NEW CREATIONS IN PLANT LIFE 
In the town of Lancaster there was a well- 
equipped academy to which he was drawn as 
soon as he had finished the common school. 
This he attended during the winter for several 
seasons, spending the rest of the year in work. 
The town had a large and well-stocked library, 
and into this, and into his father’s few but care- 
fully chosen books, he delved whenever there 
was opportunity. His father and his father’s 
brother, a minister, were personal friends of 
Emerson. The uncle’s son, the boy’s cousin, 
considerably older, was greatly interested in 
science and was also a personal friend of 
Agassiz, afterward becoming a successful edu- 
cator and a writer of more than local note 
on scientific topics, particularly geology. Be- 
tween the two there was a strong bond of 
friendship. The influence of such surround- 
ings had much to do in shaping the lad’s na- 
ture. Year by year environment forces were 
at work, and in them may be seen the proph- 
ecy of the development of this wonderful life. 
During several summers the boy worked in 
the city of Worcester, Massachusetts, in a fac- 
tory. His wage was small and the work was 
hard and irksome, but he even then had his 
6 
