Flora of Michig.Di. Study at Michigan 29 



His two or three main courses were plant histology under Ik-al 

 and zoology and entomology under Cook. 



Since his and Wheeler's Catalogue of the Phaeyiogamous and 

 Vascular Cryptogamous Plants of Michigan was soon to be pub- 

 lished, some of his time had to be given toproof-and-copy-reading. 

 Some of his time, furthermore, was occupied by a part-time em- 

 ployment with the United States Weather Bureau. Smith became 

 acquainted with William Arnon Henry, a recent graduate in Agri- 

 cultural science from Cornell University, who the next year was to 

 become professor of botany and agriculture at the University of 

 Wisconsin and in 1887 director of the state agricultural experi- 

 ment station. Each was interested in teaching science and litera- 

 ture, and had taught in secondary schools. Henry pronounced 

 Smith "a pleasant gentlemenly person in conversation"; and as 

 the next half dozen years went by and he read Smith's scientific 

 papers and saw notices of his communications, his first opinion 

 that he was " a good botanist and a clear careful writer on botani- 

 cal subjects" was supplemented by a belief that he had "done 

 good work in studying the low^r forms of plant life." 



Beal regarded Smith as " a very clear and very capable student," 

 who had " a great liking for botany [and] a practical turn which 

 would be of great value to him." Cook spoke for his accomplish- 

 ments in zoology and entomology. He estimated Smith " as a very 

 close enthusiastic student, a man of rare attainments, natural and 

 acquired," and, as late as 1886, believed he knew of no young 

 man whom he could "more highly, and gladly recommend" for 

 a position as professor of natural history. Failyer w^as sure Smith 

 was both diligent and efficient, and of exceptional ability and 

 worth." 



When Wheeler's and Smith's Catalogue of Michigan Plants 

 was published, Henry immediately offered congratulations, saying, 

 " It is a credit to your state as well as yourself that such a list 

 is published." Charles Sprague Sargent, Director of the compara- 

 tively new Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, character- 

 ized the catalogue as both " interesting and most instructive. . . . 

 Such publications," wrote Sargent, "are most important, and 

 should be prepared for every State." Professor N. H. Winchell of 

 the University of Minnesota, who was in charge of a botanical 

 survey of that state and had been a resident of Michigan, compli- 



*^ Quotations taken from letters written in May 1886. 



