JOURNAL 
OF 
The New York Botanical Garden 
——— 
VoL. XX September, 1919 No. 237 
ae i =: = es 
SOME FICTITIOUS BOTANISTS 
It is difficult to believe that, in this day of enlightenment, 
standard works of reference should contain purely fictitious 
accounts of scientists who, if they ever existed, certainly never 
did nor wrote those deeds and writings with which they are 
credited. Yet it is true that when, about thirty years ago, 
“Appleton’s Cyclopedia of American biography” was published, 
a considerable number of such spurious sketches crept into this 
work, otherwise so authentic. Whether these biographies were 
“original” contributions to the cyclopedia just mentioned, or 
were copied from some Spanish-American source, [ do not know, 
but I have failed to trace them to any earlier printed accounts. 
At first these products of the vivid imagination of some gifted 
writer—for they bear internal evidence of no small degree of 
ingenuity—were ignored, and did no particular harm. But 
during the last few years they have been making an impression 
upon. the literature of scientific biography and bibliography, 
and it has become very necessary to expose their true character, 
which has been known to me for many years. 
It is impossible for me to say how many of these fictitious bio- 
gtaphical accounts are included in the cyclopedia, but I have 
selected fourteen of them which, by reason of the claim that 
their subjects were famous botanists, I am in a position to brand 
as false. The number of similar sketches of men who are errone- 
ously said to have devoted attention to other branches of science 
is probably considerable, but I cannot make such definite asser- 
tions about them. And I have omitted several of the so-called 
{71 
