August, 1890, 
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Prof. F. Lamson-Serlbner. 
Frank Lamson-Scribner was bom at Sa- 
lem, Mass., in 1851. His father’s family, 
the Lamsons, were among the earliest set- 
tlers of Exeter, N. H. His mother was a 
Winslow. His father died when he was 
three years old and very soon after he was 
adopted by a family, whose name he bears, 
living near Augusta, Maine. 
At the age of 15 he began to interest him- 
self in Botany, analysing his first flower — 
the trailing arbutus — April 19, 1866, and 
from that time until his connection with 
the Department of Agr culture, in 1885, the 
greater share of his leisure moments was 
devoted to this, his favorite pursuit. His 
first botanical collections, made in 1866-7, 
were acquired by Bowdoin College. 
At the age of 18, while yet on the farm, 
he prepared a treatise on the “Weeds of 
Maine,” an illustrated paper of 62 pp., writ- 
ten for the Report of the State Board of Ag- 
riculture and published separately in pam- 
phlet form. In 1874 he prepared for the 
same report, a similar paper on the “Orna- 
mental and Useful Plants of Maine,” also 
published separately, making a pamphlet 
of 85 pp. 
After spending a term at He ron Acad- 
emy, another at Kent’s Hill and tw r o terms 
at the Waterville Classical Institute, he en- 
tered the State Agricultural and Mechanical 
College at Orono in the Spring of 1870, from 
wdiich Institution he graduated in 1873 re- 
ceiving the degree of B S While at Oro- 
no he spent much time in collecting plants 
for the College. During vacations he taught 
schools to assist in defraying college expen- 
ses. After leaving college he continued to 
teach, and was for sometime connected with 
the works of the Government Fish Commis- 
sion, located at Bucksport and at Grand 
Lake stream. 
In the summer of 1876 he taught Botany to 
private classes, chiefly teachers in the pub- 
lic schools, in Bangor, Me. In the same 
year he conducted the classes in Botany in 
the Bowdoin College Summer School of 
Science. 
In January, 1877, Mr. Scribner went to 
Girard College, Philadelphia, as an officer 
of discipline, wheie he remained 8 years. 
Sixin after coming to Philadelphia, he was 
elected a member of the Academy of Nat- 
ural Sciences of Philadelphia, and for a 
number of years serve as Recording Secre- 
tary of the Botanical Se lion of that Society. 
Such time as he could lio.v command, he 
liegan to devote to the study of Grasses and 
soon became one of the recognized authori- 
ties in this difficult but important order of 
plants. One of his first published papers 
on this subject, “A list of the Grasses Col- 
lected by Mr. C. G. Pringle in Arizona and 
California,” which appeared in the Bulletin 
of the Torrey Botanical Club, brought him 
prominently before the botanists of the 
country and indicated his ability in dis- 
criminating forms and care in looking up 
authorities. It also led to his recognition 
abroad and brought him into correspon- 
dence with foreign botanists. He has since 
been honored by having a new genus of 
grasses — Scribneria — dedicated to him by 
the celebrated Austrian botanist, Prof. E. 
Hackel. 
Since the publication of the paper just re- 
ferred to, he has been a frequent contribu- 
tor to our leading botanical journals and 
h is published many new species of plants 
which he has often illustrated with his own 
hand. “A Revision of the North American 
species of the genus Melicae,” is the title of 
one of Mr. Scribner’s more important scien- 
tific papers, which was communicated to 
the Academy of National Science of Phila- 
delphia and published in their Proceedings. 
His second , and only other published com- 
munication to this Society, was an illustrat- 
ed paper entitled “Observations of the genus 
Cinna, w ith description of a new species.” 
