a Deputy-Surgeon General in the Bengal Army, succeeds to the baronetcy. In 1829 Dr Christison published his excellent Treatise on Poisons, and was immediately recognised to be one of the most eminent of toxicologists. His opinion of the duty of a toxicologist at a trial is well given in the Pharmaceutical Journal. In reference to trials before the high criminal court, he remarks as follows :—" While the medical witness ought to be always prepared to give full effect to every medical circumstance favourable to the prisoner, he should at the same time recollect that very few trials indeed take place in Britain, where it is not in the highest degree probable that poison was given ; and consequently that the main purpose of his inquiries must be to bring together

Downloaded by [University of Cambridge] at 18:04 13 June 2016 the whole medical evidence to this effect, and to secure it against the doubts which the ingenuity of counsel is sure to throw over his conclusions, if the premises are anywhere false or defective." In 1832 he vacated his Jurisprudence Professorship, having been elected to the chair of Materia Medica in the University, then vacant by the death of Dr Duncan, junior, and he kept this position till 1877, when he retired on account of the state of his health. He also discharged clinical duties in the Infirmary during most of his long professional career, 268 Obituary _Notice. Christison was a distinct and successful lecturer, and the excellent museum which he founded in connection with his chair has contributed much to the study of Materia Modica. As a member of the Senatus A cademicus, he was elected five times in succession by his colleagues to be their Assessor in the University Court. He was most untiring in his efforts to advance the interests of the University, whether in providing more building accom- modation or in obtaining greater endowments. On. two occasions, in 1838 and 1816, he was elected President of the Royal College of Physicians, and that body commissioned his portrait to be taken by the late Sir John Watson Gordon. About this time he was appointed Physician to the Queen. In 1857 Christison was nominated by the Crown to represent the profession in at the General Medical Council. On the death of Sir David Brewster he was elected President of the Edinburgh Royal Society, and held office from 1868 till 1873. At the close of his term, his portrait in oil was again commissioned to be taken for preservation in the hall of the Society. In 1875 he presided over the Edinburgh meeting of the British Medical Association. He was also proposed as President of the British Association in 1876, but declined an honour which threatened to overtax his strength at his time of life. In 1866 the University of Oxford conferred on him the degree of D.C.L. ; and in 1871 the University of Edinburgh made him an LL.D. ; while in November of the same year, on the recommendation of Mr Gladstone, he received from the Queen the rank of Baronet of the United Kingdom.

Downloaded by [University of Cambridge] at 18:04 13 June 2016 The jubilee of his professorial service in the University of Edinburgh was celebrated on the 23rd February 1872. During his retirement from active work, Christison became specially interested in the growth of trees in various parts of Scotland and in the Edinburgh Botanic Garden. His sons, as well as Mr Sadler, assisted him much in his various measurements, which have been published in the Transactions of the Botanical Society. It is to be hoped that these observations, especially in the Botanic Garden, will still be continued, and the results periodically published. Sir R. Chifistison. 269 Professor Christison took a deep interest in poisons, as shown in his published volume, and he made many experiments on their action and preparation. He some- times went too far in making experiments on himself, of which the following occurrence, in reference to the Cala- bar bean (Physastigma), furnishes a remarkable instance. In the course of some experiments which he was making on this bean, not at that time ascertained to be poisonous, he brought home with him a piece of a bean, and finding it to be neither bitter nor acrid, he chewed a considerable portion. Soon, however, symptoms of poisoning came on, he immediately emptied his stomach by swallowing his shaving water, and he was only with difficulty saved by remedies applied by his friends Professors Simpson and Maclagan. He was summoned as a scientific witness in the trials of Burke and Hare in Edinburgh, in that of Palmer in London, and, indeed, for many years in all important criminal cases of poisoning. In referring to such trials, the Lord Justice-General stated that Dr Christison was, perhaps, the only man he had ever met with in open court who refused to be brow-beaten by counsel endeavouring to undermine his evidence. In 1861 Christison was elected Captain of the Uni- versity Volunteer Corps. At the celebration of his professorial jubilee in 1872, his corps presented their chief with a valuable sword, at the same time em- phasising the watchful care with which he had discharged his regimental duties, and his constant supervision of the drill.

