NEW CREATIONS IN PLANT LIFE 



In the town of Lancaster there was a well- 

 equipped academy to which he was drawn as 

 soon as he had finished the common school. 

 This he attended during the winter for several 

 seasons, spending the rest of the year in work. 

 The town had a large and well-stocked hbrary, 

 and into this, and into his father's few but care- 

 fully chosen books, he delved whenever there 

 was opportunity. His father and his father's 

 brother, a minister, were personal friends of 

 Emerson. The uncle's son, the boy's cousin, 

 considerably older, was greatly interested in 

 science and was also a personal friend of 

 Agassiz, afterward becoming a successful edu- 

 cator and a writer of more than local note 

 on scientific topics, particularly geology. Be- 

 tween the two there was a strong bond of 

 friendship. The influence of such surround- 

 ings had much to do in shaping the lad's na- 

 ture. Year by year environment forces were 

 at work, and in them may be seen the proph- 

 ecy of the development of this wonderful life. 



During several summers the boy worked in 

 the city of Worcester, Massachusetts, in a fac- 

 tory. His wage was small and the work was 

 hard and irksome, but he even then had his 



