Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
July,  1909. 
Charles  Darwin. 
343 
Each  of  them  made  explorations  into  the  unknown  and  each  con- 
tributed something  to  dispel  the  ignorance  and  superstition  which 
enshrouded  the  true  conception  of  the  universe.  Darwin  began  his 
scientific  career  with  the  voyage  of  the  H.  M.  S.  Beagle.  He  is 
usually  considered  to  be  a  biologist  in  the  narrow  sense  in  which 
that  term  is  generally  used  in  its  application  to  zoologists,  and  yet 
some  of  his  most  important  discoveries  were  made  by  him  as  a 
botanic  investigator.  We  find  all  through  the  journal  of  his 
voyage  around  the  world  reference  to  his  observations  of  the  plant 
life  of  the  countries  which  he  visited.  I  cannot  do  better  by  way  of 
an  introduction  to  what  follows  than  to  make  a  few  quotations  from 
the  pages  of  his  diary  where  he  mentions  particularly  his  study  of 
the  plants  in  the  field,  while  collecting  them  for  the  subsequent 
study  of  specialists,  such  as  Sir  Joseph  Hooker,  Professor  Henslow, 
and  Reverend  M.  J.  Berkley.  His  delight  and  enthusiasm  as  a 
naturalist  on  seeing  the  Brazilian  vegetation  near  Rio  Janeiro  for 
the  first  time  are  expressed  thus :  "  Following  a  pathway  I  entered 
a  noble  forest,  and  from  a  height  of  five  or  six  hundred  feet,  one  of 
those  splendid  views  was  presented,  which  are  so  common  on  every 
side  of  Rio.  At  this  elevation  the  landscape  attains  its  most  bril- 
liant tint,  and  every  form,  every  shade,  so  completely  surpasses  in 
magnificence  all  that  the  European  has  ever  beheld  in  his  own  coun- 
try, that  he  knows  not  how  to  express  his  feelings.  The  general 
effect  frequently  recalled  to  mind  the  gayest  scenery  of  the  Opera- 
house,  or  the  great  theatres.  I  never  returned  from  these  excur- 
sions empty  handed."  That  comprehensiveness  of  view  which  char- 
acterize the  writings  of  Darwin  as  a  finished  naturalist  is  exem- 
plified in  the  journal,  while  he  was  an  apprentice  on  board  the 
Beagle.  In  one  paragraph  he  gives  us  in  a  nutshell  a  complete 
description  of  the  vegetation  of  South  America  which  I,  as  a  plant 
geographer,  cannot  refrain  from  quoting  in  full.  Darwin  writes  : 
"  Confining  our  view  to  South  America,  we  should  certainly  be 
tempted  to  believe  that  trees  flourish  only  under  a  very  humid 
climate ;  for  the  limit  of  the  forest-land  follows,  in  a  most  remarkable 
manner,  that  of  the  damp  winds.  In  the  southern  part  of  the  con- 
tinent, where  the  western  gales,  charged  with  moisture  from  the 
Pacific,  prevail,  every  island  on  the  broken  west  coast,  from  lat. 
380  to  the  extreme  part  of  Tierra  del  Fuego,  is  densely  covered  by 
impenetrable  forests.  On  the  eastern  side  of  the  Cordillera  over  the 
same  extent  of  latitude,  where  a  blue  sky  and  a  fine  climate  prove 
