lO STURTEVANT S NOTES ON EDIBLE PLANTS 



books filled with newspaper and magazine articles, the earliest written 

 being dated November 2, 1867, and the last October 6, 1896. Besides 

 these, there are two voltunes containing sixty-fovtr pamphlets most of 

 which are named in the accompanying bibliography. Thtis roughly to 

 state the qtiantity of a man's work may seem to indicate only the prod- 

 igality of his pen. So to judge Dr. Sturtevant does him a great injustice, 

 for everything to which he set his pen is thoughtful, lucid and logical even 

 if not always adorned by grace of expression. There is often in his writings 

 a happy turn of phrase, and the inevitable word usually turns up at the 

 right place 



The newspapers of the two States in which he lived furnished the 

 medium through which Dr. Sturtevant reached the general reader, and 

 for the farmer he had at his command the agricultural press of the whole 

 coimtry. Contributions of scientific character were published in American 

 Naturalist, Botanical Gazette, Garden and Forest, Torrey Botanical Club 

 Bulletin and Science. The indexes of the magazines, dviring the time 

 of Stiirtevant's active work, furnish sufficient clues to his contributions. 



For a little more than two years, Dr. Sturtevant was associated with 

 E. H. Libby, as editor of the Scientific Farmer, after which, for nearly a year 

 and a half, he was sole editor. The joint editorship began in March, 1876, 

 and ended in May, 1878, the magazine being discontinued in October, 

 1879. The Scientific Farmer was in all matters pertaining to agriciolture 

 abreast of the times in most matters in advance of the times not- 

 withstanding which it was not a financial success, and, becoming too heavy 

 a drain on its owner's pocket, was discontinued. The magazine was pub- 

 lished before the days of experiment station btilletins and contains the 

 gist of the agricultural investigations then being carried on, most of it 

 being reported by the investigators themselves. As editor. Dr. Sturte- 

 vant asstuned the role of analyst of the scientific work in the agriculture 

 of the times, using, as all must agree, singularly good judgment and dis- 

 crimination in his discussions of the work of others. 



One of the great pleasures of Dr. Sturtevant's life seems to have been 

 active participation in the several scientific societies to which he belonged. 

 He was long a Fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of 

 Science; he was one of the founders of the Society foi the Promotion of 

 Agricultural Science, serving as its first secretary and fourth president; 

 while in Massachusetts, he was active in the Massachusetts Horticultural 

 Society; and during his directorship of the New York Station was one of 



