LINNEAN SOCIETY OF LONDON. ^^ 



wliicli has been cited above. At this period Engebnaiin was the 

 friend aud fellow student of Alexander Braun and Scbimper, 

 the leaders of morphological botany in Grermany. Later on, as 

 we have seen, Engelmauu made his morphological knowledge 

 subservient to his work as a descriptive botanist and systematist ; 

 but though subservient, there are frequently traces of it to be 

 met with, which, with the fuller indications given in his private 

 letters, show that to the last he not only retained his interest in 

 morphology, but kept himself informed as to the latest stages of 

 itd development. 



Engelmann's communications published in this country re- 

 lated principally to Conifers and Agaves ; the enthusiastic bota- 

 nist, at a time of Hfe when most people would have preferred 

 to remain at home amongst the comforts of town-Hfe, accom- 

 panied Professor Sargent, Dr. Parry, and Mr. Skinner on a visit 

 to those forests whence fifty years previously Douglas hud sent 

 so many fine Conifers and other plants. Much remained to be 

 cleared up about these plants ; their nomenclature aud synonymy 

 was a matter of constant discussion, and with constantly varying 

 results. On this expedition Engelmann was enabled to gather 

 many of the plants in the very localities indicated by Douglas ; 

 and moreover, he was enabled to study their distribution and their 

 modifications as they diverged in one direction or another, or 

 occupied different stations from the coast to the slopes of the 

 mountains. The whole account of this journey is eminently 

 worth reading by persons interested in the trees aud shrubs of 

 California and Oregon ; and of special interest was tlie discovery 

 that Gupi^esms Lawsoniana was the source of a large proportion 

 of the tmiber used in Oregon under the name of the Port-Orford 

 Cedar. Lawsun's Cyprus (150 leet high), Douglas's Fir, Abies 

 amahilis, A. (/raniUs, A. nobilis, Tsuga Fattoniana, GhamcBcyjJaris 

 nutkaensis, Thuja gigantea, and other interesting trees were met 

 with, and their peculiarities noted on the spot. A brief narrative 

 of this memorable expedition, from the pen of one who took part 

 in it, and portraits of three of its members, including Engelmann, 

 was given in the ' Glardeuers' Chronicle ' for July 2, 18S1. 



Dr. Engelmann occasionally visited this country, when his aid 

 was eagerly sought in settling questions of nomenclature — as 

 may be seen from the numerous notes aud memorauda with 

 which he has enriched the Kew Herbarium. Lat<t summer 

 another visit was expected from him ; but while in Grcruiauy, at 

 Kreuznach, he became so feeble aud ill, that it was feared that 

 he would not live to return to America. On improving some- 

 what, he gave up the intention of visiting this country, aud 

 returned to St. Louis, soon resuming his usual avocatious. He 

 took cold during the month of January last, but paid little heed 

 to it or to the warning of his friends, beiug, in fact, to all 

 appearance much less ill than in the preceding summer. On 

 February 2, the anniversary of his seventy-fifth birthday, he was 



LlNi<. SOC. PROCKKDIJSaS. — SESSION 1883-8'!. d 



