72 



THE A^IERICAX BOTANIST 



born at West Point on February 22, 1843. He entered Brown 

 University in 1860, but withdrew in 1862 to become a private 

 in the 10th Rhode Island Volunteers. He returned later to 

 Brown and was graduated. Upon his graduation he became 

 assistant in chemistry at the ^Massachusetts Institute of Tech- 

 nology and the next year was appointed botanist of the United 

 States Geological Survey of the TOth Parallel. Later he studied 

 botan}^ in Columbia and Harvard Universities and in 1877 be- 

 came instructor in botany in Brown University. Four years 

 later he became full professor of botany in the same institution 

 and this place he held until 1906 when he retired as Professor 

 Emeritus. Dr. Bailey was a member of many scientific and 

 other societies and was frequently selected for positions of 

 honor in them. In addition to being the author of many short 

 articles on scientific subjects published in a variety of maga- 

 zines. Dr. Bailey produced several books, the best known of 

 which are "Among Rhode Island Wildflowers," "Xew Eng- 

 land A\'ildflowers," "The Botanical Collector's Handbook," 

 and "Botanizing." His last volume was a collection of his 

 poems published in 1909. Dr. Bailey had a philosophical and 

 humorous way of looking at common things that made his 0I3- 

 servations always of interest. He was ever ready to help those 

 who were interested in his favorite subject and there are few of 

 the present generation of botanists who do not owe him a debt 

 of gratitude on this score. He belonged to a group of students 

 who began their studies before the microscope and the scalpel 

 became the chief tools of the botanist and ever derived the 

 greatest pleasure from the contemplation of the living plant in- 

 stead of its dried and sectioned counterpart. 



Violets but not Violas. — If a recent student of the 

 violets has his^way, there is not likely to be much left of the 

 genus Viola to which we have heretofore regarded these plants 

 as belonging. As every one knows, the violets may be blue, 

 lavender, yellow, or white in color, may have cleistogamous 



