{"id":3748,"date":"2017-10-31T13:38:51","date_gmt":"2017-10-31T17:38:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/archives\/?p=3748"},"modified":"2017-11-10T23:59:56","modified_gmt":"2017-11-11T03:59:56","slug":"botanizing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/archives\/botanizing\/","title":{"rendered":"Botanizing"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Rosaceae, Cerasus virginiana (Prunus virginiana), Wild cherry (Please click all images to enlarge)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was a sunny Saturday, June 20, 1863.\u00a0 The term was almost over; students and teachers were about to disperse.\u00a0 With the papers full of news of Civil War hostilities, alumni and family members gone South to fight, there was an overtone of uncertainty about the future.\u00a0 But for at least a day’s respite, twenty Williston students \u2014 ten young men and ten young ladies \u2014 went on a plant collecting expedition \u2014 “botanizing,” as they called it \u2014 to Southwick, about ten miles from Easthampton.\u00a0 How much of this was serious scientific pursuit and how much an excuse for a picnic, we will never know.\u00a0 Even at still-coeducational Williston Seminary (the Ladies’ Department would be closed in 1864), opportunities for mixed social activity were few.<\/p>\n

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Mollie Nelson’s note commemorating the day. Mollie’s name is at bottom right.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The organizer and chaperone was William Austin Richards, Williston 1855, Amherst ’61, who upon his graduation had returned to Williston as a teacher of Latin and Greek.\u00a0 Richards planned to teach for a few years to gain a little experience and cash, before studying for the ministry.\u00a0 None of his Williston responsibilities included anything scientific; natural history must have been merely an avocation.\u00a0 And although a document refers to the “botany class,” there was no formal course in the Williston catalogue.\u00a0 Nonetheless, at least some of the students took the scientific side of the day very seriously.<\/p>\n

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Ranunculaceae, Coptis trifolia, Three-leaf goldthread<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Mollie Nelson’s cover labels for the wild cherry specimen at the top of the page.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of these was Mary Lydia Nelson \u2014 “Mollie” \u2014 a senior from West Suffield, CT.\u00a0 Mollie went home and meticulously pressed the day’s collection of plants.\u00a0 Almost unbelievably, 154 years later, her specimens remain in nearly pristine condition.\u00a0 Mollie did everything right.\u00a0 There are 57 folders, each a sheet of paper 23 x 18 inches (11.5 x 18″ folded.)\u00a0 Mollie chose a very high quality heavyweight rag paper with almost no acid content, so there has been practically no chemical reaction between plants and paper.\u00a0\u00a0 She secured each plant to the paper with nearly invisible white cotton thread.\u00a0 Almost every specimen was carefully labeled with phylum, genus, and species.<\/p>\n

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Trilliaceae, Trillium erythrocarpum (T. undulatum), Painted trillium or Painted wakerobin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mollie\u00a0retained her plant collection as a cherished keepsake.\u00a0 It stayed in her family and against all odds, was always well stored, away from extremes of temperature and humidity.\u00a0 In 1983 Mrs. J. R. Nelson, widow of one of Mollie’s descendants, presented the collection to Williston Northampton.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Equisetaceae, Equisetum arvense, Field horsetail<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Recently this writer had occasion to show the plants to Jane Lucia’s 7th grade science and upper school Outdoor Ecology classes.\u00a0 We asked why, above and beyond school history, such a collection was significant?\u00a0 Some of the students’ ideas included tracking species distribution over time, perhaps as evidence of habitat or climate change.\u00a0 The specimens can be compared with present-day examples, to determine whether there has been evolutionary change.\u00a0 It may even be possible to extract DNA from the specimens.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
7th grade scientists at the Williston Northampton Middle School discuss the present day implications of the plant collection. (Jane Lucia)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Leguminosae , Trifolium repens and T. praetense, White clover and Red clover<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
The cover note to the wreath reproduced below.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mollie Nelson’s collection also included a folder inscribed “Hurrah! for the Botany Class of 1863, William Richards, Esq., Teacher,”\u00a0 containing a laurel wreath and beribboned sprig of hemlock.\u00a0 It would appear that these, perhaps along with the “Ever cherish” note reproduced earlier, were to have been presented to Professor Richards in commemoration of the day.\u00a0 Why were they not?\u00a0 The sad answer is that Mollie never had the chance.\u00a0 For William Richards, visiting his brother during the summer holiday, contracted typhoid fever and died on September 7, 1863, aged only 27.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Laurel wreath and hemlock bouquet, intended to have been presented to William Richards.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here is a gallery of more of Molly Nelson’s botanical collection.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Lilliaciae, Streptosus roseus (S. lanceolatus), Lance-leaved twistedstalk<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Compositae, Erigeron bellidifolia, Fleabane<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Ranunculaceae. Anemone nemorosa, European windflower<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Filices, Aspidium spinulosum (Dryopteris spinulosa), Spinulose wood fern<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Unidentified specimens<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Rosaceae, Cerasus pennsylvanica (Prunus pennsylvanica), Pin cherry<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Unlabeled specimen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was a sunny Saturday, June 20, 1863. The term was almost over; students and teachers were about to disperse. With the papers full of news of Civil War hostilities, alumni and family members gone South to fight, there was an overtone of uncertainty about the future. But for at least a day’s respite, twenty Williston students \u2014 ten young men and ten young ladies \u2014 went on a plant collecting expedition \u2014 “botanizing,” as they called it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[44,164,453,25],"tags":[456,457,455,375,454],"class_list":["post-3748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-academic-history","category-faculty","category-student-life","category-williston-seminary","tag-botany","tag-mary-lydia-nelson","tag-mollie-nelson","tag-science","tag-william-austin-richards"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3748"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3748"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3748\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3796,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3748\/revisions\/3796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}