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THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE DATE 
 INDICATED BELOW AND IS SUB- 
 JECT TO AN OVERDUE FINE AS 
 POSTED AT THE CIRCULATION 
 DESK. 
 
 
 1 feD-^^ 
 
 
 lOOM/7.85 
 
FROM THE ANNIVERSARY MEMOIR' 
 
 {[ISTOnTCAL SKi-rrcji 
 
 OF TIIK 
 
 BOSTON S0(?1KTY OF NATURAL HiSTORY; 
 
 WITH 
 
 ^ jVpTICE OF T[IE LINJN^AN .ISQCJETV, 
 
 WmClI PnECEDED^ IT. 
 
 V.y TilOMAS T. HOUVF. 
 
 J' ,■ i. i ■ :■ V T'- 
 
 
MUSEUM OF THE BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 ERECTED 1863. 
 
SPECIAL EDITfOS. ('ONTMXIXU; OX/.V 'I'llE UlSToUY OF TIIR f^Oi'IRTY. 
 
 ANNIVERSARY MEMOIRS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY 
 
 PUBLISHED IN CELEBRATION OF THE 
 
 jfiftietl) aumbcrjsarp of tlje ^ocietp'js founDation. 
 
 1830-1880 
 
 BOSTON: 
 PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY. 
 
 ISSO. 
 
PUBLISHING COMMITTEE. 
 
 Samuel H. Scuddee, Edward Burgess, 
 
 Samuel L. Abbot, Alpheus Hyatt, 
 
 J. A. Allen. 
 
 PRESS OF A. A. KINGMAN. 
 BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 BERKELEY ST. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 SOCIETY ANNALS. 
 
 List of the Present Officers of the Society. (1 page.) 
 
 Prefatory Note, witli extr.-xcts from the minutes of tlie anmial meeting, May fith, 1880. (3 pages.) 
 
 Historical Sketch of the Boston Society of Natural History, witli a notice of the Linnaeaii Society of 
 Now England which preceded it ; including biographical notices of all tlie Society's ijrominent past mem- 
 bers, officers and benefactors. By Thomas T. Bouve. (250 pages, six floor plans, view of the Museum, and 
 jiortraits of Benjamin D. Greene, George B. Emerson, Amos Binncy, John C. Warren, Jeffries Wyman, 
 Thomas T. Bouve, Augustus A. Gould, D. Humphreys Storer and William J. Walker.) 
 
 SCIENTIFIC PAPERS. 
 
 N. S. Shaler. Propositions conccrnim/ the Classification of Lavas considered with reference to the 
 Circumstances of their Extrusion. (15 p.ages.) 
 
 Alpheus Hyatt. Genesis and Evolution of the species of Planorhis at Steinheini. (114 pages, ten 
 
 plates on nine sheets, one plate of sections; map and two sections in text.) 
 
 Samuel H. Scuddeu. The Devonian Insects of JVew Brimsivick; vnth a note on tlie Geological Re- 
 lations of the Fossil Insects from the Devonian of New Brunswick, by Principal J. W. Dawson, LL.D., 
 F.R.S., etc. (41 pages, one jilate.) 
 
 W. G. Faelow. llie Gijinno. t^wranyi a ( Cedar-apples) cf the United States. (38 pages, two plates.) 
 
 Theodobe Lyman. A new Structural Feature, hitherto xuiloioicn among Echinodermata, found in 
 Deep- Sea Opihiurans. {VI [lages, two plates.) 
 
 W. K. Brooks. The Development of the Squid, L<il!</<> Peulii Lesucur. (22 pages, three plates.) 
 
 A. S. Packard, Jr. Tlie Anatomy, Histology and Emhryoh>gy of IJmidus Polyphemus. (45 pages, 
 seven plates.) 
 
 Edward Burgess. Contributions to the Anatomy <f the Milk- Weed Butterfly, Danais Archippus 
 Fabr. (IG pages, two jdatcs; one cut in text.) 
 
