157 



graduate of Harvard in the class of 1820, admitted to the 

 Essex bar in January, 1824 ; then removed to Ipswich to 

 practise the profession, from which, after some two years, 

 he retired, not finding the duties congenial to his feelings, 

 and devoted his time entirely to the study of natural 

 history, more especially to botany, which had been fos- 

 tered and developed during his collegiate life by Professor 

 Peck, the Massachusetts Professor of Natural History in 

 Harvard. Not long afterwards he confined his attention 

 almost solely to the New England flora, seldom, if ever, 

 herborizing beyond the limits. There is scarcely a New 

 England plant which he has not collected with his own 

 hands, and prepared an abundance of surpassingly excel- 

 lent specimens. 



As early as the year 1830, he, in company with his 

 friend Dr. C. Pickering, had already explored these moun- 

 tains, and had projected a flora of New England. The 

 appearance of Dr. Beck's book, in 1833, caused him to 

 abandon this scheme, which he afterwards resumed with 

 increasing ardor, and upon a more elaborate scale. To 

 this end he had collected much. 



In the autumn of 1842 he was solicited to prepare a 

 catalogue of alpine plants, to be appended to the final 

 Report of Geology of New Hampshire. Although he 

 had frequently visited and examined this flora, he again 

 went to the mountains. The sul)ject grew upon his hands, 

 — the geology, mineralogy, and zoology alike claimed 

 his attention. He employed artists to make drawings 

 not only of the plants, etc., but of the views and scenery, 

 of rare faithfulness and accuracy. He published, in 1848, 

 a volume which may be considered as the introductory 

 part of the work, entitled, "Scenery of the White Moun- 

 tains, with sixteen plates, from the drawings of Isaac 

 Sprague ; by William Oakes." Boston : Little & Brown, 



