PREFATORY NOTE 9 



Region, with their scientific and common names, medicinal properties, 

 and any other obtainable information. If he had lived to complete this 

 work it would have been a very valuable addition to the botanical in- 

 formation of the district. 



So great was his interest in botany, and so strong was his desire that 

 others should know the joy of plant study, that he gave to the high 

 school in Port Huron a nearly complete set of the plants of that vicinity. 

 He was also very generous with his papered specimens, and there are 

 doubtless few herbariums of importance in the country that have not 

 some of his material. He was always willing and anxious to help be- 

 ginners in systematic botany and took many long tramps, through ter- 

 ritory which afforded him nothing new, to assist them in adding to their 

 collections. Any and all information he possessed was freely given to 

 others. 



He was an indefatigable worker, whether in the field or his herbarium. 

 The writer had the privilege of accompanying him on some of his later 

 excursions, and notwithstanding his age Mr. Dodge could hold his own 

 on a tramp with most of the younger men of a party. Up to the last 

 year of his life he would tramp all day in the hot sun and work far into 

 the night putting up his specimens for drying, and seemingly be as 

 fresh as ever for the next day's tramping. He would examine herbarium 

 specimens until the small hours of the morning, and it always afforded 

 him great pleasure when he found a plant he had not seen before. In 

 later years he belonged to a nature club in Detroit and frequently took 

 the long car ride necessary to attend their meetings. He was keenly 

 interested in all branches of natural science, but would not allow himself 

 to wander far from his botanical work. 



In spite of his all-absorbing interest in botany he was active in local 

 civic affairs and contended strongly with interests in Port Huron which 

 sought to destroy in a measure the beauty of his home city. He took 

 more than an ordinary interest in political affairs, both state and national, 

 and his advanced age was undoubtedly all that kept him from joining 

 in the activities of the Great War, the events of which he followed closely. 

 His love. of nature and his kindly disposition made him tolerant of his fel- 

 low man, and it was a rare thing to hear him speak ill of anyone. 



It was apparent to those who saw Mr. Dodge in the latter part of 1917 

 that his health was failing. He had been suffering for some time, and 

 the condition continued to grow acute until the next March, when he 

 determined to undergo an operation and accordingly went to the Uni- 

 versity Hospital at Ann Arbor for that purpose. The shock of the 

 operation proved more than he could stand, and he died on March 22, 

 1918. With his passing the science of botany in Michigan suffered irre- 

 parably, and his many friends and associates lost a personality which 

 had long been an inspiration and help to them. 



