A MEMOIR. 23 



ing the vitality of seeds— that is, by sowing them in the 

 soil, the -seedman's usual plan being to germinate them 

 in moist cotton or flannel — nearly always a misleading 

 method. Not only this, but annually in his trial grounds 

 he made certain of their purity by thorough comparative 

 tests. His judgment as to the value of new varieties of 

 both seeds and plants was almost infallible; and there 

 are very few novelties that he endorsed but have 

 stood the test of general culture, and are to-day recog- 

 nized as standard sorts. That he originated and intro- 

 duced more valuable new seeds and plants than any 

 other one man in America is a fact that those competent 

 to judge, will quickly admit. 



His Services to the New York Horticultural 

 Society. 

 In 1874, the New York Horticultural Society, after be- 

 ing practically defunct since i860, was resuscitated, very 

 largely through his efforts. He gave a considerable 

 portion of his time to its reorganization, and though he 

 would never accept any prominent office, he attended 

 all its meetings faithfully, and by his contributions to its 

 various exhibitions and his liberality in offering special 

 premiums for essays and exhibits at its monthly meet- 

 ings, assisted materially in making it a success. He was 

 also a zealous member of the Society of American 

 Florists and — recollecting his own early experience, — at 

 the convention held in Chicago in 1888, offered a pre- 

 mium of f 100 for the best herbarium of native plants 

 gathered within the year, and correctly named, to be 

 competed for at the meeting at 'Buffalo the following 

 year. This offer brought out several excellent exhibits, 

 the second best of which was so good that he voluntarily 

 gave $50 as an award for the painstaking manner in 

 which it was mounted and arranged. 



Catalogue and Advertising Skill. 

 Any record of the business career of Peter Henderson 

 would be incomplete that overlooked the skill and origin- 

 ality which he continually displayed in the preparation 

 of his plant and seed catalogues. Until within the last 