 Samuel F. Clarke. The Development of a Douhle-heaeled Vertebrate. (G pages, one plate.) 
 
 Charles Sedgwick Minot. Studies on the Tongue of Reptiles ami Birds. (20 pages, one [ilatc; six 
 cuts in text.) 
 
 Edward S. JMgrse. On the Identity of the Ascending Process of the Astragalus in Birds with the In- 
 termedium. (10 pages, one plate ; twelve cuts in text.) 
 
 LuciEN Cakk. 2'he Crania of New England Indians. (10 pages, two jjlates.) 
 
 William James. Tlie Feeling of Effort. (32 pages.) 
 
 ;>r)471 
 
LIST OF TEE PRESENT OFFICERS OF TEE SOCIETY. 
 
 President. 
 
 Samuel H. Scudder. 
 
 Vice-Presidents. 
 
 John Cummings, Frederick W. Putnam. 
 
 Custodian. 
 
 Alpheus Hyatt. 
 
 Honorary Secretary. 
 
 Samuel L. Abbot. 
 
 Secretary. 
 
 Edward Burgess. 
 
 Treasurer. 
 
 Charles W. Scudder. 
 
 Librarian. 
 
 Edward Burgess. 
 
 Committees on Depai'tments of the Museum. 
 
 MmBRAlS. RADIATES, CRUSTACEANS AND WORMS. 
 
 Thomas T. Bouve, H. A. Hagen, 
 
 R. H. Richards, Alexander Agassiz. 
 
 M. E. Wads WORTH. 
 
 MOLLUSKS. 
 
 OEOLOOT. Edward S. Morse, 
 
 William H. Niles, J. Henry Blake. 
 
 G. Frederic Wright, 
 
 ' INSECTS. 
 
 PAZAEONTOLOOr. SaMCTEL H. ScUDDEE, 
 
 Thomas T. Bouve, Edward Burgess, 
 
 N. S. Shaxer. a. S. Packaed, Jr. 
 
 botany. fisbes and reptiles. 
 
 John Cummings, F. W. Putnam, 
 
 Charles J. Speague, Theodore Ltman, 
 
 J. Amoey Lowell. S. W. Garman. 
 
 MICROSCOPr. BIRDS. 
 
 Samuel Wells, J. A. Allen, 
 
 R. C. Greenlfaf, Samuel Cabot. 
 
 B. Joy Jeffries. 
 
 MAMMALS. 
 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY. J. A. AlLEN, 
 
 Thomas Dwight, E. L. Mark, 
 
 W. F. Whitney. George L. Goodale. 
 
PREFATORY NOTE. 
 
 Fiftli paiMi^n-aiili, for ten plates on „ine sh'MtK roii.l nlueplat'is on eight sheet. 
 
 KRRATA. 
 
 Ill llif t:ilile (jf cnntciUs: 
 
 ■'"'"" ' ■'■ ' ' ' ■ '.. ' " ets. 
 
 lu the Historical Sketcii : 
 
 Page 216, 22d line, read Charle.'< W. EUot. 
 
 •^tli " from bottom, for yWwt a// read _/>,-„, M„i ,;/• „//. 
 '• 217, I2l!i " -.li'U'v inith\wn'y\ tlu: chief caiifeK of. 
 
 period of its existence. 
 
 Boston, Dec. 15, 1880. Publishing Committee. 
 
 Extract from the minutes of the Annual Meeting, 3Tay 5, 1880. 
 
 Mr. S. H. Scudder, on ussuming tlio })re.sidcntiixl chair, discussed the mission of the So- 
 ciety, closing his remarks with the following words: At a previous meeting 1 Iiave already 
 expressed my sincere regret that we can no longer be led in this work by the President 
 whose devotion we have been only too pleased to acknowledge by our ballots for ten years 
 past ; but as long as his life is spai'ed to us we shall have his sympathy and wise advice, 
 
 (V) 
 
LIST OF TEE PRESENT OFFICERS OF TEE SOCIETY. 
 
