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resuming their extended positions. This simple observation on the 

 prickly pear was a forerunner of the sumptuous four-volume Brit- 

 ton and Rose monograph of "The Cactaceae" of the world ! How- 

 ever, the implications are physiologic rather than taxonomic. His 

 second, third, and fifth contributions, all published in the Bulletin 

 while still an undergraduate in the School of Mines, have physio- 

 logic or phaenologic rather than systematic bearings. The second is 

 entitled "When the Leaves Fall." It includes a table of 65 species 

 of trees, shrubs, and vines, with notes as to the condition of the 

 leaves on five dates in October and November, 1877. He observes 

 that "the female in dioecious plants appears to hold its foliage 

 longer than the male * * * — very strongly marked in Ailanthus 

 glandulosns, Acer saccharinum and A. rubrum, and Salix alba and 

 S. discolor, but not in Populus." A companion piece, a few months 

 later, is "When the Leaves Appear." Another brief paper, just 

 before his graduation, bears the title "Notes on the Relative Age 

 and Dimensions of a Number of Different Trees." 



On his graduation from the School of Mines, in 1879, he became 

 Assistant in Geology under Professor Newberry and for the five 

 following years he was also Botanist and Assistant Geologist of 

 the Geological Survey of New Jersey. In 1881 he published "A 

 Preliminary Catalogue of the Flora of New Jersey" and this ap- 

 parently served as his thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, 

 which was conferred upon him in that year by Columbia College. 

 A revised and enlarged edition of this Catalogue appeared in 1890. 



On August 27, 1885, Doctor Britton married Elizabeth Gertrude 

 Knight, daughter of James and Sophie Anne (Compton) Knight, 

 who was not only a constant helper in all his subsequent undertak- 

 ings, but also achieved individual fame as a bryologist and plant 

 conservationist. 2 Her recent illness and death appeared to be a 

 shock from which he never recovered. The last time that he left 

 his rooms alive was on February 27 to lay his life companion to rest 

 in the old Moravian Cemetery on Staten Island. Just four months 

 later, to a day, others performed for him the same sad service. 



The years following Doctor Britton's marriage were, like 

 essentially all of his years, characterized by ceaseless mental activ- 

 ity. In addition to teaching, he found time for numerous obser- 



2 Journal of The New York Botanical Garden 35: 97-104. 1934. 