Downloaded by [University of Cambridge] at 18:04 13 June 2016 Sir Robert was fond of music, and Sir Herbert Oakeley has well shown the opinion he entertained of Christison's musical tastes in publicly speaking of the great loss which his decease had caused to Edinburgh, and especially to its University Musical Society. As for myself, I cannot speak sufficiently of the happy days I have spent with him in the Botanic Garden. I have lost one who was also a kind physician to me during illness. Requiescat in pace. Within little more than twelve months we have had to lament the loss of three important medical men in 270 Obituary Notice. Edinburgh—Dr Andrew Wood, Professor Sanders, and Sir Robert Christison ; and I have the painful reminis- cence that all the three who attended me during my serious illness of two years' duration are now departed. The following is supplied by Mr TAYLOR :- Dr Christison joined our Botanical Society on July14,1836, —just four months after its foundation,—and at once dis- played that active interest on its behalf so much appreciated by all of us during his latter years. His work, as recorded in our Minute-books and Transactions, may be looked at under the following heads :—first, official service in the Council and in the President's chair; secondly, communications more or less in the line of his professional studies ; thirdly, contributions mainly of botanical observations made during vacation tours ; and fourthly, special papers on dendrology and dendrometry. We are also indebted to him for numerous donations to the Royal Botanic Garden, and to its associated Herbarium and Museum. Professor Christison was elected a Vice-President in 1837-38, and from that time till 1853 he held office of some kind. He demitted his Vice-Presidentship in 1840, but Mr Daniel Ellis, F.R.S.E., his successor, having sud- denly deceased, Dr Christison resumed office in March 1841, at the unanimous request of the Society, and was made President at next election. The Minute-books of those times show continuous well-directed effort, in regu- lating the affairs of the Library and Museum, in obtaining the Society's act of incorporation from the Town Council of Edinburgh, in effecting the housing of the Herbarium

Downloaded by [University of Cambridge] at 18:04 13 June 2016 and Library within the walls of the University, and in introducing the innovation of tea after our evening meet- ings. A blank of such services appears from 1853 till the close of December 1873, when the new baronet was elected President, an office which he continued to hold for three successive sessions. Sir Robert Christison's name stood first in the present Council list. Professor Christison's early communications, all short and pointed, whether papers or remarks made at dis- cussion time, were chiefly in the line of his special branch of academic teaching. In 1837 he is reported as Sir E. Christison. 271 having given aid in conducting experiments by Dr Douglas Maclagan on a new root (Marry) from Demerara, used by the natives for intoxicating fish. And in 1838, after a paper by the late Rev. Dr James Hamilton, D.D., " On the Gardens of the Ancient Hebrews," Professor Christison presented " Some Observations on the Preser- vation of Fruits and other Botanical Specimens in the Moist State." A concentrated solution of common salt made with the aid of a boiling heat was recommended, and specimens thus preserved for one, three, or five years were exhibited. At the same time dilute pyroligneous acetic acid of a den- sity 1008 was shown to be most suitable for pulpy fruits. This, with the well-known paper by Dr Greville on drying plants, read subsequently, was afterwards published by the Society as a separate pamphlet. In 1842 * Professor Christison called attention to the Assam tea plant, then a novelty of commerce, showing that different kinds of tea were produced by different modes of preparation. He showed by a set of examples of the preserved tea leaf, that the various forms were merely varieties of the same plant. The Society was also asked to inspect small rolls of tea sent twenty years previously as a present from the Emperor of

China to King George IV. Again, in 1868, -1- Professor Christison directed notice to the physiological effect of the juice of Scopolialurida, Dun. (Anisodus luridus, Link), in dilating the pupil of the eye to a great extent. In his own eyes dilatation so produced was visible for eight days. This remedy was a valuable addition to the Indian Phar- macopoeia. In a communication laid before us in February 1871, t Dr Christison related that somewhere between

Downloaded by [University of Cambridge] at 18:04 13 June 2016 1838 and 1842 he had memorialised the Board of Directors for India to introduce the Cinchona culture into that country. Even then the American forests of this valuable tree were being wasted, while the demand for the Cinchona alkaloids was so steadily increasing that the tree could apparently be successfully grown on great tracts of Indian waste lands at a remunerative profit. Though it was strongly backed by Dr Royle, the directors took no action

* Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Reports, p. 25. t Trans. Bot. Soc. Edin., vol. ix. p. 482. .T. Ibid., vol. xi. p. 110. 272 Obituary Notice.

on this memorial. The paper on the restorative and preservative virtues of the Peruvian cuca or coca-leaf (Erythroxylon Coca) in bodily fatigue from severe exer- cise,* is still a subject of popular conversation. The narrative of the ascent of Ben Vorlich by the experimen- talist, quite out of the habit of much exercise for five months, and carrying the weight of seventy-eight years, together with its side hints of previous athletic perform- ances, mark the unique nature of this most vividly in- teresting communication. Under this head also falls the paper " On the Botanical Source of the Turkey (or Rus- sian) Rhubarb-root of Commerce " ; also, the " Notice of a Polyporus from Canada with specimens." The presidential addresses of 1874 and 1875, one " On the History of the Edinburgh Botanic Garden," § the other " On a Visit to Lochearnhead,"Il well represent the nature of Sir Robert Christison's papers on general botany. There are also several notices by him of remarkable beeches and crab-apple trees at Eccles House,i Newbattle,** and Kelloe,ft as well as " On a Station for .Primula Penis in Coldingham Bay, Berwickshire." tt The paper " On a Tree struck by Lightning," §§ one of several on this subject, applies the skilled diagnosis of the consulting physician to such arboreal destruction. The research into " The Exact Measurement of Trees " extends over five papers; IIIf it indeed occupied Sir Robert's attention in his last illness. Beginning with an inquiry into the true age of the Fortingall yew, the first paper exposes the error of De Candolle's rule for measuring the age of old and middle-aged trees, after their first season of rapid and irregular

Downloaded by [University of Cambridge] at 18:04 13 June 2016 growth, by decades of years ; and then goes on to particu- larise a special method of dendrometry. The second paper attempts to fix the rate of growth of the adult beech and the young Sequoia, so far as the measurements of a single year go. While the third paper concerns the rate of growth

Trans. Bot. Soc. Edin., vol. xii. p. 478. + Ibid., vol. xiii. p. 403. Ibid., vol. xii. p. 180. § Ibid., vol. xii. p. 189. Ibid., vol. xiii. p. 395 IT Ibid., vol. xii. p. 110. Ibid., vol. xii. p. 179. 11. ibid., vol. xii. p. 186. 13 Ibid., vol. xii. p. 46. §§ Ibid., vol. xii. p. 497. II II Ibid., vol. xii. p. 497 ; vol. xiii. p. 217; vol. xiii. p. 394 ; vol. xiii. p. 410; vol. xiv. p. 79. Sir R. Christison. 273 of the yew at various ages, concluding with special appli- cation to the Fortingall yew, according to De Candolle, " the most venerable specimen of vegetation in Europe." Two subsequent memoirs diverge into inquiries suggested by the recent abnormal seasons. And though death has arrested the original work of the venerable author of this new mode of dendrometry, other hands have taken it up, both in India and Scotland, with rich promise. Sir Robert also took an active part in the annual autumn meetings of the Scottish Arboricultural Society, having joined in 1876. Sir Robert Christison's donations to the Museum at the Royal Botanic Garden, especially in the line of his new method of tree measurement, were very numerous. The uniquely beautiful printed labels, done by himself when over eighty years of age, at once attract the eye. His last contribution to the Herbarium, given so late as 7th October 1881, testifies partly in German, partly in Romaic print, that the specimen in question of Allosorus crispus, was gathered in Corry-na-Ciste, Ben. Nevis, 3250 feet above the sea-level, at the foot of the great precipice, on August 29, 1881. This specimen was brought to him by his sons. At that time his strength was unequal to so arduous an exertion. But only two years previously, when, in his eighty-second year, he made the ascent of Ben Vrackie, near Pitlochry, without much fatigue. Mr SADLER remarks that Sir Robert Christison, for some years past, took a great interest in the growth of certain trees in the Botanic Garden and Arboretum. These he had marked at a certain height from the ground and

