No.  58 
REPORT  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  TO  VISIT  THE 
BOTANICAL  MUSEUM 
To  the  Board  of  Overseers  of  Harvard  College:  — 
The  Committee  appointed  to  visit  the  Botanical  Museum  have 
the  honor  of  submitting  herewith  the  following  report: 
It  is  with  a  very  great  sense  of  personal  loss  as  well  as  with  a 
realization  of  the  great  loss  to  the  Museum  that  they  have  to  an¬ 
nounce  the  death  of  Professor  Goodale. 
From  the  very  beginnings  of  the  Museum  he  has  been  its  man¬ 
ager  and  director.  To  him  the  late  Alexander  Agassiz  gave  per¬ 
mission  to  erect  a  central  section  of  the  University  Museum  for 
the  use  of  the  Botanical  Department,  provided  the  funds  could  be 
raised  within  a  reasonable  time.  This  he  accomplished  by  his 
own  efforts,  and  in  the  building  thus  provided  in  1889  have 
been  housed  the  Botanical  laboratories,  Museum  and  class-rooms. 
Originally  consisting  of  a  few  selected  specimens,  illustrating 
economic  plants  and  their  products  with  sQme  morphological 
material,  it  now  comprises  the  wonderful  Ware  collection  of  glass 
flowers,  to  which  arrangements  have  recently  been  made  to  add 
some  of  the  grasses  and  sedges  of  America,  as  well  as  a  large  and 
beautifully  mounted  collection  illustrating  the  economic  uses  of 
plants. 
This  idea  of  illustrating  flowers  by  glass  models  was  entirely 
original  with  Professor  Goodale,  and  was  always  regarded  by  him 
one  of  his  most  important  contributions  to  the  facilities  for  their 
study  and  appreciation  provided  by  the  Botanical  Department. 
These  collections  have  all  been  obtained  and  arranged  by  Pro¬ 
fessor  Goodale,  and  have  had  for  many  years  his  constant  care  and 
attention,  assisted  only  by  his  faithful  and  devoted  helper,  Mr. 
Bicrweiler.  All  of  this  work  has  been  done  through  the  personal 
efforts  and  friends  of  Professor  Goodale  without  any  financial  aid 
from  the  University.  There  are  few  instances  of  more  unselfish 
devotion  to  the  College  than  his,  and  we  believe  that  he  would  ask 
no  greater  monument  than  the  continued  growth  and  development 
of  the  work  to  which  so  much  of  his  life  was  given. 
176 
