ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.] BIOGRAPHY 11 



numerical estimate of these various collections which Farlow brought together, but figures give 

 only a very inadequate idea of the value of the assembled material. In J.896, however, Farlow 

 made the statement that the cryptogamic collections (in largest degree due to his own efforts) 

 must number several hundred thousand. 



Farlow early appreciated the value of published sets of specimens ("Exsiccati" or "Exsic- 

 catae") and diligently sought out such as might be purchased. His success in this direction was 

 most extraordinary, so that in his Sketch of Cryptogamic Botany in Harvard University, he 

 states that between 1872 and 1896 there were brought together (and kept together as sets), 

 not including those complete or partial sets whose numbers were scattered through the general 

 herbarium, 75 different series, including 64,000 specimens representing about 23,000 distinct 

 species. From 1896 to 1919 he continued to add to this series, both of older and of current 

 issues. It is to be remembered that each of these specimens is a datum of reference, and it is 

 doubtful whether any such considerable collection of fundamental specimens exists anywhere 

 else. In connection with this unique collection of published specimens of the lower cryptogams, 

 it seems very desirable to note Farlow's attitude toward their preservation and arrangement. 

 He kept each series of specimens with their printed labels, title pages of the fascicles, etc., together 

 and intact, while the more usual method is to separate them from one another and distribute 

 them through the general collection. By the latter method, the relation of the series, date of 

 issue, etc., is lost. The specimens cease to be integral parts of a " published " series and 

 are often difficult of location in the general collection because of shifting views as to 

 synonymy, etc. Under Farlow's method the specimen, usually quoted by number, is readily 

 located and all data as to details of publication may be readily ascertained. To facilitate access, 

 Farlow indexed all these specimens and even made the proper cross references, so that the 

 existing status of a specimen might readily be ascertained, or all published specimens relating 

 to a certain species might readily be found and comparison made. Farlow left these collections, 

 both general and published, to Harvard University under certain conditions. It is to the credit 

 of those concerned in carrying out the trust that the conditions have been fulfilled and that the 

 Farlow Herbarium is now lodged in a fireproof building, arranged and cared for as a basal unit, 

 for the benefit of cryptogamic botanists of the present generation as well as of those to come. 



Under the present disposition of the Farlow Herbarium, the Farlow Library is housed in the 

 same building and in convenient juxtaposition to the specimens. During his lifetime, Farlow 

 used to lament the impossibility, in his estimation, of bringing the two together, the herbarium 

 having been located in the museum building, while the library, in the later years of his life, 

 occupied a fireproofed addition to his own residence. The necessary books had to be carried 

 back and forth between the two locations or else consulted separately. As in the case of the 

 series of published specimens, Farlow sought out and purchased rare publications relating to his 

 specialties, bought current periodicals and books, acquired separates, and all that were of in- 

 terest or importance. His eye was keen over book catalogues, and his library was as complete 

 as an expert with means at his disposal could make it. Farlow was extremely careful of his 

 books and rarely could be induced to loan one, and consultation was chiefly in his study and 

 under his own eye. In this way he kept his collection intact and uninjured. He was an 

 omnivorous reader through the whole field of botany, keeping track, largely through the original 

 articles, of progress in special fields— others as well as his own. His memory was exceedingly 

 retentive, and he provided a fund of information to his students, his botanical visitors, and his 

 correspondents. 



Associated with the work of accumulating two such fundamental adjuncts to accurate work 

 on the lower cryptogams as a satisfactory herbarium and an adequate library, came the matter of 

 making both and the results of coordinated labor in the two available. That was accomplished 

 by a series of indices. References and cross references were made, both in connection with the 

 literature and the published specimens. The species were carefully attended to and their host 

 plants (or animals) in case of the parasitic species. The synonymy, not only from the published 

 data but from critical research, was carefully worked out. The result was not only indices to 

 facilitate the work of Farlow himself, his students, and his correspondents, but for publication. 



