XVII 



originality and far-reaching results, is the author's opus magnum. 

 In it, by a comparison of the floras of Eastern and Western America 

 with one another and with Japan, and of all with the Tertiary flora 

 of North America, Gray has outlined the history of the vegetation of 

 the north temperate zone in relation to its past and present geogra- 

 phical features, from the Cretaceous period to the present time. The 

 above are works of research, but there remain two labours of this 

 most industrious botanist which demand a notice ; these are the part 

 lie took in the controversy that followed the publication of Darwin's 

 ' Origin of Species,' and his extraordinary activity as a reviewer, biblio- 

 grapher, and historian of the progress of botany during his life-time. 



Gray was one of the first to accept and defend the doctrine of 

 natural selection, which he further fortified by masterly reasoning, 

 judicious criticism, and by experiments ; so that Darwin, whilst fully 

 recognising the different standpoints from which he and Gray took 

 their departures, and their divergence of opinion on important points, 

 nevertheless regarded him as the naturalist who had most thoroughly 

 gauged the * Origin of Species,' and as a tower of strength to himself 

 and his cause. It is not needful to dwell further on this subject; 

 Gray's intimacy with Darwin, and their most interesting and instruc- 

 tive correspondence, are matters of history, and together with their 

 divergent sentiments, are fully set forth in the life of the latter, and 

 in two works by Gray entitled ' Darwiniana ' and ' Science and Re- 

 ligion.' 



It remains to allude to Gray's labours as a reviewer and biblio- 

 grapher. Amongst his many accomplishments, not the least was his 

 •intimate knowledge of the early and latter history of botany, and of 

 the writings and doings of botanists everywhere. For fifty years (the 

 last thirty as co-editor of ' Silliman's Journal ') he kept the American 

 scientific public fully informed of the progress of his favourite science 

 in Europe and elsewhere, of all publications of value, of the move- 

 ments of botanical travellers, and of the changes in the staff of 

 museums, gardens, herbaria, &c. An American* colleague says of 

 him, " As a reviewer he was certainly extraordinary. Some of his 

 reviews were, in reality, elaborate essays, in which, taking the work 

 of another as a text, he presented his own views on important points 

 in a masterly manner. Others were technically critical, while some 

 were concise and clear summaries of lengthy works. Taken collec- 

 tively, they show better than any other of his writings the literary 

 excellence of his style, as well as his great fertility and acuteness as 

 a critic. Never unfair, never ill natured, his sharp criticism, like the 

 surgeon's knife, aimed not to wound, but to cure ; and if he sometimes 

 felt it his duty to be severe, he never failed to praise what was 



# Professor Farlow, " Memorial of Asa Gray," in the ' Proceedings of the American 

 Academy of Arts and Sciences,' p. 33. 



