New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-02-12
ANECDOTES OF ASA CRAY.
A WONDERFUL MFNORY.
prOyn The BOSTON TyGnscriDt

Or Asa Gray's death will not only remove ,ne
keystone Of arch Of botanical research a,0 am
and Ss'i intelligent H WORKERS q guiding friend and
philosopher whom they had learned TO hold IN rev.
only the toremosr OF American botanical systcma.
tiers and NTH b Ras 9W also D1 man
remarkably amabIe nature IN hgh rea ana to re
No one ever haa oher T fnap ppc in little
academic Old Cambridge knew him only as s,rasT T
and citizen Of whom his tradesmen said that they
"nevcr had sharp word from him me man man a
community in the citizen and neIchbor: and .. Is
certainly pleasant to 50 modest man as asa SrsS
Student was not. speak truth. without lis quar-
rel His memorable CCntroyersy With AsS's WhcS
for a time passed ont Of the bounds OF scientlhG
GC and d. H t%S mem @npss'tn s
bers h-and he Will not Tonch for Inc en, aS s.riv
convert TO- Darwinsm, almost indeed. an or an
ticpator of IT, had passed some crt,cs ~
i Darwin the upon most eminent o. whom
Agassiz. There nothing intended to be on
s ae na"ro and vet when the TWO men met re-
turning on the train from scientific gsrnSr'ng a.
such acrmony that p ofcs,or Agas>y m'dr no end
q BY calling DIV r GTay ,Se fendl7 rs
tions between the two men; but before Agassiz's
ssh vas "a F h0TS9 Ssce
the two great men we're at peace. To have two
srch men Cray and hgas9n at sword s.r5 n2ints
quarrel which could long survive.
CHESS but II was as mrrcIless 70 himself I, was
to Others His criticisms uIon errors that had crypt
with any partiality lady Of great botanical
lore once came to DR. Gray. and proceeded to show
mems OF plant which differed In way from
BIS description Of IT in his botany He looked ',s ~, At
remark Madame, ! have never been able 10 maFe
plants grow according to my description" on
With Dr. Gray IN his work, having discovered what
was undoubtedly an error in one Of the doctors
and Hnaiiy took the plant which had caused him
50 much heavness Of heart 70 hi' chief Then nc
passage In the early book The doctor read T. over
nna nsn f n takes
greatness OF character to mako one utterly unFnd to
ei bit sFf Hs win m's g. t" a hem an
physician Of tho Listeners acqnantanee once told MN
Of hook the practice Of medicine which be had
written, together with the note: npon which u was
tears at my loss" said he. hut | look AZ II now
could hctte- have lost $1,000 than have that book
printed because contained that should have
to stick TO and swear ny all the rest OF my life" Or
Gray, for his part. was great enough 70 be able TO
record '''''''
The power of Cray's memory was marvellous.
ist who had convinced himself that he had dlscov-
cred new species. sent specimen OF the new
lis orInion. The doctor looked at It a moment.
recognized It as an old stager little thicker than
a chunNpd innomnatus botancus," laid II aside
Tho amateur botsnist was not satisfied. He got
his specimen back. and preserved II carefully for
two years Then he fornd place for Il in col
lection that going IN DIR. GRAY for exarna-
ton and he had the identical plant again sur"eD-
titiously presented for inSrccton. Once more,
after two years. and after. OF course. such pro
cesson Of diverse plants had passed before the
great classifying mind is uncomfortable 10 the lay
Intelligence. the docto" took M the eccentric plant
and looked curiO"sy a. II. That" said he. s
simply, dummy lnuOmnatns botanlcns' Apparently
he had remembered nothing OF tne previous meeting
with tho plant. and vet his CLASSIFYING intelligence
had not only located II in instant. but had far
repeated the first characterization that the difference
between "chunked' and dumpy" was the only diver
gence