Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 57.djvu/237

Trimleston  as the model for county floras. After having for some time assisted Dr. Berthold Seemann with the 'Journal of Botany,' Trimen became assistant editor in 1870, and on Seemann's death in 1871 succeeded him as editor. From 1875 to 1880 he issued, in conjunction with Professor Robert Bentley, his second important work, 'Medicinal Plants,' which appeared in forty-two parts, and contains coloured figures of most of the species in the 'Pharmacopœia.' Trimen acted for many years as lecturer on botany at St. Mary's Hospital; but in 1879 he was appointed to succeed [q. v.] as director of the botanical gardens at Peradeniya, Ceylon. Besides a thorough rearrangement of the plants in these gardens in scientific order, and much work at economic botany, especially quinology, which is recorded in his annual official reports, Trimen diligently explored the island, collecting materials for a flora. In 1885 he published a catalogue of the plants of the island with their vernacular names, and in 1893 the first volume of his magnum opus, 'A Handbook to the Flora of Ceylon.' This work, which is somewhat misnamed, since it occupies several bulky volumes, he did not live to complete; but his materials have been placed in the hands of Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, who has now nearly finished the work. Trimen died unmarried at Kandy on 16 Oct. 1896, and was buried near his predecessor, Dr. Thwaites, in the Mahaiyawa cemetery. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society on 7 June 1888, and was also a fellow of the Linnean Society. His name was given by Dr. King of Calcutta to a magnificent Cingalese banyan-like species of fig, Ficus Trimeni. In addition to the three important works above mentioned, fifty papers by him are enumerated in the Royal Society's 'Catalogue of Scientific Papers.'

 TRIMLESTON, third. [See Barnewall, John (DNB00), 1470–1538].

TRIMMER, JOSHUA (1795–1857), geologist, the eldest son of Joshua Kirkby Trimmer, was born at North Cray in Kent on 11 July 1795. When he was about four years old his parents removed to Brentford, Middlesex, to be near his grandmother, Mrs. [q. v.], the authoress. The child spent much time in her company, and she had great influence in forming his character. From 1806 he was instructed by William Davison, curate of New Brentford, and at the age of nineteen was sent to North Wales to manage a copper-mine for his father. Afterwards he was in charge of a farm in Middlesex, but returned in 1825 to oversee some slate-quarries near Bangor and Carnarvon. As he had been always fond of natural history, these occupations turned his thoughts especially to geology, and during his stay in North Wales he made the important discovery that sands containing marine-fossils of existing species lie under a boulder clay almost on the summit of Moel Tryfaen, fully 1,350 feet above sea level. Quitting Wales about 1840 he was for some time employed upon the geological survey of England, but after that spent the remainder of his life in Kent, residing, at any rate for part of the time, at Faversham.

Trimmer was elected a fellow of the Geological Society in 1832, and in 1841 published a book entitled 'Practical Geology and Mineralogy;' he was also, according to the Royal Society's catalogue, the author of twenty-four papers. These, as might be expected from his interest in agriculture, related chiefly to the more superficial deposits of the earth's crust, in the classification of which he made important advances, distinguishing them into northern drift and warp drift; dividing the former and older into a lower or boulder clay, and an upper sand and gravel; and showing that the more widely distributed warp drift rests on an eroded surface of one of these deposits or of some older rock, and is in immediate connection with the surface soil. Owing to his intimate knowledge of these subjects his advice on questions of drainage, planting, and the more scientific aspects of agriculture was much valued. While engaged in writing a book on the geology of agriculture he died, unmarried, in London on 16 Sept. 1857.

[Obituary notice Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc. 1858, vol. xiv. p. xxxii.]

 TRIMMER, . SARAH (1741–1810), authoress, born at Ipswich on 6 Jan. 1741, was the only daughter of [q.v.], by his wife Sarah, daughter of Mr. Bull of Framlingham. Sarah attended a school at Ipswich kept by Mrs. Justinier. In 1755 she settled with her parents in London. Her brother, who died on 13 July 1771 (cf., Life of William Kirby, p. 11), was studying painting at Ipswich under Gainsborough, who was a friend of the elder Kirby, and a correspondence was maintained between the brother and sister. The father, on reading Sarah's letters, judged her capable of literary composition. She met Dr. 