AmApTi9ih3arm'}     Change  from  Old  to  New  Botany.  159 
idea  of  the  attitude  of  the  public  towards  natural  science,  at  the 
time  when  I  began  the  study  of  botany,  a  word  may  be  said  about 
the  botanical  instruction  in  colleges.  At  Harvard  botany  was  a 
required  study  for  the  whole  class  during  half  of  the  sophomore 
year.  The  text-bok  was  Gray's  "  Structural  Botany."  Gray 
had  no  assistant.  To  require  botany  of  a  whole  college  class — I 
am  not  speaking  of  agricultural  schools — is  enough  to  condemn 
it  to  neglect  and  abuse.  This,  however,  can  be  said  of  college 
students.  If  their  instructors  do  not  interest  them  they  are  always 
able  to  amuse  themselves.  In  the  corner  of  our  lecture  room  was 
the  trunk  of  a  palmetto  which  had  been  used  to  grace  the  funeral 
procession  of  Calhoun  and  afterwards  given  by  Professor  Gibbs 
to  Gray  as  of  historical  as  well  as  botanical  interest.  It  was  the 
duty  of  the  athletes  while  the  attention  of  the  instructor  was 
diverted  to  seize  the  trunk  and  carry  it  to  the  entry  and  later  on  to 
start  it  rolling  down  the  very  winding  staircase.  This  method  of 
studying  botany  I  discovered  later  was  not  confined  to  Harvard. 
Once  while  visiting  a  western  university  I  noticed,  to>  my  sur- 
prise, a  cannon  ball  back  of  a  door.  I  asked  why  it  was  there  and 
was  told,  not  by  a  student,  but  by  the  instructor  himself,  that  dur- 
ing the  lectures  the  students  rolled  it  along  to  the  head  of  the 
staircase  when  gravity  was  left  to  do  its  perfect  work.  After- 
wards some  attention  was  paid  to  the  lecturer,  and  how  much  was 
learned  on  any  one  day  depends  on  how  early  in  the  hour  the  cannon 
ball  was  started  on  its  way.  Compulsory  botany  was  not  a  success. 
In  my  junior  year  eight  or  ten  students  who  really  wished  to 
study  botany  asked  Gray  to  give  them  some  instruction  in  system- 
atic botany  during  the  season  when  fresh  material  could  be  ob- 
tained. The  work  on  our  part  was  entirely  voluntary  and  in  ad- 
dition to  our  regular  work.  It  was  not  recognized  by  the  college 
and  we  received  no  credit  for  it  in  the  rank  list.  The  number  of 
voluntary  workers  was  reduced  to  two  in  my  senior  year,  when 
we  had  so  much  regular  work  as  to  leave  almost  no  spare  time. 
I  have  noticed  in  recent  years  a  growing  disposition  to  demand 
some  reward  in  the  shape  of  a  degree  or  a  certificate  of  some  kind 
for  any  work  done  outside  the  regular  curriculum.  To  do  work 
for  the  pleasure  of  adding  to  one's  knowledge  is,  I  regret  to  say, 
getting  to  be  a  sign  that  one  is  not  up  to'  date. 
On  graduating  I  followed  Gray's  advice  and  entered  the  medical 
school,  hoping  sooner  or  later  to  be  able  to  return  to  botany.  The 
