﻿94: 
  William 
  Gilson 
  Farlow. 
  

  

  received 
  from 
  his 
  Alrna 
  Mater, 
  he 
  was 
  given 
  the 
  honor- 
  

   ary 
  LL.D. 
  by 
  the 
  Universities 
  of 
  Wisconsin 
  and 
  of 
  Glas- 
  

   gow, 
  and 
  that 
  of 
  Ph.D. 
  by 
  Upsala. 
  He 
  was 
  a 
  member 
  of 
  

   the 
  National 
  Academy 
  of 
  Sciences, 
  the 
  American 
  Philo- 
  

   sophical 
  Society, 
  the 
  American 
  Academy 
  of 
  Arts 
  and 
  

   Sciences, 
  the 
  Linnaean 
  Society 
  of 
  London, 
  the 
  Paris 
  Acad- 
  

   emy 
  of 
  Science, 
  and 
  of 
  numerous 
  other 
  scientific 
  bodies 
  

   in 
  this 
  country 
  and 
  abroad, 
  in 
  which 
  he 
  held 
  various 
  

   offices, 
  including 
  the 
  presidency 
  of 
  the 
  American 
  Asso- 
  

   ciation 
  for 
  the 
  Advancement 
  of 
  Science 
  and 
  of 
  the 
  Botan- 
  

   ical 
  Society 
  of 
  America. 
  

  

  In 
  his 
  private 
  relations, 
  Dr. 
  Farlow 
  was 
  a 
  loyal 
  friend, 
  

   thoughtful, 
  kind, 
  generous 
  and 
  sympathetic 
  ; 
  a 
  delightful 
  

   companion 
  and 
  charming 
  host. 
  Dullness 
  he 
  abhorred. 
  

   Incapable 
  of 
  uttering 
  the 
  banalities 
  of 
  ordinary 
  social 
  

   intercourse, 
  his 
  talk 
  was 
  always 
  interesting, 
  original, 
  and 
  

   witty. 
  Contact 
  with 
  him 
  almost 
  always 
  left 
  one 
  with 
  

   some 
  new 
  idea, 
  or 
  point 
  of 
  view, 
  or 
  bit 
  of 
  interesting 
  

   news, 
  or 
  humorous 
  conceit 
  that 
  served 
  to 
  relieve 
  the 
  

   monotonies 
  of 
  life. 
  He 
  had 
  a 
  fund 
  of 
  rare 
  and 
  quiet 
  

   humor 
  which 
  he 
  often 
  used 
  effectively 
  to 
  drive 
  home 
  some 
  

   point, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  to 
  enliven 
  his 
  utterances. 
  This 
  habit 
  

   was 
  so 
  characteristic, 
  and 
  is 
  so 
  well 
  illustrated 
  in 
  his 
  

   presidential 
  address 
  before 
  the 
  American 
  Association 
  in 
  

   1905, 
  that 
  it 
  seems 
  worth 
  while 
  to 
  quote 
  its 
  opening 
  sen- 
  

   tences. 
  Introducing 
  his 
  subject, 
  which 
  was 
  entitled 
  

   "The 
  Popular 
  Conception 
  of 
  the 
  Scientific 
  Man 
  at 
  the 
  

   Present 
  Day," 
  with 
  a 
  brief 
  reference 
  to 
  the 
  conception 
  

   of 
  Progress 
  of 
  Science, 
  Dr. 
  Farlow 
  says, 
  "What 
  is 
  or 
  is 
  

   not 
  progress, 
  depends, 
  of 
  course, 
  on 
  the 
  point 
  of 
  view. 
  

   Some 
  are 
  so 
  far 
  ahead 
  of 
  the 
  majority 
  that 
  they 
  cannot 
  

   see 
  how 
  much 
  progress 
  is 
  made 
  by 
  those 
  behind 
  them. 
  

   Others 
  are 
  so 
  far 
  in 
  the 
  rear 
  that 
  they 
  cannot 
  distinguish 
  

   what 
  is 
  going 
  on 
  ahead 
  of 
  them. 
  We 
  must 
  also 
  admit 
  

   that 
  there 
  are 
  different 
  directions 
  in 
  which 
  progress 
  may 
  

   be 
  made. 
  You 
  have 
  all 
  seen 
  the 
  agile 
  crab, 
  and 
  been 
  sur- 
  

   prised 
  to 
  find 
  how 
  rapidly 
  he 
  gets 
  over 
  the 
  ground, 
  al- 
  

   though 
  he 
  never 
  seems 
  to 
  go 
  ahead, 
  but 
  to 
  scramble 
  off 
  

   sidewise. 
  The 
  crab 
  perhaps 
  wonders 
  why 
  men 
  are 
  so 
  

   stupid 
  as 
  to 
  try 
  to 
  move 
  straight 
  forward. 
  It 
  is 
  a 
  popu- 
  

   lar 
  belief, 
  but, 
  not 
  being 
  a 
  zoologist, 
  I 
  cannot 
  vouch 
  for 
  

   its 
  correctness, 
  that 
  the 
  squid 
  progresses 
  backward, 
  dis- 
  

   charging 
  a 
  large 
  amount 
  of 
  ink. 
  One 
  might 
  perhaps 
  

   ask: 
  Is 
  the 
  Progress 
  of 
  Science 
  sometimes 
  like 
  that 
  of 
  

  

  