76 



of the Swiss Professor Meisner, and another large herbarium 

 formed by Dr. Chapman, of Apalachicola, Florida, illustrating 

 the flora of the southeastern United States; his own herbarium 

 was subsequently given to The New York Botanical Garden; 

 his collection of birds, shells and minerals passed to the American 

 Museum of Natural History. He is commemorated in Botany 

 by the genus Crookea of the Hypericaceae, dedicated to him by 

 Dr. Small in 1903. 



Dr. Britton described his boyhood intimacy with Mr. Crooke, 

 and his visits here at frequent intervals from his birthplace and 

 home at New Dorp, three miles away. It was this acquaintance 

 that led Dr. Britton to prepare for the School of Mines of 

 Columbia College, where he began his course of study in 

 1875. Mr. Crooke told him much about Dr. Torrey and his 

 herbarium, and also of the organization, called the Torrey Bot- 

 anical Club, founded a few years previously. 



Mr. W. T. Davis added some of his own personal reminiscences 

 of Mr. Crooke, and read aloud the biographical article which 

 he wrote in 191 1.* Mr. C. W. Leng followed with a few words 

 about Mr. Crooke's gifts of valuable specimens to the American 

 Museum of Natural History. 



Dr. and Mrs. Britton and Miss Harriet Louise Britton enter- 

 tained the party at luncheon at the home of Mr. R. H. Britton 

 on the water front at Great Kills. After luncheon Dr. Britton 

 read from the minutes of the Torrey Botanical Club meeting of 

 June 26, 1877, as follows: "C. A. Hollick, C. Van Brunt, N. L. 

 Britton were elected active members." Mr. Hollick had been 

 nominated by Mr. G. W. Wright, Mr. Van Brunt by Mr. W. R. 

 Gerard, and Mr. Britton by Mr. Wright. The last was principal 

 of a school at New Brighton, and knew Dr. Britton and Dr. 

 Hollick as boys. 



The next speaker. Dr. Hollick, remarked on the inaccuracy of 

 memory and the value of written records made at the time of 

 occurrences, not only for facts, but also for impressions. He 

 read extracts from his diary of fifty years ago, giving his 

 ycjuthful impressions of the early events of his scientific career, 

 which was and has ever since been closely connected with that 

 of Dr. Britton. He mentioned Dr. Britton's first published note 



* Davis, William T. John J. Crooke: a Staten Island naturalist. Proc. 

 Staten I. Assoc. 3: 169-172. 191 1. 



