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EDITORIAL. 



It is our sad duty to announce to the readers of The Plant 

 World the sudden death on December 23, through heart failure, of 

 Mr. Thomas A. Williams, editor-in-chief of The Asa Gray Bulletin 

 and assistant agrostologist in the U. S. Department of Agriculture. 



Less than a month ag-o Mr. Williams sio-ned an ao-reement with 

 The Plant World Company whereby The Asa Gray BuUetin was 

 to cease publication and become consolidated with The Plant World. 

 Mr. Williams had consented to join our editorial staff and to take 

 charge of the cryptogamic department, in which his ripe experience 

 and skill as a writer of popular articles would have been invaluable. 

 In his sudden death the scientific public has lost an earnest worker, an 

 able investigator, and a companion whose charming personality could 

 not fail to endear him to all his associates. A biographical sketch will 

 appear in this journal at an early date. 



While the death of Mr. Williams has deprived us of the coopera- 

 tion we had anticipated, the same consolidation of the two journals 

 will take place, and with the January issue The Plant World will be 

 increased to 28 pages monthly, the subscription price remaining as at 

 present. The Asa Gray Bulletin^ which concludes its eighth volume 

 with the December issue, has been practically a pioneer among popular 

 American botanical journals. Originating as a Chapter publication, it 

 has steadily developed and improved under the wise management, first 

 of the late Gilbert H. Hicks, and afterward of Mr. Thomas A. Wil- 

 liams, who has just passed away. In its recent volumes the Bulletin 

 has made a special feature of its mycological articles and of topics in- 

 tended to be of practical aid to teachers of botany in secondary schools. 

 Both of these lines of study will be given prominence henceforth in 

 The Plant World, although we are not now prepared to announce 

 Mr. Williams' editorial successor. The Supplement, concerning which 

 we have received man}^ words of commendation, will be continued, the 

 treatment extending forward through many of the higher families of 

 plants, while the illustrations will be full and explanatory as hereto- 

 fore. 



We feel justified in asking not only the continued support of our 

 subscribers, but their best efforts to aid us in securing additional read- 

 ers and an increased field of usefulness in all parts of the country. 



