The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1892-12-28
Two Students of Nature.

Years ago, in Brattcboro, among the
green hills of Vermont, lived man who
vas worthily earning bis living as a
shoemaker, He was fairly successful
in business point of view, but when
he had reached the age of thirty or
forty his health gave way. Going to
New York to consult an eminent ply
stefan, he was shown into an ante.room,
and was looking at some plants in the
window when the doctor came in. Elk
aiming the case carefully, this wise
physician said: " You do not need
medicine; what yon want is outdoor
exercise and mental employment l
saw you looking at the flowers in the
window. Are you interested in bot
any?" The shoemaker replied that he
knew nothing about botany, but had
always been fond of flowers. Well"
said the doctor, Ego home, and every
day this summer 90 out into the woods
aud fields and gather one flower, bring
it home, and find out the name Of it."
He at first felt a little as Naaman did
at his prescription of washing in the
river Jordan, but finally, like Naaman
took his prescription and began the
study of botany. Soon he bee me
deeply interested, and in two or three
seasons had collected nearly all the
Towering plants of that vicinity. Hav-
ing his attention called to MOSES, he
wrote Dr. Gray, asking for some text
book upon that subject. This being
before the days of " Gray's Manual -
that model of what textbook should
be-the only work Dr. Gray had to rec
in, Mo- hinfr
daunted, the shoemaker bought an
"Ollendorff " and soon learned Ger
man enough to read his Textbook A
while after, French book on that sub
ject coming in his way, he studied
French until he could master its con-
tents, and then took up Latin and
Greek sufficiently to be able to trace the
derivation of botanical names. AT last,
having fairly mastered the more COM
mon divisions of the vegetable king
dom, he began the study of fungi, and
there, as he told friend, he had found
a work TO last him a lifetime. This
necessitated the purchase of more books
and, finally, of a Beck's microscope.
And for years he could be seen every
day in his shop, on one side his lap
stone, his bench, and the implements
of his daily labor, and on the other a
library Of botanical works in three or
four languages, and on shelf over his
head his beautiful microscope. And
thus he spent the evening of his days
until his death, genial, cultivated, in
telligent, Christian shoemaker oanist.
In reply to question as TO the amount
of time he had devoted TO his studies
he said: Always an hour day, and as
much more as possible" Such was the
record of Charles G.. Frost, a man whom
is was a privilege to have as "a friend.
The second case is that of a farmer
in Virginia from whom, some years
ago, l received request that he might
send me a package of colored sketches
OF wild flowers, and that | would verify
or rectliy his determination OF their
names. Inquiry developed The fact that
he had reached adult aye as farmer,
when he began TO feel the neeu of
some subject of thought and interest
outside OF his daily work. Without any
scientific help or knowledge, he set
about collecting and naming the birds
OF the Shenandoah valley. Not salts
fled with stuffed specimens, he con-
ceived the idea OF painting the birds
he collected. With no artistic knowl-
edge Or instruction, he ordered paints
and brushes and set himself at work
and to-day there are very few artists in
the country who can paint birds with so
much OF artistic grace and scientific ac.
curacy as he. After few years, having
transferred to paper all the birds of the
region, he procured "Gray's Man
ual," and began to study the plants of
the valley, first determining their names
and then painting them. He accord
ingly sent on package of colored
sketches, artistically attractive, and so
true to nature that there was not the
slightest doubt as to any of the $50
species represented, while his own I'M
assisted determinations were so accu.
rate that not a dozen names needed to
be altered. Professor Pickering, in
Christian Union.