53 



S. B. Mead, of Illinois, W. S. SuUivant, of Ohio, Wm. Darlington, of 

 Pennsylvania, F. Lindheimer, of Texas, Geo. Engelmann,of Missouri, 

 Wm. Boott, of Massachusetts, and T. J. Hale, of Wisconsin. Sets 

 from the Red River of the North, collected by C. A. Hubbard, and 

 from Texas by Berlandier, still contain many specimens not fully 

 determined. The list of those making smaller additions is very long, 

 and a few names only need be mentioned : Chester Dewey, John 

 Torrey, Asa Gray, Leo Lesquereux, J. W. Robbins, Geo. Vasey and 

 Alphonso Wood. Dr. Parry sent Colorado plants, and S. B. Buckley 

 and M. A. Curtis Southern plants. This list of distinguished bot- 

 anists will indicate the valuable character of the specimens, some of 

 which are accompanied by the collector's comments or memoranda. 



The most important series of published Exsiccati in the herbarium 

 are ^'Herbarium Juncorum Boreali-Americanum" of Engelmann, con- 

 taining loo numbers, and *^ Specimina Exsiccata Muscorum " of Sul- 

 livant and Lesquereux, containing over 350 numbers. The genus 

 Erica embraces 75 species, mostly from the herbarium of N. I^ Sart- 

 well, and gathered at the Cape of Good Hope. The Characeae^ fill- 

 ing two portfolios, are now in the hands of Dr. T. F. Allen for verifi- 

 cation. The herbarium is especially complete in grasses and sedges, 

 probably the result of a study of these orders in preparing his volume 

 on the " Gramineae of the United States-'' This work, which still re- 

 mains in manuscript, was begun under the direction of the U. S. 

 Patent Office, but for some unexplained reason was summarily inter- 

 rupted by the Commissioner. Some idea of the fulness of the re- 

 mainder of the collection may be conveyed by stating that the genus 

 Raminciiliis contains 83, Aster 123, and Solidago 117 specimens, rep- 

 resenting nearly as many species. 



This, like many large private herbaria, has been greatly injured 

 by insects. Even at the present time no provision is made to have 

 their ravages checked, although it is known that the whole collection 

 is badly infested. Besides the herbarium j>rqper there is a large 

 number of duplicates intended for exchanges, which are mostly in 

 good condition. 



I take pleasure in acknowledging my indebtedness for informa- 

 tion regarding Dr. Lapham's botanical labors to members of his fam- 

 ily, and especially to his daughter, Miss Julia A. Lapham. 



Madison, Wis. 



J. C- Arthur. 



48. Alphonso Wood.— In the death of Alphonso Wood, which 

 occurred at his residence in West Farms, N. Y., Jan. 4th, 1881, Nat- 

 ural History loses an enthusiastic, hard-working devotee, and the 

 Torrey Botanical Club one of its most useful and respected members. 

 Prof. Wood was born in Chesterfield, N. H., Sept. 17th, 1810, and 

 was consequently at the time of his death in the 71st year of his age. 

 His ancestors emigrated from England eighteen years after the land- 

 ing of the Pilgrims, and settled at Concord, Mass., in 1638. He was 

 the sixth remove from William Wood, the founder of the family in 

 America. His boyhood up to the age of 15 was spent at home on the 

 farm, where he dWided his time between rural employments and at- 

 tending the village school and academy. Subsequently, his winters 