 President. 
 Samuel H. Scudder. 
 
 Vice-Presidents. 
 
 John Cummings, Frederick W. Putnam. 
 
 Custodian. 
 
 AxPHEus Hyatt. 
 
 Thomas T. Bouvb, 
 N. S. Shalee. 
 
 BOTAHT. 
 
 John Cummikgs, 
 Charles J. Speagite, 
 J. Amoet Lowell. 
 
 microscopy. 
 Samuel Wells, 
 R. C. Geeenlfaf, 
 B. Joy Jeffries. 
 
 COMPAXATirS ANATOMY. 
 
 Thomas Dwight, 
 W. F. Whitney. 
 
 Edwaed Huegess, 
 A. S. Packard, Jr. 
 
 FISHES AND REPTILES. 
 
 F. W. Putnam, 
 Theodore Lyman, 
 S. W. Garman. 
 
 BIRDS. 
 
 J. A. Allen, 
 Samuel Cabot. 
 
 MAMMALS. 
 
 J. A. Allen, 
 E. L. Mark, 
 George L. Goodale. 
 
PREFATORY NOTE. 
 
 The Boston Society of Natural History, founded in 1830 by a few earnest men, 
 has this year celebrated its fiftieth anniversary. Its growth during this period has 
 been so considerable, it has gained for itself so firm a hold upon the esteem of our citi- 
 zens, and its relations to the higher education of the people have been so significant, 
 that it has been thought fitting to signalize this anniversary by the issue of a special volume 
 of scientific papers, preceded by a detailed history of the Society, the preparation of which 
 was entrusted to the President. Included in the history will he found the proceedings of 
 the jubilee meeting, held on the twenty-eighth of April last. At the annual meeting, 
 held a few days later, the President, Thomas T. Bouve, Esq., declined a reelection ; 
 having been an officer of the Society for nearly forty and its President for ten years, 
 no man living is so thoroughly identified as he with its life and interests during the 
 most eventful period of its history ; and it is thei'efore fitting that this statement 
 should be followed by the tribute paid at the annual meeting to his untiring devotion 
 to the interests of the Society, not only during his Presidency, l)ut for nearly the whole 
 period of its existence. 
 
 Boston, Dec. 15, 1880. Publishing Committee. 
 
 Extract from the minutes of the Annual Meeting, 2Iay 5, 1880. 
 
 Mr. S. H. Scudder, on assuming the presidential chair, discussed the mission of the So- 
 ciety, closing his remarks with the following words: At a previous meeting I have already 
 expressed my sincere regret that we can no longer be led in this work by the President 
 whose devotion we have been only too pleased to acknowledge by our ballots for ten years 
 past ; but as long as his life is spared to us we shall have his .sympathy and wise advice, 
 
 (V) 
 
VI 
 
 and we may be sure that in all the work the Society undertakes, it will have no stronger 
 friend than he. 
 
 Mr. John Cummings thereupon offered the following vote : — 
 
 " In consideration of the fact that Mr. Bouve has declined to be a candidate for the first 
 office of this Society, the meniliers desire to express their grateful acknowledgment of the 
 long and valuable service he has rendered as President, and their cordial thanks for his 
 arduous labors, unremitted devotion, prudent and successful administration ; nor can they 
 part from him in this official capacity without the additional expression of their warm 
 personal esteem." 
 
 No one ever associated with Mr. Bouv^, added Mr. Cummings, who did not feel himself 
 drawn to him hy the strongest and tenderest ties. In his own experience he had never 
 met a man with so much devotion to any cause as Mr. Bouve had shown for the 
 welfare of the Society. 
 
