126 
did not, until 1867, give himself up entirely to its pursuit. He 
spent five years, from January, 1856, to April, 1861, at Greens- 
boro, Alabama, as Secretary of the Planters’ Insurance Company, — 
and for some years after this he assisted Dr. Henry Barnard, of 
Hartford, Connecticut, in his literary work. 
His botanical career may be said to have begun when he 
joined the Clarence King Expedition as a volunteer botanist, in 
July, 1867. This expedition had for its object the geological 
exploration of the 4oth parallel in the Western United States, 
and Prof. W. W. Bailey was botanist in charge. In March, 1868, 
Prof. Bailey was obliged to resign his position, and Dr. Watson — 
became botanist to the expedition. The elaboration of the col- 
lections made was done mainly at Prof. D. C. Eaton’s Herba — 
rium at Yale College, New Haven, Connecticut, but he visited, 
also, the Gray Herbarium at Cambridge to complete his study of | 
some of the types of our western plants. Vol V. of the Us 
Geological Exploration of the 4oth Parallel contains the results 
of this work. It is a splendid example of critical acumen. 
His connection with the Gray Herbarium began in 1870, and 
continued till his death. He had charge of the immense collec: — 
tions there deposited, as well as of the library, and here it was 4 
that Dr. Watson’s literary botanical work was mainly done : 
Eighteen Contributions to American Botany appeared from his 
pen between the years 1873 and 1891. Most of them were pub-_ 
lished in the Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and 
Sciences. The value of these contributions cannot be overesti- 
mated. They contain, besides many other valuable articles 
monographs on the Roses of North America, the North Ameti- 
can Liliaceee and Chenopodiacez, and on many of our important 
genera, as Lupinus, Oenothera and Eriogonum. Hundreds of 
new species are described in these papers. Dr. Watson’s habit 
of careful observation, in whatever branch of study he had beet 
pursuing, especially fitted him for this kind of work, and the value _ 
of his descriptions is abundantly attested by all botanists. 
In 1878 was published the Biographical Index to North Amet — 
S86 Botany, Part I., Polypetala, a work of great value, which # : 
1s much to be regretted that he could not complete. The fist 
volume of the Botany of California, by Dr. Watson, Dr. As Gray 
