298 THE BOTANISTS OF PHILADELPHIA. 



and characters. This gift enabled him to recognize speci- 

 mens which he had not met with for many years. He 

 personally constructed in the most skillful manner his 

 herbarium cases, tables, stands, microscopical cabinets, etc.^ 

 with a degree of perfection rarely excelled by expert 

 artisans. While so ardently devoted to nature in her 

 various manifestations, Dr. Brinton did not overlook the 

 advantages of linguistic attainments. In his earlier life 

 much of his time was devoted to the studj^ of German, in 

 which language he conversed fluently. He was also profi- 

 cient in Latin and French. 



Physically, Dr. Brinton seemed to embody the highest 

 expression of perfect manhood. His commanding presence 

 and graceful bearing stamped him at once as a leader. His 

 powerful frame enabled him to endure and overcome great 

 hardship and fatigue. 



The botanical community in which he moved met 

 with a severe loss in his sudden death on December 6, 1894. 



MARY TREAT. 



Mrs. Mary Treat, an American naturalist, whose ori- 

 ginal researches have been gratefully acknowledged by 

 scientists at home and abroad, w^as born in 1835, in Tomp- 

 kins County, New York ; but for the past twenty-seven 

 years has made her home in Vineland, New Jersey. She 

 was married, in 1861, to Dr. Joseph Treat, ^vho died in 

 1879. 



She began her studies at a time when text-books on 

 the natural sciences were rare, and pursued them mainly 

 by self-directed investigations in the field of nature, 

 receiving encouragement and assistance by correspondence 



