Proceedings of the Ohio Academy of Science 51 
The Report of the Committee on Necrology 
The following report was presented by the Committee on 
Necrology : 
Not often does it fall to the Academy to record the loss of two leading 
members and past officers within one year. Within three days, Sept. 11 
and Sept. 14, there occurred the deaths of Professor Charles Smith 
Prosser and Professor William Rane Lazenby. In many points their 
lives had run in similar ways; both born as farmer’s sons in central New 
York, both graduates of Cornell University, both of necessity in part 
working their way through, both retained for a number of years by the 
University as assistants in their respective fields, both subsequently 
called to Ohio State University as heads of their respective depart- 
ments, both loyal members of the Sigmi Xi, and both active iecaeh 
their entire scientific careers in painstaking research and conscientious 
teaching. 
Professor Lazenby was born in 1850 at Bellona, N. Y. He was 
graduated from Cornell University in 1874, at which time he won the 
Ezra Cornell prize in Agriculture. He was Instructor in Horticulture 
and Botany, ’74-’77 and Assistant Professor, ’77-81 at Cornell; Professor 
of Botany and Horticulture, ’81-’92, of Horticulture and Forestry, 
’92-’08, and of Forestry at Ohio State University from that date to his 
death. He was founder and for five years director of the Ohio Experi- 
ment Station, an institution which has been a very important factor 
in the agricultural development of his adopted state. 
He was an active member of many scientific organizations, among 
which are: 
American Association for the Advancement of Science (twice 
Secretary and once Vice-President of Section I); 
Society Horticultural Science; 
American Pomological Society; 
American Forestry Society (Vice-President many years); 
Society for Promotion of Agricultural Science (Secretary five 
years and President two years) ; 
Ohio Academy of Science (founder and President, ’02); 
Ohio Forestry Society (President, ’04 to date of his death). 
His activity in these organizations grew out of a keen interest in 
them, their members and their ideals, an interest which expressed 
itself in wise counsel, frequent contributions to their programs, and 
discussions of the papers of others. 
Teaching was his main business during the college year, but his 
summers were always spent in travel and investigation; several were 
spent in Europe, studying her forests and forestry methods. 
His publications include many contributions both to Scientific 
Journals and State reports and to the semi-popular and popular press. 
In the words of a close friend at Cornell: ‘‘ While he found his great 
interest in life, the mastery and development of his special field in 
science, it was the human side of him that had the strongest hold on his 
friends and colleagues. He never lost his interest in the struggles 
