244 THE BOTANISTS OF PII I I.ADELPHIA. 



and upland alternating, and furnishing a large variety of 

 plants. Among these were several of the orchidaceous 

 plants, such as Orchis spedabilis, Habenaria grandiflora, 

 Cypripedium pubescens, etc.; of these, the Habenaria grand i- 

 flora is no longer an inhabitant of the farm, the springy 

 swamp in which it grew having been drained and 

 brought into cultivation. As an illustration of the num- 

 ber of species which grew on the Westtown. farm, he once 

 collected a herbarium of such flowering plants as were 

 found on that area, including ferns, and it numbered 600 

 species, although his knowledge of grasses, Cyperaceae, 

 was quite imperfect. Within easy reach of the school were 

 outcrops of serpentine, and the belt of hydro-mica schists to 

 the south of the great limestone valleys, which added con- 

 siderably to the botanical riches of that section of country. 



In those days Joseph Walton was far more of a collector 

 than a student, but he believes no one can enthusiastically 

 collect objects of any kind, without acquiring at the same 

 time a considerable amount of knowledge respecting them. 



After leaving Westtown, he entered Haverford School 

 (now College). During his three years' residence there, he 

 contracted an intimate friendship with Edward Tatnall, of 

 Wilmington, Delaware, whose tastes were similar to his 

 own, and together they scoured the adjacent territory in 

 pursuit of specimens. 



On leaving Haverford in the tall of 1836, he was 

 employed at Westtown as one of the teachers, and con- 

 tinued there for ten years. During this period his botanical 

 studies were still continued. He left Westtown in 184(5, 

 and after about one year's interval, entered into business in 

 Philadelphia. Very little botanical progress was made at 

 this time, except as he occasionally met with some inter- 



