Thomas Conrad Porter
Published: 2015-06-11
Total Pages: 382
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Excerpt from Flora of Pennsylvania Dr. Porter began the collecting and study of the plants of Pennsylvania about the year 1836 and continued both, essentially without interruption, until his death in 1901. He personally explored nearly every part of the State; but the Information thus obtained represents only a portion of the data recorded on the following pages. His connection with several Colleges in Pennsylvania for a period of over fifty consecutive years gave him a wide acquaintance with intelligent persons throughout the State, and those interested in plants, more especially the students who came under his influence, did all in their power to enlarge his collection of specimens, so that his State Flora might ultimately be essentially perfect. Thus, through personal exploration and the enthusiastic Cooperation of others for a period of over sixty years, the herbarium upon which this Flora is based contains plants brought together from all of the sixty-one counties of Pennsylvania. Professor Porter's ambition to make his list of Pennsylvania plants complete led him to defer printing it from time to time. So averse was he to giving his work to the public before the list of native plants was complete, that when death overtook him in his eightieth year, the work which he had endeavored to make perfect remained unpublished. However, the manuscript was nearly completed many years ago and was left with most of the more recent discoveries properly recorded. Being so earnestly interested in the botany of Pennsylvania and desiring that others might ultimately have the benefit of his studies, he made provision for its publication in his will. After the author's death, at the request of his executor, Professor S. A. Martin, I consented to edit the manuscript. I had long been intimately acquainted with Dr. Porter and with his work, and during frequent interviews, the flora of Pennsylvania and the form in which it should be published was often the main subject of conversation and discussion. Being thoroughly acquainted with the author's ideas, I can confidently say he would heartily subscribe to everything on the following pages. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
