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,[1] besides valuable contributions from our president, Mr. Maclure, and others, now embraces about 28,000 different species 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[2] 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.
- ↑ The Academy owes to the indefatigable labour of the Chairman of its Botanical 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.
