Sibthorp  had  a  country  house  near  South  Leigh,  which  will  explain  the
frequent  references  to  that  portion  of  the  county.  His  descendants  have
been  munificent  donors  to  the  church  there.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind,
that  since  his  time,  field  enclosure  has  taken  place,  most  of  the  commons
have  become  absorbed,  and  the  great  limestone  tract  of  the  west  brought
under  cultivation.  Hence  many  of  the  plants  he  mentions  have  become
rare  and  some  extinct.  Of  his  herbarium  of  British  plants  I  am  unable
to  find  a  trace,  and  whether  it  went  in  the  '  heap  of  waste  paper '  to  the
local  paper-mills  or  whether  its  fate  was  to  perish  at  the  hands  of  some
energetic  '  cleaner  out,1  is  an  open  question.  Some  portion  evidently
remained  to  comparatively  recent  times,  for  Mr.  Newbould  was  shown
a  small  bundle  by  Mr.  William  Baxter,  in  whose  craeftaV  \u»x&&  Sk  ^**
not  likely  to  suffer.  There  may  be  a  few  of  tixe  BedgeamT^T.C^o^ex^^^


3<J3  FLOBA  OF  OXFORDSHIRE.
Herbarium.  Fortunately  most  of  his  records  have  been  since  confirmed;
JBromit8  madriten&is  and  Carex  strigosa  being  the  most  notable  exceptions.
Dr.  Sheffield,  who  is  described  as  one  of  the  best  botanists  at  Oxford,
a  friend  and  contemporary  of  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  Dr.  Lightfoot,  and
Dr.  Sibthorp,  found  Carex  strigosa  in  Witham  Wood.
Sibthorp  was  buried  in  the  Abbey  Church  at  Bath,  where  there  is
a  monument  to  his  memory.
There  is  no  portrait  of  Sibthorp  in  the  Hope  Collection.
