846 CHARLES SEDGWICK MINOT. 



the conduct of societies. He was at diflferent times chosen President 

 of the NaturaHsts, the Anatomists, the American Association for the 

 Advancement of Science, and the American Academy of Arts and 

 Sciences, and was frequently a member of the councils and of impor- 

 tant committees. He was an active or corresponding member of many 

 of the learned societies of Europe, and was honored with the L. L. D. 

 of Yale, 1899, Toronto, 1904, St. Andrews University, Scotland, 1911, 

 and Sc. D. of Oxford, 1902. 



No account of Minot would be complete without some mention of 

 his beautiful country home at Hyde Park, the region over which he 

 must have rambled as a boy. The house was a plain one, roomy, 

 furnished simply and in exquisite taste, and stood near the road, 

 the land sloping away from it toward the south and west to a low 

 lying wood, through which a small brook ran. The whole place was 

 in keeping with Minot's character. It was well ordered in its plan and 

 keeping. The trees he planted were properly placed, selected with 

 care, and were fine specimens of the species. He bought a large num- 

 ber of seedlings of many varieties and as these grew he selected from 

 them the finest specimens for planting. E^-ery tree and shrub was 

 well cared for and showed the effects of this in their health and vigor- 

 ous growth. The garden, formal in design, with well kept grass paths, 

 was at the foot of the slope, some distance from the house, and entered 

 through a small arbor covered with climbing roses. Though formal, 

 it was not severe and contained good specimens of the usual annuals 

 and perennials and many rare plants. The two plants to which he 

 gave most attention were irises and peonies, of each of which, but 

 particularly of the latter, he had a large and rare collection. There 

 were several hundred varieties of peonies, every plant showed intelli- 

 gent care, and his system of cataloging and labelling was as simple 

 and complete as the system in his laboratory. It was a great joy 

 to go with him among the blooming peonies and see their beauty 

 through his observant and well trained eyes. It is not an easy thing for 

 an amateur gardener to obtain the prizes of the Massachusetts Horti- 

 cultural Society, but Minot obtained prizes both for peonies and for 

 the general excellence and beauty of the garden as a whole. The 

 grounds and garden showed that highest art by which art is concealed 

 and every plant grew and bloomed as though for the mere joy of living 

 under conditions in all respects the best. There was a profusion of 

 bloom from the earliest spring bulbs to the late chrysanthemums. 

 ]\Iany of his plants had a personal iiistory which he would delightfully 

 relate, as having been procured under unusual conditions, or being 



