14:2 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN. 



servants, hunted the camel to his heart's content in its 

 native deserts, studied the animal and its habits at his 

 leisure, and thus prepared his treatise. The Frenchman, 

 reluctant to tear himself from the delights of Paris, hied 

 him to the Jardin d'Acclimatation, found and studied the 

 captive camels there, satisfied himself that nothing more 

 was necessary, and wrote a treatise in which whatever may 

 have been wanting in the way of natural history was made 

 up by sparkling wit. The German scientist repaired to 

 his study, and there, enveloped in clouds of smoke, evolved 

 a description of the camel from the depths of his own 

 consciousness. 



From this story we learn nothing about the methods of 

 investigation pursued by American scientists. But it is 

 our good fortune to have with us as guest this evenino-, an 

 eminent professor of the science of botany, who can give 

 us such information. May I ask Dr. Farlow, of Harvard 

 University, to tell us something about «'The Botanist as an 

 Investigator ? ' ' 



DR. FARLOW. 



Your invitation, Mr. Chairman to attend the meeting this 

 evening gave me a great deal of pleasure, I assure you, I 

 had hoped, when I arrived this morning, to be shown for 

 the first time the Shaw Garden under the leadership of 

 your Director. Unfortunately I missed him at the station 

 and was therefore entrusted to the tender mercies of a 

 driver. The St. Louis driver is probably like other drivers 

 and I hardly expected to find here or elsewhere a person 

 well informed in botanical matters in the shape of a driver. 

 But I found on arriving at the Garden that this St. Louis 

 driver was not content to take the fare he would have 

 charged any of you, but insisted upon taking me into the 

 Garden and describing the different objects of interest. 

 He seemed to be perfectly familiar with the arrangements 

 there and I was quite delighted with him, and I said to my- 



