50 ROCHESTER ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 



study of systematic botany. He devoted himself so thoroughly to 

 field work, that in a few years he reached a point far beyond the 

 practical requirements of his business. He had, however, become so 

 thoroughly in love with field study that he never lost interest in it, 

 and even in his later years, after he had become too feeble to make 

 excursions, he was always eager to examine the results of the explora- 

 tions of other workers. Mr. Fuller's work as a botanist extended 

 back to 1 85 1. He was an ardent collector, a most faithful, painstak- 

 ing, conservative and conscientious botanist. 



When he began collecting, a great portion of what is now within 

 the limits of the city was covered by the forest. He used to speak of 

 jumping over the fence at Union street and botanizing in the thick 

 woods all over the ground now occupied by the University buildings. 

 The banks of the river on both sides from the upper falls down, 

 afforded a rich field for botanizing, and Mr. Fuller probably explored 

 it more thoroughly than any other collector. In the territory between 

 Vincent street bridge and the old Hanford's Landing, a distance 

 of two and a half miles, he found five hundred different species 

 and varieties of plants. It is doubtful if a better record can be shown 

 anywhere for the area covered. So thoroughly did he explore and 

 collect in that vicinity, that very few plants were left to be reported by 

 later botanists. The growth of the city has destroyed many of the 

 species and the local names of the stations have passed from the 

 memory of all except the oldest inhabitants, so the record of Mr. 

 Fuller's work is all the more valuable. 



Mr. Fuller was Curator in Botany to the Academy of Science for 

 many years, and a devoted member of the Botanical .Section, con- 

 tributing much material to the meetings, and, by common consent, 

 acting as supreme authority in the determination of specimens. His 

 exact, critical knowledge often resulted in amusing disappointment on 

 the part of less experienced members, who had brought in plants 

 thinking them to be something entirely new, only to be told that they 

 were some well-known species. 



For several years Mr. Fuller devoted all his time to classifying, 

 naming and arranging the plants in the herbarium of the Academy, 

 generously donating to it his own large collection, numbering over 

 2,500 specimens, and also a fine collection of Syrian plants. 



