FRANCIS BOOTT. 319 
This motto, which the author placed upon his title-pages, — 
“ The man who labors and digests things most, 
Will be much apter to despair than boast,” 
is felicitously expressive both of the endless difficulties of the 
subject, and of his undervaluation of his endeavors to over- 
come them. A most competent judge briefly declares that, — 
“ This work is certainly one of the most munificent con- 
tributions ever made to scientific botany, besides being one of 
the most accurate ; on which account it certainly entitles its 
author to take a much higher place amongst botanists than 
that of an amateur, which was all that his modesty would. 
allow him to lay claim to.” 
Dr. Boott’s health, which had long been delicate, was much 
shattered in the winter of 1839-40 by a dangerous attack ot 
pneumonia. ‘ From this time he had repeated slight attacks ; 
but no alarming symptoms occurred till June, 1863, when the 
remaining lung gave way, and from that time he never fairly 
rallied. He died at his residence, 24 Gower Street, on Christ- 
mas day, retaining to the last his faculties and all the charac- 
teristics of his most admirable life.” 
Dr. Boott was a man of singular purity, delicacy, and good- 
ness of character, and of the most affectionate disposition. 
Few men of his ardent temperament and extreme sense of jus- 
tice ever made fewer enemies or more friends. To the latter 
he attached himself with entire devotion. If there were any 
of the former, probably no man ever heard him speak ill of 
them. His published works suffice to place his name imper- 
ishably upon the records of science. But only his contempo- 
raries and friends will know how much he has done to help 
others, and how disinterestedly and gracefully that aid was 
ever rendered. He took with him to England, upon his re- 
turn in the year 1820, a valuable herbarium of New England 
plants, especially those of the White Mountains, which were 
then rare and little known. He must have valued this collec- 
tion highly, and have expected to use it. But he presented 
the whole of it to Dr., now Sir William Hooker, when he saw 
how serviceable it would be to him in the preparation of the 
‘Flora Boreali-Americana.” His British herbarium was 
long ago similarly given to a then young American botanist. 