 Mr. Cummings's remarks were warmly applauded and the motion was seconded by Prof 
 A. Hyatt, Avho said, in respect to Mr. Bouve's administration, that although from the first 
 the present policy of the Society had met the severest criticism and sometimes disapproba- 
 tion from the intimate friends and advisers of the President, he had yet been able to keep 
 his judgment unwarj^ed and to consider those ideas, which were new to him, purely on 
 their own merits. It is not too much to say that the Society's aims, which Ave have heard 
 so highly praised in this anniversary year, could not have been so developed without Mr. 
 Bouve's constant support. The feelings expressed by Mr. Cummings will be echoed in 
 the heart of every officer of the Society, for we have always found our President full of 
 kindness and consideration, as well as just and sound in judgment. 
 
 Mr. F. W. Putnam said he could not allow this opportunity to pass without a few Avords, 
 which at best would be but a feeble expression of his feelings ; for in addition to a long 
 and cherished friendship that every year had strengthened, his official ties to Mr. Bouve 
 were double, and both were broken by his resignation, since, as might not be remembered 
 by all present, the President of the Society was ex-officio a member of the board of trus- 
 tees of the Peubody Museum at Cambridge ; and while, as Curator of that Museum, he 
 welcomed his friend, the new President of the Society, he was very sori-y to lose one who 
 had been so long connected with the Museum and had ever been ready to give his kindly 
 aid in furtherance of its objects. 
 
 Prof W. 11. Niles .spoke of the large amount of work in the care and arrangement of 
 the collections which Mr. Bouve had accomplished during the term of his presidency. 
 Most of this has been done after the business duties of the day, and how frequently he 
 has remained uutil called home by some one, none but his family know. Wlien alterations 
 in the building were going on, he habitually inspected the entire premises after all 
 others had gone, to see that all was left in safety. The Society has steadily progressed 
 in its usefulness and scientific position during the administration of Mr. Bouve, and he 
 
vu 
 
 now leaves the presidential chair with nothing to regret, and with the esteem and friend- 
 ship of every member. Day by day, and year after year, he has brought here a large 
 heart, full of geniality and goodness, and has been in himself a source of happiness to 
 those who have known him as President. It would be a pleasure to reciprocate, in some 
 small measure at least, his long-continued kindness, and this could be best done by each 
 meniljer's trying to make the Society so pleasant for Mr. Bouve, that, as a source of his 
 future happiness, it should be second only to his home and his liiuiily. lii conrlusiuii. Mr. 
 Niles said he did not doubt that each member present would like to express in some spe- 
 cial way his personal respect and honor for him who was tlie dear friend of all and one of 
 the best benefactors the Society ever had; and ho hoped they might do so by rising as 
 they voted for the adoption of the resolution proposed by Mr. Cununings. 
 
 The Chair accordingly called for a standing vote and the resolution was unanimously 
 adopted. 
 
1830. ANNIVERSARY MEMOIRS OP THE BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 1880. 
 
 HISTORICAL SKETCH 
 
 OF THE 
 
 BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY; 
 
 WITH 
 
 A NOTICE OF THE LINNiEM SOCIETY, 
 
 WHICH PRECEDED IT. 
 
 By THOMAS T. BOUVE. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY. 
 1880. 
 
. CHARLES JAMES SPKAGUK nnd JAMES CLARKE WHITE, 
 
 Companions with inc- for years in laliDi-ioiis work upon the collections of the Society, 
 
 these jiages are dedicated, 
 
 with the great res]iect and kind regards of 
 
 The Author. 
 
Historical Sketch of the Bostoj^ Society of Natural History : with a Notice 
 OF the Linn^an Society, which preceded it. By Thomas T. Bouve. 
 
