32 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF 
plants from Florida, Brazil and Buenos Ayres, among 
which he found more than three thousand species, not 
before in his own herbarium, and of these, more than 
one-half, it is believed, have never yet been described 
in any publication. 
Thus, through the liberality of the deceased member 
whom we now commemorate, the donations which, in 
his life time, Mr. Collins had bestowed on the museum 
of our institution, are once more united to his other most 
important botanical treasure. 
The examination and arrangement of these new plants 
constituted some of the last scientific labours of Mr. S. 
and he derived from the employment, such satisfaction 
as to make him, for a time, forget the bodily suffering 
and the mental depression under which his frame, at 
length, gave way. 
Increased by all these rich and varied additions, the 
•/ * 
botanical department of our museum having previously 
acquired the entire collection of Mr. Nuttall,* besides 
valuable contributions from our president, Mr. Maclure, 
and others, now embraces about 28,000 different spe¬ 
cies of plants; more than three-quarters of which are, 
as we have seen, due to the industry and liberality of a 
single individual. 
The whole is now arranged! after the neat and judi- 
* The American plants of Mr. Nuttall were, in part, a donation from that 
gentleman, and, in part, obtained by a subscription among several public spirited 
members of the Academy. For his exotics , amounting to several thousands, 
we are wholly indebted to the liberality of Mr. N. 
t The Academy owes to the indefatigable labour of the Chairman of its Bo¬ 
tanical Committee, Dr. Charles Pickering, the prompt execution of this task, 
and the compiler of this notice is happy to acknowledge his obligation to the 
same gentleman for many of the facts above stated in regard to the herbarium. 
