MEMOIR 



OF 



THADDEUS WILLIAM HARRIS 



BY 



THOMAS WENTWORTH HIGGINSON. 



" Were I to be required to say, in one word, what is the system of 

 Nature, I should say Variety." 



Dr. HARRIS to EDWARD NEWMAN, 1844. 



ONE of the ablest of American botanists writes in respect 

 to Dr. Harris, " Of other genuine naturalists I have read, 

 but he is the only one I ever knew." This is hardly too 

 strong a statement of the loyalty entertained toward this emi- 

 nent man by those who had the privilege of being his pupils 

 in Natural History. In him there lived for us the very spirit 

 of Linnaeus, or whatever name best represents the simplest 

 and purest type of the naturalist. The personal attachment 

 thus won, the healthy influence thus exerted, and the slow 

 and gradual recognition of the merit of his methods, are a 

 form of success more congenial to the temperament of Dr. 

 Harris than would have been any more immediate and su- 

 perficial applauses. 



