192 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 



Dr. Pickering, while it could be truly said of him by one of his biographers, that there 

 was probably not a more learned naturalist in the world, was yet one of the most modest 

 of men. His simplicity of character, inflexible integrity, loyalty to truth, tranquillity 

 of temper, and kindly though somewhat reserved disposition, were thoroughly consistent 

 with his great and extremely accurate acquirements, and that love of knowledge which 

 was his grand passion. The following extract from a biographical notice published with 

 his " Chronological History of Plants," speaks thus of him : 



" We doubt if any one naturalist ever united in himself so far as he did, the qualities of 

 an exact original observer on the most enlarged scale, and of an inquirer into all that had 

 been learned before. His minute, laborious and extended explorations into all possible 

 records of past ages, seemed of themselves more than enough for the work of a lifetime. 

 * * * He not only visited every quarter of the earth, but went through the whole range 

 of history, wherever it could bear upon his subject, in quest of anything that might help 

 him better to understand " The Kaces of Man and their Geographical Distribution," 

 " The Geographical Distribution of Animals and Plants," and " The Chronological History 

 of Plants." 



Dr. Pickering married in 1851, Sarah S., daughter of the late Daniel Hammond, Esq. 

 He died of pneumonia, in Boston, March 17th, 1878, leaving a widow but no children. 



In April the death of Prof C. F. Hartt, a highly valued Corresponding Member of the 

 Society, was announced. As he was for some time an active member of the Society, it 

 is due to the eminence attained by him as a scientific explorer and investigator, to give 

 some account of the great work achieved by him in the short time of his active life. 

 The sketch here presented is drawn entirely from an elaborate and excellent paper pre- 

 pared by Mr. Richard Rathbun and published in the nineteenth volume of the Societv's 

 Proceedings. 



Professor Hartt was born in Fredericton, New Brunswick, August 23d, 1840. 

 He graduated from Acadia College in 1860. At an early age he manifested much 

 interest in the study of natural history, and whilst in college labored zealously in 

 exploring geologically the Province of Nova Scotia, in doing which he made large collec- 

 tions. Subsequently he gave much attention to the study of the rocks in the vicinity of 

 St. John, New Brunswick, and it was by his researches there that he first became exten- 

 sively known to the scientific world. The discovery there of fossil insects in the Devon- 

 ian shales, led to Professor Agassiz' knowledge of him, and to his being invited to become 

 a student in the Museum of Comparative Zoology, where he passed much tune during 

 the succeeding four years, making great progress in, science and preparing himself for 

 future usefulness. During this period he made excursions to his native province and 

 to Nova Scotia, making investigations of important character. To him, the scien- 

 tific world is indebted for very much of the knowledge possessed by it of the ancient 

 strata of New Brunswick. Mr. Hartt was appointed by Professor Agassiz one of the two 

 geologists who accompanied the Thayer expedition to Brazil in 1865, and it was whilst en- 

 gaged in this service, that he became so much interested in the geology of that empire as 

 to lead to his extensive work there in after years. He made a second trip there in 1867. 



