210 



honored amoii^ botanists, he was excelled by his rare ability for 

 instructing in botanical subjects those who possessed little or no 

 knowledge of the science. His clearness of diction, his pleasing 

 style and his ready adaptability to the character of his readers did 

 much to popularize the science, and especially to induce those 

 practically interested la gardening and horticulture to inform 

 themselves more fully of the science on which their art depended. 

 Garden and Forest^ in a notice of Dr. Thurber, expresses the 

 opinion that his writings did more in his time to elevate the 

 standing of the agricultural and horticultural press of the country 

 than the writings of any other man. Graminology was his well 

 known specialty and there were few, either in this country or 

 abroad, who were his equals. The regret must be universal that 

 he did not live to complete his monograph upon American 

 Grasses. His last paper, 'upon the j)oisonous hairs of Primula 

 obionicay published in Gardoi and Forest^ was one In the 

 writing of which he took the greatest interest and to which he 

 devoted all the enthusiasm ofhisby-gune youth. 



To the members of the Torrey Botanical Club Dr. Thurber 

 was best known as the long-time President of our Association, 

 Tn March, 1873, he wrote the obituary notice of his warm and 

 life-long friend. Dr. Torrey, at that time the President of the Club, 

 and the following month he acted as Chairman of a committee, in 

 association with Mr. Leggett and Mr. Hall, in drafting formal 

 resolutions concerning the death of this gentleman. On the 29th 

 of April, 1S73, he was elected as Dr. Torrey's successor, our 

 present associate, Dr. T. F. Allen, serving with him as Vice- 

 President. This position he occupied for a long series of years — 

 as long as he was able to give attention to the proceedings of the 

 association or to be present at its meetings. In 1 880 he was 

 succeeded in the Presidency by Dr. Newberry. 



Dr. lluirber was accustomed to saving every letter which he 

 received, however unimportant the subject, so that there is mater- 

 ial for greatly extending this brief notice. 



His library and collections were left for the benefit of his 

 nephew, Harry Woolson. The bulk of his collections will proba- 

 bly be deposited in the Harvard herbarium. 



