WINTER MEETING. 245 



coleus and others that 1 do not now recall. A few strong, blooming 

 plants of tea roses added distinction to the little garden, and flourished 

 as tea roses seldom do in the smoky air of the city. By the end of 

 June this garden was a veritable box of flowers in a frame of green, 

 and was the wonder and admiration of the neighborhood, and the con- 

 stant delight of the young gardeners. 



Upon our removal to Kirkwood the following autumn, Mr. Eiley 

 accompanying us, as much of this city garden as was possible, was 

 transferred to the virgin soil and clearer air of the country, where 

 *' Mr. Riley'i? flower beds" were for several years the gems of our 

 garden. His florist friends, not only in St. Louis, but in other parts of 

 the country, took great pleasure in sending him whatever was new or 

 unique in the line of bedding or window plants, the descendenis of 

 some of which we still cherish, in his memory among our choicest 

 house adornments. 



In 1877 our State Legislature failed to vote the biennial appro- 

 priation for the office of State Entomologist, and Mr. Riley then ab- 

 sorbed in the investigation of the Rocky Mountain grasshopper, which 

 had so devastated all the country between the Rocky Mountains and 

 the Mississippi river, decided to accept the position which had been 

 tendered him, of Entomologist to the U. S. Department of Agriculture. 

 This had not, previous to his acceptance, been an office of much promi- 

 nence or pecuniary profit, but after some obstructions and delays Mr. 

 Riley's abilities, not only as a scientist, but as an organizer and execu- 

 tive, succeeded in raising the Division of Entomology to the first rank 

 among the subdivisions of the Department, with an appropriation 

 adequate to its needs. With the advantages of a corps of able assist- 

 ants many difficult and important investigations were undertaken, most 

 of which were brought to a successful issue and won fresh laurels for 

 their originator, and were the means of untold sums in the choicest 

 product of the country. With the exception of about two years Prof. 

 Riley held this position, becoming famous abroad as well as at home, 

 and having the most coveted honors showered upon him, until the 

 summer of 1894, when circumstances in the Department, combined 

 with failing health, induced him to resign. Some years before he had 

 donated his collection to the National Museum and the trustees of the 

 Smithsonian Institution, had in acknowledgment of the munificent gift, 

 made him Curator of Entomology for life. Here he had proposed to 

 spend his remaining years, working upon the insect fauna of the country 

 and developing many subjects of purely scientific interest which more 

 practical matters had hitherto relegated to the back-ground. His 

 friends and admirers will never cease to deplore the sad fate which 