 No history of our Society can well be given without some brief account of the 
 attempts previous to its formation to interest the public in the study of Natural History. 
 Before any organized efforts were made to this end but few publications even had 
 appeared on the subject, and these are cited from remarks made by Dr. A. A. Gould in a 
 sketch of the Linnaean Society, which appeared in the Proceedings of the Boston Society 
 of Natural History in 18C3.'' The most valual)le of them Avas one by the Rev. Manassah 
 Cutler, entitled "Account of some of the Vegetable Productions naturally growing in this 
 part of America, botanically arranged." Another was a pamphlet published l)y the cele- 
 brated Dr. Benj. Waterhouse, who seems to have brought with him from Holland "some 
 general notions of Systematic Natural History." The pamphlet was entitled, "Heads of 
 a Course of Lectures on Natural History," Cambridge, 1810, in which he distributes the 
 lower annuals under the heads of Ornithology, Ampliibiolog}^ Ichthyology, Insects and 
 Vermes ; which latter he mentioned as " outskirts of Animated Nature extending to the 
 confines of the vegetable world." In a note he said he would " extend, contract or omit 
 parts of his programme to suit his audience." As Dr. Gould quaintly remarks, it does not 
 appear whether he ever had any audience at all. In addition to tliese publications 
 some articles of a practical character were written by Prof W. D. Peck, who occupied the 
 Chair of Natural History at Harvard College from 1805 to 1822. They appeared in 
 agricultural papers, and the most important of them purported to give a natural history of 
 the slug worm and the canker worm. Dr. Gould, in referring to the Professor's work at 
 Cambridge, says, " He gave such instruction as was demanded, which was very little." 
 Harris's Natural History of the Bible, Mather's Magnalia, Thacher's Dispensatory, with 
 some treatises on the medicinal properties of herbs, and a few other papers of little 
 importance, complete the publications referred to. 
 
 The Linn^an Society. 
 
 The time at length arrived for an organized effort to excite some interest on the part 
 of the public in natural science, and the men were not wanting. On the 8th of 
 December, 1814, there met at the house of Dr. Jacob Bigelow, a number of gentlemen, 
 then prominent in the community, some of whom afterwards became eminent in their 
 several professions, if not in natural science. They were, besides Dr. Bigelow, Wm. 
 S. Shaw, Octavius Pickering, Dr. Walter Channing, Ezekiel D. Cusliing, La Fayette 
 Perkins, Dr. Geo. Hayward, Nathaniel Tucker, J. Freeman Dana, John W. Webster, and 
 
 » Vol. IX, 335. 
 
4 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Dr. John Ware. Dr. Channing was chosen Chairman, and Dr. Bigelow Secretary, and a 
 committee, composed of Dr. Bigelow, Mr. Pickering, and Dr. Hayward, was appointed to 
 draft a Constitution for the Society, which they called the New England Society for the 
 Promotion of Natural History. Two days after they met again by adjournment, and the 
 Constitution reported by the Committee was read, discussed, and adopted. Among its 
 provisions are some which may interest readers of the present day. 
 
 The 1st article provides that the Society shall consist of Immediate, Associate, 
 Honorary, and Corresponding Members. 
 
 The 2d, that the officers shall consist of a President chosen from the Honorary or 
 Immediate Members; Vice President, Corresponding Secretary, Recording Secretary, 
 Treasurer, and Cabinet Keeper, who shall be chosen from the Immediate Members. 
 The 11th, that there shall be a meeting once a week. 
 
 The 12th, that any Immediate Meml^er who shall unnecessarily be absent three times 
 successively, shall forfeit his membership. 
 
 The 14th, that all specimens placed in the Museum shall be the property of the 
 Society, and that no others shall have a place, except by express vote. 
 
 The 17th, that no person shall be chosen an Immediate Member except by unanimous 
 vote of all present; other members may be elected by a two-thirds vote, but none 
 without nomination at a previous meeting. 
 
 The 18th, that there shall be a Standing Committee of five members, chosen annually, 
 to provide a suitable room for the collection, employ one or more persons for service, 
 and di-aw on the treasurer for payment of the expenses thereby incurred, under such 
 restrictions as the Society may from time to time make. 
 
 The 19th, that each Immediate Member shall pay $5 annually. 
 
 The 20th, that every Immediate Member absent from a stated meeting without excuse, 
 shall be fined fifty cents. 
 
 Such articles have been quoted of the Constitution ado^ited as tend to show the animus 
 of the members. Who can say that they were not thoroughly in earnest ? 
 
