BOTANICAL GAZETTE. 63 



bon, Berlandior, Rciitliaiii, IJrowii, liiirclow, Baykiii, Browcr, C'anliy, Carv, Cliapman, 

 Clayton, Cliainiss;o, Clinton, Dahl, Davy, Dana, Dtscartc, Knuclniann, Eaton, Esch- 

 scholtz, Donsrlas, Faraday, Franklin, Fuller, Gay-Lussac Gray, Hooker, Hudson, 

 James, Jefferson, Kulin, Laniark, Lavater, Le Conte, Lindley, Ludwig, Marsb, Mar- 

 shall, Meuzies, Micliaux, Mitchell, Nultall, Olney, Packard, Pursli, Richardson, Riley, 

 Spi-enuel, Suilivant, Silliman, Tliurl)ei-, Torrey, Tournefort, Tyndall, Wood, Watson, 

 Wilson, Willdenow, Whitney. Wriulit, Parry, Palmer; and oui Califoruiaus, Bolander, 

 Kellogg, BloouKU", Davidson, Hart'onl, Harkuess, andp](]\vards. 



Please permit a. few words in regard to my practice of suggesting names and how I 

 commenced it. In September, of 1873, I was informed that a plant had been, named 

 for me by Dr. Asa Gray, ot Harvard University, at the instance of Prof. Bolander, who 

 had recently been botanizing in Sierra valley with me. I was thus ushered into the large 

 and interesting family of Atstragnlus. I found myself in g')od comjiany. 'J'here was 

 Pursh, Gray. Hooker, Geyer, Coulter, Meuzies, Douglas, Horn, Anderson, Morton, 

 Parr}-, Whitney and Bolander. 



But other good people to my knowledge weie outside; I at once determined to try 

 to get them within. I traveled extensively, collected lai-gely and noted careful!}'. 

 With every package of plants sent to Dr. Gray went up petitions of this imi»ort: 

 "Should such and such a i)lant prove new, and it does not name itself by olivious char' 

 acters (which is always best^ i)lease dcilicaie it to so and so. for the following reasons," 

 etc. 



My petitions iiave often been granled, and with great joy 1 have celebrated the ad- 

 mission one after anotliei- into the family of Astritiinlux alone, Mrs. Pulsifer-Ames, Dr. 

 D. G. Webber, Prof. E. L. Case and Mrs. R. M. Austin; and, did your readers know 

 these parties, I don't think one would jirotest. 



Now, Dr. Gray, the generous soul, who confers all these honors, has been a writer 

 of books tor 20 years. He is the leading botanist of AnuMJca, and stands even with 

 Dr. Hooker, of England, as authority in Europe. He is not only the best authority in 

 botany, but in zoology as well. Almost every inige of "Webster's Unabridged" bears 

 his name as autlujrity for scientific terms. In view of these facts, I submit that the de- 

 liberate acts of one so emineni and of such universal capacity, are far above criticism, 

 in any particular, by common minds; and I rejoice that his greatness is so admirably 

 illustrated by his goodness. \\\\\\ what charming beauty stands out his generous char- 

 acter portrayed against the dark background of selfish money -getters, city plunderers 

 and corporation despots, so ampl}' tilling the picture of every-day lite in this naughty 

 world. 



I am astonished and almost overwhelmed by the latest kimlnessof Dr. Gray iu con- 

 ferring Ujion me the crowning honor of a new genus. 



I beg the readers pardon for tlie personal mention in what follows, but the sentences 

 so finely illustrate the animus of good Dr. Gray and \\\> enthusiastic manner of confgr- 

 ring honors, liiat I cannot forijear offering them for record in your columns. 



During the past winter, while sludying natural hi.^toiy at Webber lake (where also 

 I celebrated, with bon-fires for three months, the victory of Gilia Parri/w), a certain lit- 

 tle plant found the May before, on the Mohave river, along with Giliu Farrya' and other 

 new things, attracted frecfuent examination, and every time left me more and more puz- 

 zled to determine where it belonged in our new liotany '1' Caliiornia. At last I took 

 courage to describe it briefly and send my only remaining siiecimen to Dr. Gray, to 

 whom I had sent a plant at the time of collecting, but wiio, for some reason, had omit- 

 ted to report 



As afterward appeared, at the same time my letter was on its way to Dr. G. asking 

 for a name, a letter from him was on its way to Dr. Parry, at Davenport, loAva, stating 

 that he had just come upou a mislaid plant "that was received May 16th, 1S66, from our 