Downloaded by [University of Cambridge] at 18:04 13 June 2016 numbered by means of white paint, hence his periodical measurements of them were always taken. at the same place, and duly recorded in a book which he kept for the purpose. These measurements will be continued and recorded in the same book, and thus become valuable for reference in after years. Near the entrance gate to the Botanic Garden, Sir Robert, in July 1861, planted a healthy young plant of Sequoia (Wellingtonia) gigantea. It was then a little over 6 feet in height. About eight years ago it unfortunately lost its leader, which was quickly succeeded by another. On having it accurately measured in September last, or 274 Obituary Notice. over twenty years since it was planted, its height was found to be 242 feet, circumference at 3 feet from ground 47.50 inches, and at 5 feet 41.50. Mr ALEXANDER BUCHAN makes the following remarks :-- Only a few days before Sir Robert Christison's illness, he called at the office of the Scottish Meteorological Society, and in the course of conversation mentioned that the Direc- tors of the Highland and Agricultural Society had asked him to furnish them with a paper on the measurement of trees, with directions for the guidance of observers. About a year ago Sir Robert prepared a similar paper for the Council of the Meteorological Society, and as that paper was in type, I offered to forward a proof of it to Moray Place. The offer was declined, Sir Robert preferring to write, quite independently, the paper for the Highland and Agri- cultural Society. The paper, written during his last ill- ness in his usual small and beautifully distinct hand, was drawn up with a clearness, directness, and precision equal to his best days, and showed that, though physically pros- trated, his mental faculties and steadiness of hand were retained in unimpaired vigour. After revising the proof of this paper, he asked for a proof of the paper prepared for the Meteorological Society, which he finally revised, this being the last literary work done by him. During the last three years Sir Robert paid particular attention to the effects of the memorable frosts of December 1879 and January 1881, as shown in the destruction of forest trees, one of the chief objects in view being to ascer- tain what trees pass uninjured through periods of such low

Downloaded by [University of Cambridge] at 18:04 13 June 2016 temperatures as the experience of these winters shows to occur in our Scottish climate. The Hungarian oak was especially noted by him as coming unscathed through great frosts, and for these reasons was strongly recommended to be more extensively introduced into this country than has yet been done. During his last illness he asked me to prepare for him a statement of the climate, particularly the winter temperatures, of the districts of the Carpathian Mountains which are the habitat of this oak, but his death took place before there was time to collect the data required. Sir B. Christison. 275 The following bibliographical list includes most of Sir Robert Christison's printed works :—

Volumes. Treatise on Poisons—lst ed., 1829 ; 2nd ed., 1831 ; 3rd ed., 1836 ; 4th ed., 1845. Treatise on the Kidneys. 1839. Dispensatory-1st ed., 1842; 2nd ed., 1848.

Articles " Poison " in 7th ed.,, and " Orfila" in 8th ed., Encyclo- pcedia Britannica.

Christison rendered assistance in the Edinburgh Phar- macopceia, and also for some time in the editorial work of the Edinburgh Medical Journal.

Papers read before the Royal Society of Edinburgh. On the Effects of Poisonous Gases on Vegetation. By Edward Turner and R. Christison. 1827 or 1828. Poisoning with Opium. Poisoning with Elder Flowers and Leaves. 1830. Analysis of the Vegetable Milk of the Hya-Hya Tree of Demerara. 1830. Chemical Examination of the Petroleum of Rangoon. 7th Feb. 1831. —Trans., vol. xiii. p. 118. On the Effects of Opium Eating on Health and Longevity. 1832. Lettre stir differentes Sortes d'Opium. 1835. Downloaded by [University of Cambridge] at 18:04 13 June 2016 On the Poisonous Properties of Hemlock and its alkaloid Conia. 1836.—Trans., vol. xiii. p. 383. On the Sources and Composition of Gamboge, with an Examina- tion of some analogous Concrete Juices. 1836.—Proc., vol. i. p. 123. Notices regarding the Composition of Juices resembling Gamboge. —Proc., vol. i. p. 151. Notice upon the Alcoholic Strength of Wines. 1839. —Proc., vol. i. p. 249. Exhibition of Specimens of Tea from Assam. 184 2.—Proc., vol. i. p. 382. 276 Obituary Notice.

