The Holland Society of New York - Yearbook (New York, NY)

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249 Eitigirally followed that floral photography bgcame pecia ty, and to h1m belongs the hono f th finest work ever done in ' , 'B r O e Oil-tiging its Originator' this line as well as that 1S eep interest in the succ ' , ment Of .the New York Botanicafsggildjitavglisgh at that time existed mostly in the hopes of, botan- 1S'CS, WHS the impelling cause of his first lecture on 'QT he Wild Flowers in and about New York City given -early 1n the nineties before the Torrey Botanical Club, for he 'very truly surmised that the interest of the New York public would be aroused by seeing its own wild flowers, growing within its own city limits, thrown upon the screen in all the beauty of natural colors and often lovely environment, as in Bronx Park, the longed-for abode of the Botanical Garden. From that time until the close of the 'last season -June, 1 9o3 ,-he lectured frequently in New York, Brooklyn and elsewhere, though he was averse to accepting out-of-town invitations, partly be- cause of the additional exertion, but principally because his interests all lay in his native city. r r Thus floral photography came to be the latest branch of scientific work that he followed, and it was followed to the last-even after the beginning of his last illness-with an enthusiasm, a aeal, and a persevering industry almost incredible in a man of his years. 0 1 The results were o.f steadily increasing excel- lence,--some of the latest work being the best he had ever done. His love of microscopic effects led him to photograph his Horal subjects, when possible, in detail, and some of the recent en- largements of the minute parts or organs of plants are beautiful and instructive. A U He rarely strayed from the floral field, but 111 18 8- he made some wonderful enlargementsof 9 9 the silk worm and other mothS, 35 Well as ahselilis if fb t e hundred negatives showing t e 1 'e ?1iSi'f:OI?3ilQfO01:11' Common milk-weed. butterfly. Th1S

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25o he called The Birth of a Butterfly, and in it every phase from the egg to the worm, through the several transformations of larva and pupa to the fully expanded butterfly, was beautifully shown. Mr. Van Brunt was an enthusiastic sportsman, and until the summer of 1902 he had never failed to have at least one week of trout fishing in the Upper Beaverkill for more than fifty years. He was the founder and first president of a beau- tiful fishing preserve in the Ulster County Catskills, known as the Balsam Lake Club. For many years he had owned Balsam Lake and much of the land surrounding it, but, finding it impossible to pro- tect the property and preserve the wild beauty of the woods and stream, he organized the club above mentioned. He was a zealous champion for the preservation of our forests, and Watched the trees of the club and state preserves with a most jealous eye, never losing an opportunity to inveigh against the man who ruthlessly or ignorantly cut one down. He was also a member of the New York Acad- emy of Sciences, New York Botanical Garden, Qof which he was Honorary Floral Photographerj New Nork Microscopical Society, New York Hor- ticultural Society, Torrey Botanical Club, Amer- ican Association for the Advancement of Science, American Museum of Natural History, American Institute, Brooklyn Institute, Forestry Associa- tion, Camera Club, Holland Society, American Geographical Society, Union League Club, and several foreign organizations., . Of a genial, kindly disposition, always look- ing on the bright side ofthings, possessing a fund of delightful anecdote and information on natural history and allied subjects, he made a charming companion, but he was too much absorbed in his own. pursuits to have a liking for social inter- course 1n the usual sense of the word. He was a loyal friend, a most devoted son, and a model husband. e .