l895-] SEELYE— MEMORIAL OF CHESTER DEWEY. 183 



that of an educator, but his moral force was never latent or disguised. 

 He was a frequent and acceptable occupant of the various Protestant 

 pulpits of the city, but in the capacity of a moral philosopher rather 

 than a preacher. 



His influence for enlightenment and morality was felt throughout 

 the community. He impressed upon his pupils the sacredness of 

 natural law. In his estimation, if the writer may infer from the 

 impression made upon himself as one of his pupils, theology and 

 science walked hand in hand. More than once he has heard a class 

 of young men advised in regard to their course of conduct in life to 

 keep themselves in accord with nature's laws. 



Botany was a favored subject in the school curriculum, and it was 

 seldom that a class was lacking to receive his instructions. Up to the 

 year 1850 farming lands and the virgin forests occupied a large por- 

 tion of the present area of the city of Rochester and therefore the 

 meadows and fields, woodlands and by-ways were easy of access, and 

 the native plants were gathered by many eager collectors. In this 

 way Dr. Dewey examined and re-examined many times the greater 

 portion of the flora of this region, while at the same time he was 

 training up the youth to share his interest in botanical pursuits. The 

 influence which he thus exerted is still perceived by some of the mem- 

 bers of the Academy of Science, and it has passed out and onward 

 over a great region, so that a large number of the younger botanists of 

 the present time owe indirectly to Dr. Dewey the interest which they 

 now possess for botanical studies. 



Up to the year 1847 the text book of botany in common use was 

 that of Mrs. Lincoln, arranged after the Linnaean method, but Dr. 

 Dewey, who had kept pace with botanical progress, did not allow his 

 pupils to remain in ignorance of the new or natural method of group- 

 ing plants which was soon to supplant the old system, and the subject 

 of the natural relations of plants was an important topic in connection 

 with all class-room analyses. When Wood's Class-Book of Botany 

 appeared, which was the first in this country with a flora arranged 

 with the natural orders, it bore the inscription : 



' To the Rev. Chester Dewey, M. D., D. D., Professor of Natural Science in 

 the Berkshire and other Medical Institutions, Author of the Report on 

 the Herbaceous Plants of Massachusetts, Monograph on the Carices, 

 etc., etc. 



THIS VOLUME 



is RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, BY 



THE AUTHOR." 



22, Proc. Roch. Acad, of Sc, Vol. 3, February, 1900. 



