1895. ] Briefer Articles. 175 
the bulb less than an inch and a half below the surface. It was ap- 
parently trying to get deeper, as a strong runner had started from the 
bottom of the bulb.—Freperick H. BLopcett, Rutgers College, New 
Brunswick, N. J. 
John H. Redfield.—The death of Mr. John H. Redfield, conservator 
of the herbarium of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 
which occurred in that city on the twenty-seventh of February, is 
regarded as a serious loss to the science he loved. He was for many 
years a member of the car-wheel manufacturing firm of that city, Asa 
Whitney & Sons, the founder of the firm being his father-in-law. His 
spare time from his business was devoted to self-culture, especially to 
learning languages, and studying natural history. He became a thor- 
ough Greek and Latin scholar, and continued the acquisition of mod- 
ern languages through life, having mastered Spanish but a few years 
before his death. In natural history he was proficient in chemistry, 
mineralogy, conchology, and botany—the later years of his life being 
wholly devoted to the latter pursuit. In the knowledge of ferns he 
had few superiors anywhere, and workers in this group of plants were 
always happy in examining his rare collection, and profiting by his wide 
knowledge. The greatest monument to his labors will be the herba- 
rium of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 
He retired from active business in 1885, and from that time devoted 
his whole time to building up this herbarium. Though with good mate- 
rial collected by many eminent men, it was in a sad state in the early 
sixties. On the death of Elias Durand, only one worker was left to 
give a few hours a day to its care. Its condition may be imagined by 
the reply of Dr. Gray to an application for a share in some specimens, 
“what is the use of throwing valuable material into a dust bin?” The 
letter, shown to Mr. Redfield, stirred a strong desire to give encour- 
agement. During his noon recess from business he would call to en- 
quire how the work was coming on. From this beginning he left the 
herbarium at his death with over 35,000 species of flowering plants 
and ferns, accurately determined, with many suites of specimens to 
show geographical range and variations, with a very large number un- 
described. He had undertaken the immense labor of verifying and 
fastening to sheets the huge collection, and had more than half com- 
pleted the task, leaving an unfinished genus on the table to take to 
his death bed. By his will he leaves all his books and collections of 
natural history to be sold, the proceeds to be devoted to continuing 
the work on the herbarium. This will start a “Redfield Memorial 
Hebarium Fund,” by which the memory of his unselfish labors will be 
perpetuated. 
