THE BOTANISTS OF PHILADELPHIA. 179 



subject for beginners either written by an American, or 

 printed in America for several years after. He was fur- 

 nished with Rees's " New Cyclopaedia " in ninety-two half 

 volumes, quarto. This work afforded a rich store of Ijotani- 

 cal knowledge. The genera were alphabetically arranged 

 with the known species following, but Ezra could seldom 

 stumble on the descriptions of the plants studied. When 

 he did discover them he wrote down the botanical and 

 common names until he had a respectable list. He also 

 made a list of scientific terms, as they came under notice, 

 with definitions. 



At the age of twenty-one he went to Philadelphia and 

 lived in the family of Dr. David Jones Davis. In the 

 spring of 1816 he attended the lectures of Dr. William P. C. 

 Barton on botan}^ ; but there was still no book suited for 

 beginners. Dr. Barton's " Flora Philadelphicse " was not 

 published until two years later. In the early summer of 

 1816 he was appointed house surgeon at the Philadelphia 

 Dispensatory, at a salary of $250 a year. 



On April 15, 1819, he married Sarah Spencer, and 

 lived happily until her death, when, in 1844, he married a 

 second time, Mary S. Walton, of London Grove. 



Dr. Barton's " Flora Philadelphicae " was the first real 

 botanical book which Ezra Michener had for study, until 

 Dr. Darlington published his " Florula Cestrica " in 1826. 

 About this time, under the leadership of Dr. William 

 Darlington, was organized the Chester County Cabinet. 

 The object was two-fold ; first, to form a collection of the 

 natural productions of the county ; and second, to gather 

 materials for its prospective natural history. 



Dr. Darlington, being engaged in the preparation of his 



