602 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XXI. Xo. 5.38. 



the University of Michigan in 1896 and 

 from Northwestern University in 1903 he 

 received the honorary degree of LL.D. ; in 

 1898 he was made a member of the Ameri- 

 can Philosophical Society; and in 1904 he 

 presided over the section of organic chem- 

 istry in the International Congress at St. 

 Louis. The list of honors might be length- 

 ened, but these examples are enougli to 

 show the esteem in which Dr. Prescott was 

 held by those who knew him best and were 

 most competent to appraise his merits. 



As a teacher Dr. Prescott was singularly 

 successful, both in his personal relations 

 with his students and as an organizer of 

 reforms. He began his work at a time 

 when lectures and recitations were com- 

 monly thought to be adequate instruments 

 for scientific teaching ; and when laboratory 

 practice for students was a questionable 

 novelty which only a few American schools 

 had dared to try. From the beginning he 

 took his stand on the side of modern 

 methods, and organized his work along 

 practical lines. The teaching of chemistry 

 in schools of pharmacy and medicine was 

 notably advanced through his efforts; and 

 given a significance which, in this country 

 at least, it had not had before. In this 

 respect Prescott was one of several leaders ; 

 less conspicuous, perhaps, than some others, 

 because of his modesty and quiet ways, but 

 none the less potent and influential. He 

 labored unpretentiously, but the results 

 Avhich he sought to accomplish were at- 

 tained. The admirable organization of 

 chemical work in the University of Mich- 

 igan is the outcome of Prescott 's broad and 

 liberal views. 



No man can escape the influences of his 

 environment. The work that comes to him 

 is the work that he must do. In Dr. Pres- 

 cott 's case, the requirements of his position 

 with respect to medicine and pharmacy, 

 naturally forced him into the study of or- 

 ganic compounds, but not along the con- 



ventional lines. Theoretical problems oc- 

 cupied little of his attention ; but analytical 

 methods, especially in the domain of toxi- 

 cology, and the investigation of proximate 

 principles, such as the alkaloids, took a 

 large part of his time. His researches upon 

 the alkaloidal iodides, and upon the assay 

 of opium, placed him easily first among 

 American specialists in that class of stud- 

 ies. His 'Outlines of Proximate Organic 

 Analyses,' published in 1875, was the first 

 text-book of its kind in the English lan- 

 guage, and it brought him an extended 

 reputation. In the same year he published 

 a monograph upon 'The Chemical Exami- 

 nation of Alcoholic Liquors,' which made 

 him still more widely known. In 1888 he 

 issued a 'Manual of Organic Analysis,' 

 and he also contributed a fair amount to 

 the general literature of analytical proc- 

 esses. Douglas and Prescott 's 'Qualitative 

 Chemical Analysis' has been a standard 

 text-book for thirty years. 



Dr. Prescott 's position in a state uni- 

 versity naturally brought him into public 

 service in connection with sanitary affaii*s. 

 The adulteration of food and the detection 

 of foreign fats and coloring matters in 

 butter were subjects to which he gave much 

 attention, and in which he was of material 

 assistance to the food eommissionei"s of 

 Michigan. Questions of water-supply and 

 filtration were often submitted to his judg- 

 ment, and in these ways his public useful- 

 ness extended far beyond the limits of his 

 state. Unfortunately, work of this kind 

 brings little glory to a man, but its value 

 m^^st not be underestimated. It contrib- 

 utes greatly to the public welfare, and it 

 can be properly done only by one who is 

 thoroughly faithful and conscientious. 

 Such a man was Prescott, whose work was 

 honest from beginning to end. 



Dr. Prescott early recognized the value 

 of research as a means of education, and so 

 his students often shared in his investiga- 



