50 



In 1865-66 he made an extended trip to China and the East 

 Indies as Commissioner of Immigration for the Hawaiian Gov- 

 ernment, and discharged his difficult duties with great ability. 

 He also made large plant collections during this trip, and intro- 

 duced many valuable plants into the Hawaiian Islands. 



In 1871 he left the islands, and during the remainder of his 

 life resided in various parts of Germany, Switzerland, Madeira, 

 Teneriffe, etc. He was seriously ill for two years before his 

 death, which occurred in Heidelberg, July 13, 1886. (*) His 

 large herbarium was bequeathed to the Royal Botanical Museum, 

 at Berlin. 



The Flora. 



Hillebrand's great work was his ''Flora of the Hawaiian Is- 

 lands;' published two years after his death, 1888, by his son, 

 W'. F. Hillebrand. Since the date of its publication it has been 

 the standard flora of the group, and the work of subsequent 

 botanists has emphasized the integrity and thoroughness of Hille- 

 brand's work. He described a large number of new species and 

 varieties, and critically examined the work of his predecessors. 

 In the introduction to the ''Flora" he gives a philosophical dis- 

 sertation upon the characteristics of the Hawaiian flora. Hille- 

 brand's work represents the high- water mark of botanical study 

 under the old-school and old terminology ; the great taxonomic 

 work of today is the adoption of the newer terminology, and 

 the revision of the more difficult genera. 



The only serious defect of Hillebrand's work is the absence of 

 ecological data, but this omission he shared with all the botanists, 

 taxonomists, and herbalists of his time. The large work of the 

 future is to give the remarkable ecologic background of the Ha- 

 waiian flora the detailed investigation that it so fully merits. 



28. John M. Lydgate and Other Local Students. 



In addition to the visiting scientists who have frequented Ha- 

 waii's shores since the days of the first explorers, there has been 

 a resident colony of amateur and professional horticulturalists, 

 botanists, and investigators in the various departments of science. 

 These men and women have not only rendered important aid to 

 the visiting specialists, but in many instances have made impor- 

 tant contributions to science on their own account. 



John M. Lydgate. 



For example, the Reverend John M. Lydgate, clergyman, civil 

 engineer, and botanist, published in 1873 an enumeration of Ha- 

 waiian ferns, when a student in Oberlin College. His collections 



* See also the Botanische Zeitung for Aug. 6, 1886; and Allgemeine 

 Deutsche Biographie, Vol. 50, (nachtrage bis 1899), 1905, p. 3-39. 



