correspondence, part of which is preserved in the British Museum (Addit. MS. 29281), gives many details on these matters. His mind was also much occupied with the financial questions of the day, and he became well known in banking circles by the publication of the following works: 1. ‘Remarks on the Impolicy of repealing the Bank Restriction Bill,’ 1802. 2. ‘Guineas, an unnecessary and expensive Incumbrance on Commerce,’ 1802, 2nd edition 1803. 3. ‘A Letter to the Right Hon. Lord King in Defence of the Conduct of the Directors of the Banks of England and Ireland,’ 1804. 4. ‘The Disadvantage of the new Plan of Finance,’ 1807. 5. ‘Remarks on the new Doctrine concerning the supposed Depreciation of our Currency,’ 1811. His health was so seriously affected by the London winters, that at the close of 1809 he retired from business and went to live at Penzance. There he became a partner in the Penzance Union Bank; served the office of mayor in 1816; aided Dr. Paris and Mr. Ashhurst Majendie to found the Geological Society of Cornwall; took an active share in promoting the Penzance Public Library, and furnished to Sir Thomas Bernard valuable evidence as to the pernicious effects of the duties on salt. In 1821 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He died at Alverton, Penzance, 8 April 1827. He married, 26 Oct. 1794, Anne, the only child of Matthew Craige of Walsall, by whom he left a large family.
[An Account of the Family of Boase (1876), pp. 4–8.]
BOASE, HENRY SAMUEL, M.D. (1799–1883), geologist, was the eldest son of Henry Boase [q. v.] of Madron — the parish in which Penzance is situated. He was born in Knightsbridge — his mother being Anne, the daughter of Matthew Craige — on 2 Sept. 1799. Boase received his earliest education at the school kept in those days in Sloane Street by the Messrs. Watson. He was removed in 1814 to the grammar school at Tiverton, but showing at this time a fondness for chemistry — a science then rendered fashionable by the discoveries made by Humphry Davy — he was sent, in 1815, to Dublin, to pursue his studies under the direction of Dr. Edmund Davy, then professor of chemistry in the university of that city. After a few years Boase proceeded to Edinburgh, and studied medicine in that university, being admitted to his M.D. degree in 1821. His first independent start in life was made at Penzance, where he practised with considerable success as a physician for several years. Boase's scientific education rendered him a valuable member of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall, of which he was secretary from 1822 to 1829, and he delivered occasional lectures on chemistry to the members. But he soon turned to geology, and undertook a thorough examination of the primary rocks of the interesting county of Cornwall. In 1829 he began to collect specimens, and to study with considerable earnestness the geological phenomena of that important mineral district. He pursued also at the same time a chemical investigation into the constitution of the older rocks, and of the metalliferous deposits which they enclose. This inquiry led him in 1836 to publish in Thompson's 'Records a description of an earth — similar to Donaria, obtained by Bergemann from the organite of Brevig in Norway — which has, however, been proved by later investigations to be identical with Thorina.
In 1832 Boase commenced, in the fourth volume of the 'Transactions of the Cornwall Geological Society,' his 'Contributions towards a Knowledge of the Geology of Cornwall,' and he contributed to Mr. Davies Gilbert's 'Parochial History of Cornwall' succinct descriptions of the geology of each parish in the county. In 1834 he published 'A Treatise on Primary Geology' (London, 8vo ).
The connection of his father with banking led Boase to become a partner in the Penzance Union Bank, which position he retained from 1823 to 1828.
Desiring to associate with the active scientific world, Boase removed to London, and resided in Burton Crescent during the years 1837 and 1838. He did not secure the recognised position which he desired, but he was, on 4 May 1837, admitted a fellow of the Royal Society.
Investigations into the chemistry of some tinctorial products and their application to textile fabrics brought Boase into familiar intercourse with some of the large bleaching and dyeing establisliments of Scotland. In 1838 he removed from London to Dundee, and became managing partner in the firm of Turnbull Brothers of the Claverhouse Bleachfield. This establishment benefited by the application of Boase's chemical knowledge to the bleaching processes. The 17th of July 1855 we find the date of a patent taken out by Boase for 'improvements in the process of drying organic substances.' He finally retired from business in 1871.
In the intervals of an active life Boase found opportunities for continuing his scientific studies, one of the results being the publication in 1860 of 'The Philosophy of
