390  Memoir  of  Edson  Sewell  Bastin.  {^^S^SST' 
When  he  first  came  to  Philadelphia  he  arranged  for  the  publication 
of  his  book  on  Materia  Medica,  which  was  unfinished  at  the  time  of 
his  death.  It  was  afterwards  shown  very  clearly  to  him  that  he 
could,  with  great  advantage,  give  the  publication  to  another  firm, 
and  he  expressed  his  desire  to  do  so  but  for  his  promise;  and  when 
asked  :  "  Is  there  no  way  out  of  it?  "  the  prompt  reply  was  :  "  Yes, 
there  is  a  way  out  of  it,  but  there  is  no  honest  way  out  of  it."  It  is 
almost  unnecessary  to  add  that  the  question  of  publication  was  con- 
sidered settled  from  that  time. 
As  a  teacher,  Professor  Bastin  was  noted  for  his  conscientious 
thoroughness;  no  amount  of  labor  was  too  great  for  him  to  under- 
take in  the  interest  of  his  students.  He  was  an  earnest  advocate  of 
the  practical  study  of  the  natural  sciences.  When  asked,  during  his 
preliminary  visit  to  the  College  in  1893,  ne  would  be  willing  to 
establish  a  laboratory  for  the  practical  study  of  materia  medica  and 
botany,  his  reply  was  that  he  would  not  be  willing  to  undertake  to 
teach  those  branches  in  any  other  way.  In  his  "College  Botany"  are 
some  introductory  paragraphs,  entitled,  "A  Word  to  the  Student," 
a  few  sentences  of  which  should  be  read  and  re-read  by  every  one 
engaged,  or  about  to  engage,  in  the  study  of  botany.  He  says  : 
Remember  that  the  study  of  botany  is  primarily  the  study  of 
plants,  and  not  the  study  of  books  about  plants.  If  you  study 
the  book  only,  you  will  almost  certainly  find  it  dry  and  unprofit- 
able, but  if  you  use  it  as  a  guide  to  the  study  of  plants,  and 
study  it  PLANT  IN  HAND,  verifying-  its  descriptions  by  obser- 
vations of  your  own,  you  will  find  the  work  not  only  profitable, 
but  intensely  interesting. 
These  few  sentences  say  more  than  whole  volumes  could  be  made 
to  say  against  the  entire  race  of  "  Quiz  Compends,"  "  Aids," 
" Lecture  Notes,"  "  Home  Studies,"  and  all  the  other  "  short  cuts" 
which  are  devoured  but  not  digested  by  the  great  army  of  unpre- 
pared applicants  for  State  Board  Certificates.  Professor  Bastin's 
method  of  studying  botany  was  either  in  the  field,  or  with  the  micro- 
scope, but  always  with  the  plant  or  drug  in  hand,  and  his  method  of 
imparting  instruction  was  the  same.  It  remains  but  to  speak  of  his 
domestic  life,  which,  by  those  who  knew,  has  been  declared  to  have 
been  an  ideal  one.  He  was  especially  fortunate  in  his  matrimonial 
alliances,  which  caused  the  losses  to  bear  more  heavily  upon  him. 
He  brought  into  his  family  the  enthusiasm  which  he  himself  possessed 
