Probably  he  took  up  botany  at  the  instigation  of  his  brother
(Dr.  Francis  Boott,  of  London),  and  with  the  design  of
helping  him  to  the  Carices  of  this  country,  when  Dr.  Boott
began  the  study  of  this  vast  genus  of  which  he  became  the
illustrator  and  highest  authority ;  and  Wm.  Boott,  by  a
kind  of  noblesse  oblige,  after  his  brother's  death,  devoted
himself  to  this  study."  He  likewise  studied  critically  the
Potamogetons,  Isoetes,  the  Grasses  and  some  tribes  of
the  Cyperaceee.  He  was,  moreover,  a  good  general
botanist,  with  whom  the  zeal  of  the  collector  and  the
uneasy  spirit  of  original  research  abode  to  the  last.  A
rare  combination  of  painstaking  care  and  critical  acumen
made  his  determinations  authoritative,  while  the  many
summers  he  spent  in  Medford  gave  him  an  extraordinary
acquaintance  with  the  flora  of  the  neighborhood.  To  the
preparation  of  this  work,  he  contributed  a  list  of  Middlesex
plants,  specimens  from  his  herbarium,  and  his  personal
services  in  the  identification  of  doubtful  species.  Wm.
Boott  has  left  in  print  a  scanty  record,  but  his  herbarium,
bequeathed  to  Harvard  University,  gives  a  partial  idea  of
the  scope  of  his  labors.
The  number  of  trained  observers  now  in  the  field  is  a
guarantee  that  the  work  of  their  predecessors  will  be
worthily  continued.  Discoveries  in  every  class  of  plants
may  confidently  be  expected.
14

The  annexed  species  and  varieties  have  been  founded
on  specimens  first  collected  in  Middlesex  county.
Rubus  setosus.    Bigelow,  Fl.  Bost.,  2  ed.,  p.  98.
"In  a  swamp  at  Sudbury."    Since  reduced  to  a  variety,  Rubus

hispidus,  L.,  var.  setosus,  Torr.  &  Gray.    Fl.  1,  456.
Myrophyllum  tenellum.    Bigelow,  Fl.  Bost.,  2  ed.,  p.  346.
