1914] Deane,— Maria L. Owen 157 
Whatever Mrs. Owen undertook she entered into with all her heart 
and she never failed to inspire those with whom she came into contact 
with some of her own enthusiasm. She was blessed with many friends, 
all ready and anxious to learn from her and to aid her in whatever 
way it was possible. And so she had many keen helpers in her various 
undertakings, and this was especially the case in her studies of the 
Nantucket flora, with which botanists in general, and especially those 
not personally acquainted with her will chiefly associate her; and 
indeed those of us who enjoyed a long acquaintance with her fully 
realize what a large share of her botanical activities the fair island 
claimed. A work on this subject had long been planned, and, for 
many years, she patiently and enthusiastically covered the island 
in her researches, referring all doubtful species to those in authority 
and enlisting under her banner those botanical friends who could visit 
the island and scour its moors and ponds for species new to her list, 
and venture into treacherous bogs where Mrs. Owen said she could not 
be expected to go. In this way many an added species was found and 
welcomed by her with her customary enthusiasm. To those who were 
privileged to enjoy a long and friendly correspondence with her it will 
always be a source of great gratification to recall the lively interest that 
ach letter showed at a new discovery or extension of range. “Ecce 
Tillaea simplex!" was the way she began a letter on August 27, 1894, 
to the writer, when she announced the rediscovery of this choice plant 
in Nantucket three days before by Mrs. Mabel P. Robinson. It had 
there remained hidden from botanists for sixty-five years, ever since 
William Oakes reported it in 1829. 
Mrs. Owen's principal contributions to botany, outside of the vari- 
ous articles that have appeared in our journals from time to time, are 
two in number both relating to the island. The first is a “ Catalogue 
of Plants growing without Cultivation on the Island of Nantucket" 
in Edward K. Godfrey’s “The Island of Nantucket, its history, people, 
agriculture, botany, conchology and geology with maps to the town 
and island," published by Lee and Shepard in Boston in 1882. It is a 
small guide book of 365 pages and is extremely interesting, but we are 
especially concerned with the botanical part. This occupies pages 
38 to 47 inclusive and consists of an introduction and a list. As the 
work is rare and scarcely known to many of the botanists of to-day, 
! Botanical Gazette, xx, 80-81, 1895, 
