Career
His first schooling was at Leicester where he met Henry Walter Bates and Alfred Russel Wallace. He returned to his native Fenlands in 1848 and began to devote his prodigious energy to science. At first his attention was taken up by insects, birds, shells and fossils, and it was only after 1860 that he became preoccupied with botany, corresponding with Cardale Babington, John Gilbert Baker and Arthur Bennett.
His intimate knowledge of plants led to his considering a flora of Huntingdonshire, but his growing fascination with Potamogetons, or "Pots" as he termed them, claimed priority.
During this period Fryer was growing Potamogetons in tanks placed in his garden, tracking their development together with that of their numerous wild counterparts. Morgan"s colour plates delighted Fryer and were praised by later critics.
