xx i v MEMOIR. 
In conformity to his wishes, the work was carried 
out in a style far superior to what was contem- 
plated, and proved also much more voluminous, 
while the sales were very limited. The cost, of 
course, far exceeded the means of publication; 
and the residue, amounting to a large proportion 
of the whole, was contributed by him. 
At the session held in Boston in September, 
1848, he was to have presided over that distin- 
guished body, and expected much gratification 
to himself on that occasion, in the anticipation 
that the citizens of Boston would, by their hos- 
pitality and energy, render it a profitable and 
happy occasion to those who might favor them 
with their presence. 
It was not, however, for his direct, actual scien- 
tific labors and acquirements that Dr. Binney 
stood in his most important relations to science. 
Others have, probably, labored more constantly, 
more zealously, and have made more progress 
than he. But he held a position which very few 
occupy. He stood between science and the pub- 
lic to whom it must look for countenance and 
support. Fully alive to its claims, having a 
clear, philosophical appreciation of the difference 
between true and false science, and having him- 