On the Action of Water on Lead. 1842.—Proc., vol. i. p. 358. Observations of the Poisonous Properties of ffnanthe crocata. 1844.—Proc., vol. i. p. 453. On the Composition of Bones from Arthur Seat. 1846. —Proc., vol. ii. p. 88. The Influence of various circumstances in Vegetation in modi- fying the Physiological Actions of Plants. 1840-43.—Proc., vol. i. pp. 286, 437. On Scurvy : its connection with a purely Saccharo-farinaceous Diet. 1847. Observations on a new variety of Gamboge from Wynaad, Mysore. 1847.—Proc., vol. ii. p. 58. Supplement to the Paper of Mr Robert Little on the Habitual Use of Opium, more especially the Mode of Cure. 1850. On the Gamboge Tree of Siam. 1850.—Proc., vol. ii. p. 263. An A ccount of some Experiments on the Diet of Prisoners. 1852.—Proc., vol. iii. p. 130. On a new Source of Kino. 1853. On the Properties of the Ordeal Bean of Old Calabar. 1855.— Proc., vol. iii. p. 280. On a new Poison from China. 1859 —Proc., vol. iv. p. 163. On the Capture of Whales with the aid of Poison. 1860.— Proc., voL iv. p. 270. Opening Address—Sessions 1867, 1868, 1871, 1872. Notice of a remarkable Mirage observed on the Firth of Forth. 1869.—Proc., vol. vi. p. 472. Observations on the Fresh Waters of Scotland. December 1871. —Proc., vol. vii. p. 547. On the Action of Water on Lead. 1872.—Trans., vol. xv. p. 265. Note on a White Sunbow.—Proc., vol. ix. p. 542.

Downloaded by [University of Cambridge] at 18:04 13 June 2016 On the Composition of the Flesh of the Salmon in the " clean " and " foul " condition. April 1872. —Proc., vol. vii. p. 694. On Fossil Trees of Granton Quarry. 1871-72.—Proc., vol. viii. p. 377. Notice of Fossil Trees lately uncovered at Craigleith Quarry. 1872-73.—Trans., vol. xxvii. p. 203.

For Papers read to the BOTANICAL SOCIETY of Edinburgh, vide pages 271 and 272 previously. Sir R. Christiscm. 277

Pamphlets. Biographical Sketch of Edward Turner, M.D. A Paper on Granular Degeneration of the Kidney, in 1839. The Dispensatory : a Commentary on the Pharmacopoeias of Great Britain, in 1842. On Poisoning by Oxalic Acid. 1823. On the Detection of minute Quantities of Arsenic in Mixed Fluids. 1824. Accounts of several cases of Poisoning in the Medico-Chirurgical Transactions— Medical Evidence in the case of Mrs Smith. Cases and Observations in Medical Jurisprudence. Cases of Poisoning with Sulphuric Acid, and cases of Poison- ing with Arsenic, Opium, and Elder Flowers. On Poisonous Properties of the Bark of Laburnum. On the Effects of Opium. 1832 and 1870. On the Constitution of Oil. 1825. On the cause of Milky and of Orange-like appearance of Urine. 1830. On a variety of Dropsy. 1829. On Typhoid Fever. 1846. On a variety of Gamboge. 1846. On Scurvy. 1846, 1847. Observations on the System of Clinical Instruction in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. Deecmber 9, 1848. Clinical Lecture on Bright's Disease of the Kidneys. March 11 and 18, 1851. On Medical Evidence. 1851. Experiments on the Diet of Prisoners. 1852. On the Effect of Cuca or Coca : the Leaves of Erythroxylon Coca. 1876. Address on Public Health, delivered to the Association for the Downloaded by [University of Cambridge] at 18:04 13 June 2016 Encouragement of Social Science, held in Edinburgh, October 7, 1853. On the Distribution of Fever Patients in Hospital. 1850. On the Changes in the Constitution of Fevers and Inflammations in Edinburgh. 1858. An Address on Therapeutics, delivered at Twenty-sixth Annual Meeting of the Medical Association in Edinburgh. 1868. On some of the Medico-Legal Relations of the Habit of Intem- perance, read to the Royal College of Surgeons. 1861. Medical Lectures : The Faults with which they are charged, and the Remedy. 1862. Action and Uses of Alcohol in Health and Disease. 1878.