﻿88 
  William 
  Gilson 
  Farlow, 
  

  

  Library. 
  In 
  music 
  and 
  horticulture 
  he 
  found 
  his 
  great- 
  

   est 
  pleasure, 
  and 
  was 
  for 
  a 
  time 
  President 
  of 
  the 
  Handel 
  

   and 
  Haydn 
  Society 
  of 
  Boston. 
  Although 
  he 
  had 
  no 
  spe- 
  

   cial 
  knowledge 
  of 
  botany, 
  he 
  was 
  very 
  fond 
  of 
  plants 
  and 
  

   flowers, 
  and 
  was 
  a 
  member 
  of 
  the 
  Massachusetts 
  and 
  New- 
  

   ton 
  Horticultural 
  Societies 
  at 
  whose 
  exhibitions 
  he 
  was 
  

   awarded 
  many 
  prizes. 
  

  

  Dr. 
  Farlow's 
  mother, 
  Nancy 
  "Wight 
  (Blanchard) 
  Far- 
  

   low, 
  came 
  of 
  an 
  old 
  Massachusetts 
  family; 
  but 
  although 
  

   she 
  had 
  the 
  appreciation 
  and 
  taste 
  of 
  an 
  educated 
  woman, 
  

   she 
  does 
  not 
  appear 
  to 
  have 
  had 
  any 
  unusually 
  pro- 
  

   nounced 
  tastes. 
  It 
  is 
  thus 
  from 
  his 
  father, 
  if 
  from 
  either 
  

   of 
  his 
  parents, 
  that 
  he 
  seems 
  to 
  have 
  inherited 
  the 
  two 
  

   chief 
  interests 
  of 
  his 
  earlier 
  life, 
  namely 
  botany 
  and 
  

   music. 
  

  

  After 
  a 
  year 
  of 
  intensive 
  study 
  at 
  the 
  Boston 
  Latin 
  

   School 
  where 
  he 
  worked, 
  for 
  the 
  most 
  part 
  by 
  himself, 
  

   in 
  Mr. 
  Francis 
  Gardner's 
  room, 
  not 
  reciting 
  with 
  the 
  

   school 
  classes, 
  he 
  entered 
  Harvard 
  College 
  in 
  1862, 
  grad-. 
  

   uating 
  with 
  his 
  class 
  in 
  1866. 
  During 
  his 
  college 
  course 
  

   he 
  turned 
  his 
  attention 
  especially 
  to 
  music 
  and 
  natural 
  

   history; 
  he 
  was 
  a 
  member, 
  and 
  for 
  a 
  year 
  secretary, 
  of 
  

   the 
  Pierian 
  Sodality, 
  in 
  which 
  he 
  played 
  the 
  piano, 
  and 
  

   was 
  several 
  times 
  soloist 
  at 
  its 
  public 
  concerts. 
  His 
  un- 
  

   usual 
  musical 
  ability 
  was 
  recognized 
  by 
  Mr. 
  B. 
  J. 
  Lang, 
  

   under 
  whom 
  he 
  studied 
  and 
  who 
  then 
  enjoyed 
  in 
  Boston 
  

   a 
  high 
  reputation 
  as 
  a 
  teacher, 
  and 
  he 
  was 
  even 
  urged 
  by 
  

   Professor 
  J. 
  K. 
  Paine, 
  then 
  fresh 
  from 
  his 
  studies 
  in 
  

   Germany, 
  to 
  take 
  up 
  music 
  as 
  a 
  profession. 
  

  

  Although 
  he 
  retained 
  his 
  fondness 
  for 
  playing 
  the 
  

   piano 
  throughout 
  his 
  subsequent 
  life, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  his 
  musi- 
  

   cal 
  interests 
  generally, 
  his 
  innate 
  love 
  of 
  natural 
  history, 
  

   and 
  especially 
  of 
  botany, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  the 
  influence 
  of 
  Asa 
  

   Gray, 
  with 
  whom 
  he 
  early 
  formed 
  a 
  close 
  friendship, 
  

   combined 
  to 
  determine 
  his 
  choice 
  of 
  a 
  career 
  : 
  and 
  despite 
  

   the 
  fact 
  that 
  at 
  graduation 
  he 
  wrote 
  in 
  his 
  class 
  report 
  

   that 
  he 
  had 
  no 
  definite 
  plans 
  for 
  his 
  future, 
  botany 
  was 
  

   without 
  question 
  his 
  predominant 
  interest. 
  He 
  was 
  a 
  

   member 
  of 
  the 
  Harvard 
  Natural 
  History 
  Society, 
  con- 
  

   cerning 
  which 
  he 
  has 
  written 
  a 
  very 
  amusing 
  account, 
  

   and 
  which 
  at 
  that 
  time 
  maintained 
  a 
  miscellaneous 
  col- 
  

   lection 
  of 
  objects 
  of 
  Natural 
  History. 
  These 
  included, 
  

   in 
  addition 
  to 
  a 
  crocodile, 
  a 
  human 
  skeleton 
  and 
  a 
  turkey 
  

   buzzard, 
  an 
  Herbarium, 
  of 
  which 
  he 
  had 
  the 
  honor 
  to 
  be 
  

   appointed 
  Curator, 
  a 
  guardian 
  of 
  whose 
  ministrations 
  it 
  

  

  