 In subsequent proceedings of the Society it ajjpears that fines were collected, undoubt- 
 edly for absence without excuse ; but there is no recorded instance of a member forfeit- 
 ing his membership by unnecessary absence. 
 
 It is not easy to understand the principle or the policy which dictated the selection in 
 all cases of persons on whom was conferred Honorary, Corresponding or Associate Mem- 
 bership. In numerous cases individuals were elected to the former who cannot be sup- 
 posed to have manifested much interest in natural science, and who too were residents of 
 Boston. They were distinguished perhaps as Doctors of Divinity, or as Doctors of Medi- 
 cine, but neither then nor afterwards were known as Naturalists. Among the Correspond- 
 ing Members are found the names of several residing in the immediate vicinity of Boston, 
 as Cambridge and Charlestown; which seems singular, for the perils of a ferriage 
 across the Charles, which at an earlier date might have made these ports appear distant, 
 were no longer to be incurred ; good bridges then as now uniting the populations. But 
 this is not all, some of the Corresponding Members were citizens of Boston itself. 
 
 From the records it seems that the number of Immediate Members at first, or soon 
 after the formation of the Society, was about 20 ; of the Honorary, 19 ; of the Corres- 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 ponding, 68, and of the Associate, 24. It is not clear what privileges these last had as 
 members of the Society, except the implied one that they were not subject to assessment. 
 
 In the list of the early Corresponding Membei's, it is pleasant to find the name of 
 Dr. William J. Walker, to whose great bounty the Boston Society of Natural History is 
 indebted for its present standing among the leading scientific societies of the world, if not 
 for its vei'y existence ; for there is much reason for the opinion that had the Society con- 
 tinued dependent on the voluntary lahors of its members as would necessarily have 
 been the case without his help, it would have met the fate of the majority of the 
 societies of natural histoiy, which have been foi-med under apparently fivorable auspices, 
 have flourished for a time, and then faded out of existence. But more of this when his 
 large benefictions to the Boston Society of Natural History are mentioned in the course 
 of this history. 
 
 It may be a matter of interest to the reader to have presented here some of the names 
 of members connected with the Society, particularly of such as afterwards distinguished 
 themselves in their several callings, or at a subsequent period became active members of 
 the Boston Society of Natural History. Among them may be found : — 
 As Immediate Members : 
 
 Dr. Jacob Bigelow. 
 Dr. "Walter Charming. 
 Benj. A. Goukl. 
 
 As Honorary Members: 
 Hon. John Davis. 
 Hon. John Lowell. 
 Hon. Christopher Gore. 
 Dr. John Jeffries. 
 
 As Corresponding Members : 
 Nathaniel Bowditch. 
 Josiah Quincy. 
 Dr. W. J. Walker. 
 
 As Associate Members : 
 Joseph Tilden. 
 Dr. J. C. Warren. 
 Dr. James Jackson. 
 
 The first officers elected 
 
 Francis C. Gray. 
 Dr. Geo. Hayward. 
 Octavius Pickerinsr. 
 
 Rev. James Freeman. 
 Prof. Wm. D. Peck. 
 Rev. Manassah Cutler. 
 Dr. John Warren. 
 
 Prof. Benj. Silliman. 
 Robert Hare. 
 Prof Parker Cleaveland. 
 Benjamin Pierce. 
 
 Rev. Wm. EUery Channing. 
 Wm. Minot. 
 Richard Sullivan. 
 Francis Boott. 
 
 were 
 
 John Davis, LL.D., President. 
 Wm. S. Shaw, Vice-President. 
 Jacob Bigelow, Corresponding Secretary. 
 George Hayward, Recording Secretary. 
 Octavius Pickering, Treasurer. 
 John W. Webster, Cabinet-Keeper. 
 
 Dr. John Randall. 
 
 Dr. John Ware. 
 
 Dr. John W. Webster. 
 
 Rev. John Prince. 
 Rev. J. Lathrop. 
 Rev. J. T. Kirkland. 
 
