botany, a traditional interest of the Museum and one 
which Professor Ames was instrumental in reviving, is 
represented by one significant paper. Professor Ames’ 
sustained interest in the course in Economic Botany, 
which he taught for many years, finds representation in 
“The Story of Pan Chewing in India’ which was sub- 
mitted as a term paper by a student enrolled in the 
course. 
Only one facet of Professor Ames’ botanical career 
fails to find expression in this volume; his broad philo- 
sophical outlook upon the Orchidaceae, a plant family 
to whose study the major part of his life was devoted. 
Happily this interest had previously been treated in 
‘*Orchids in Retrospect,’” a collection of his essays on 
the Orchidaceae which was published in 1948 by his 
colleagues to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of 
his service to Harvard University. This book also con- 
tains a biographical sketch. 
With deep respect for the memory of Oakes Ames, 
with constant admiration for the standards of excellence 
for which he stood, and with a firm purpose of perpet- 
uating the sound traditions which he established, the 
members of the staff of the Botanical Museum dedicate 
this memorial volume. 
Cambridge, Massachusetts 
April 28, 1951 
[ viii ] 
