92 



During his college life Dr. Pickering spent mucli of his 

 time at AYeuham, at the homestead of his grandfather, 

 Col. Pickering, and here he wns in the hal)it of botanizing 

 in company with William Oakes, a favorite locality being 

 the " Great Swamp." It is l)ut right that Essex County 

 should claim a share of the honor of his name, for it was 

 here tliat his attention was drawn to botany, and in the 

 Chronological History of Plants, page 1063, we find the 

 following entry " 1824 * * In this year, after an excur- 

 sion in 1823, wdth William Oakes diverting my attention 

 from entomology, my first botanical discovery." Dr. 

 Pickering died at Boston, March 17, 1878. The writer 

 will always remember with pleasure and gratitude the 

 many hours spent with Dr. Pickering during 1876 and 

 '77, while he patiently sought out, among his early 

 manuscript notes and his letters from William Oakes, the 

 species and stations noticed while botanizing in Essex 

 County more than fift}^ 3'ears before. 



Rev. John Levris Eussell, son of John and Eunice (Hunt) 

 Russell, was born at Salem, Dec. 2, 1808. He was at 

 Harvard in the class of 1828, and graduated at the divinitj^ 

 school in 1831. After occupying pulpits in Chelmsford, 

 Hingham, Brattieboro, Kennebunk and various other 

 places, he returned in 1853 to Salem, where he resided, 

 preaching occasionalh', until his death June 7, 1873. 



Mr. Russell was particularly devoted to cryptogamic 

 botany, publishing accounts of his investigations from 

 time to time as he proceeded, besides many popular arti- 

 cles on various families of plants. He lectured frequently 

 on botany and was for many 3^ears vice-president of the 

 Essex Institute. 



i\Ir. Russell contributed much to the general knowledge 

 of botany in Essex County, but his most extensive collec- 

 tions were made in other places. 