In the summer of 1883, he was connected 
with the Northern Transcontinental Survey, 
in the Department of Economic Botany, and 
spent several months in Central Montana, 
making general collections, but paying spe- 
cial attention to the forage plants in order 
to determine their gem ral prevalence and 
the actual or probable values of the several 
species for pasiurage or for hay. The re- 
sull of these observations was given in an 
illustrated paper entitled the “Agricultural 
Grasses of Central Montana,” read before the 
Soc. lor the Promotion of Agric’l Science 
and published in their proceedings for 1883. 
In 1883 4 Iip prepared two long Chapters 
for the American Supplement to the Ency- 
clopedia Brittanica published in Philadel- 
phia, one on Cereals, under Agriculture; 
the other under Forage Plants, on the Grass- 
es of the United Slates. 
He made “A Contribution to the Flora of 
Kansas — Gramme®, ” illustrated by three 
plates and published in the proceed ngs of 
the Kansas Academy of Sciences, for 1885. 
In the spring of 1885 (May), Mr. Scribner 
was appointed Assistant Botanist in the U. 
S. Department of Agriculture and in July, 
1886, he was made Special Agent to have 
charge of the Mycological Section of the 
Botanical Division — a Section devoted to 
the study of the diseases of plants, a new r 
branch of work in the Department. A year 
later he was appointed Chief of the Section 
I of Vegetable Pathology, in continuance of 
his former duties, but then officially recog- 
nized by Congress. 
As Assistant Botanist, Mr. Scribner made 
a report on the “Fungus Diseases of Plants,” 
which was published in the Annual Report 
of the Department for 1885. In December, 
1886, his report on the “Fungus Diseases of 
the Grape Vine,” appeared as a Special Bul- 
letin. His report as Mycologist, published 
in the Annual Report of the Department, 
for 1886, embraced a discussion of a num- 
ber of fungus diseases of plants and their 
remedies. A number of papers relating to 
subjects connected with his official duties 
have appeared from time to time in various: 
scientific and horticultural publications. 
One, “on Greeneria fuliginea, a New Dis- 
ease of the Grape,” was published, conjoint- 
ly with M. P. Viala of the National School 
of Agriculture, at Montpellier, France, in 
Comptes Rendus, 12 Sept. I.i87. 
In January, 1889, the Croix de Chevalier du 
Merite agricole was conferred upon him by 
the French Minister of Agriculture for his 
services to the French Government in mat- 
ters pertaining to viticulture and the dis- 
eases of the vine. 
In November, 1888, Mr. Scribner removed 
to Knoxville, Tenn., to assume the duties 
of professor of botany and horticulture, at 
the University of Tennessee and State Ag- 
ricultural and Mechanical College, and as 
botanist and horticulturist to the Tennessee 
Agricultural Experiment Station. 
Prof. Scribner is a member of the Acade- 
my of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia;Am- 
erican Association for the Advancement of 
Science; a Fellow of the American Associa- 
tion for the Adv. of Sci. ;a corresponding 
member of the Buffalo Academy of Science 
and of the Torrey Botanical Club; a member 
of the N. J. Hort. See., and of the Penn. 
State Hort. Soc. 
In many departments of Botany Prof. 
Scribner is one of the leading authorities, 
but his great specialty is the Grasses and 
Forage Plants, in which be easily stands 
foremost and of which his knowledge is 
greater than that of any other man in this 
country co-day. Collections are sent to him 
from botanists in all parts of the country 
for classification and name. Fungus dis- 
eases of plants have also received a great 
deal of attention and study from him, and 
he will be remembered as the first in this 
country to recomend and use the Bordeaux 
mixture and other sulphate of copper com- 
pounds in their treatment, especially his 
successful treatment of Black -rot with these 
preparations. Our readers are familiar with 
his instructive articles on these diseases in 
Orchard & Garden. The Section of Vege- 
table Pathology, in the U. S. Dept, of Agri- 
culture, was organized by him and under 
his able direction rapidly developed into 
great prominence and usefulness. Prof. 
Scribner possesses much skill in drawing 
and microscopic work and is the author of 
many valuable works besides contributing 
various papers on grasses and fungi for the 
press. 
