I 50 THE PLANT WORLD. 



one of these gj'leiis is well worth one's while ; l^ut no single one is 

 so easily accessible, nor presents snch a variety of phenomena, as 

 Watkins Glen. Nearer centers of population it would be far 

 more famous than now, and would be visited by scores of thou- 

 sands. Waterfalls and gorges in Europe which cannot be com- 

 pared in beauty or interest with a score of glens in the Finger 

 Lake region are far better known to the travelling American than 

 Watkins Glen. It seems well, therefore, that it should be taken 

 by the state, made better known, and opened freely to the public." 

 The American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society has 

 been instrumental in obtaining both the Glen and Hook AhDuntain 

 for the State. 



The Editor has received from several quarters expressions of 

 appreciation of the biographical sketch of Wilhelm Hofmeister 

 by Professor K. Goebel, published in this magazine in December 

 last. One of these, from Professor Eugene A. Smith, of the 

 Geological Survey of Alabama, is of interest because of the per- 

 sonal touch, and we venture to reproduce Professor Smith's note 

 in part. 



" I was a student in Hofmeister's laboratory for two years, 

 1867-8, with Dr. Miiller, Dr. Pfitzer. and Dr. Askenasy. among 

 others, and am glad to have this reminder of those days. The 

 small carte-de-visite photo which I got at that time is the same, 

 almost, if not quite, as that of Professor Goebel's paper. 



" I recall with great pleasure the many hours spent in his labo- 

 ratory, and the microscopic work which we did there. I can still 

 split a thin section by holding it between thumb and forefinger, 

 and using a sharp razor, and made many such for Hofmeister. 

 My slides, mounted in glycerine in shellac cells, have mostly gone 

 to ruin, from cracking of the varnish and escape of the glycerine. 

 I had manv hundreds of them." 



