6 PEOCEELINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF [Jan., 



aud paper foi- its report. lu a letter to a friend he says: " Mr. 

 Colville told me we must go over the State and get the interest of 

 every iron-maker. I asktd him for money to pay my exptmses. 

 He said I must beg it, as he had none. ' You must ask for con- 

 tributions as you go along.' I started with $5. Sometimes I got 

 a wagon, sometimes a horse ride, sometimes on foot — sometimes I 

 got fifty cents. In one case 1 got 810. I saw them all, came 

 back with between S200 and $300, and the American Iron and 

 Steel Association became a flourishing body.'' He traveled 2,500 

 miles on this mission. 



There seems nothing on record as to his occupation for the suc- 

 ceeding ten years, but in a letter to a friend he remarks that he 

 attended faithfully to his office work during the day and employed 

 his evenings in studying and classifyiuec the plants collected on 

 Sunday. 



In le61 he was elected to the presidency of the Reading Rail- 

 road Company. From a comparatively local and almost bankrupt 

 organization, he raised it to one of broad interest and a good divi- 

 dend-paying concern — so profitable that in the trying times of the 

 beginning of the civil war his company loaned the Government 

 two millions and a half of dollars. In 1869 it stood in prosperity 

 second to none in the country. 



His health broke down. His medical adviser urged his resigna- 

 tion and suggested several things he might do At length the 

 physician, in a peculiar way, remarked that he had " better go to 

 grass." The joke had a good effect. He took the advice literally, 

 resigned, and turned to botany for consolation. He still retained 

 his position on the Board of Directors. On the 18th of April, 

 1869, he sailed on the " Scotia " for an extended tour of Europe, 

 during which botanical study was his chief recreation, although 

 he deeply enjoyed all that Avould interest a broad-minded man of 

 aflfairs. He lelurned on the loth of September, 1870. 



Some years later he discovered that the great railroad company 

 that had been the pride of his life, was bankrupt under the man- 

 agement of his successor in the presidency. The effect on his 

 health was seriously depressing. By night, as by day, the rail- 

 road was ever in his mind. While greatly troubled by insomnia, 

 he was requested by the Secretary of the Academy to read the 

 proof-sheets of a botanical paper in course of publication. To his 