 S. G. Perkins. 
 Dr. E. Hale. 
 Thomas H. Perkins. 
 
 Dr. Geo. C. Shattuck. 
 Rev. Edward Everett. 
 Nathan Hale. 
 
 On December 29th, in accordance with a vote previously passed, the several members 
 having specimens to present to the Society towards the formation of a museum brought 
 them forward, and it is recorded that a considei-able collection was made. 
 
6 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 At a meeting held January 14th it appears that much dissatisfaction was expressed at 
 the name of the Society, and it was therefore voted that each member should propose in 
 writing at the next meeting such name as he judged the most suitable. When the Society 
 again met, on the 21st of January, 1815, the members, after due consideration, unani- 
 mously 
 
 Voted, That the Society shall be called the Linnsean Society of New England. 
 '■ To understand the spirit and do justice to the labors of the active members of this 
 Society, let us look a little into their proceedings of the first year. February 4th it was 
 voted that each member shall, if possible, j^repare some animal in the course of the week 
 and present it to the Society at the next meeting. In the record of a following meeting 
 it is stated that a considerable number of animals were presented to the Society, all qf 
 which had been prepared by the members in the course of the week. Whether these 
 animals were of the dimensions of elej^hants or mice is not stated. At the same 
 meeting the Recording Secretary was requested to draw up some popular directions 
 for the preservation of specunens in Natural History, to be given to masters of 
 vessels and others, and to report at the next meeting ; and at the next meeting a 
 circular letter was presented containing such directions. This was ordered to be 
 printed. 
 
 The subjects brought before the members did not always pertain to natural history. At 
 a meeting on March 4th a paper by the Hon. John Lo'^yell was read, " On the resemblance 
 between certain customs of the modern Italians and ancient Romans." It was voted to 
 copy it into the common place book of the Society. 
 
 Besides the weekly meeting it was decided to hold once a quarter a general meeting, to 
 which should be invited the Honorary, Corresponding and Associate Members, and at each 
 such quarterly meeting a paper by some person appointed at the preceding meeting 
 should be read on some subject connected with the pursuits of the Society. The first of 
 these quarterly meetings was held on the 21st of June, and Judge Davis delivered what 
 the record of that date states to have been " an elegant address on the advantages of 
 natural history and the objects of the institution." 
 
 At the regular meeting held a few days afterwards, Dr. Randall, as the text expresses 
 it, was unanimously chosen to jJerforin at the next quarterly meeting. It was also voted 
 that on the next Wednesday, the 28th of June, the day appointed by the Constitution for 
 the Annual Meeting, the Society should dine together at Richards' in Brookline. In 
 accordance with this vote, the Immediate Members met at Brookline and after trans- 
 acting the business of electing officers for the year, they dined together, the record states, 
 in company with the Hon. John Lowell and Hon. Josiah Quincy. This combination of 
 scientific pursuits with feasting is not mentioned as a peculiarity of the members of this 
 pioneer society, and even in later days it has not lieen found disagreeable or unprofitable. 
 In some degree these Annual Meetings partook of the character of what has been more 
 recently called in some of our societies "Field Days", for they were held at some selected 
 place in the country, and a portion of the day was employed in obtaining specimens. 
 Thus, at the first meeting, it is mentioned that " after dinner the members divided them- 
 selves into several parties for the purpose of making an excursion in search of specimens 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 7 
 
 in the several branches of natural history." Towards evening it is further said : " they 
 returned to town after having 2)assed a deliglitful day." 
 
 Presentations of ol:)jects of natural history are frequently mentioned as having been 
 made to the Society during the year, and sometimes those of other character, as 
 for instance a likeness of Mr. Roscoe, of Liverpool, presented by Mr. Francis Boott. 
 In June, the Society was the recipient of two living tigers, presented by Capt. Stewart, 
 of the United States friy-ate Constitution. Whether it was more fortunate in receiving or 
 losing them, it is now unpossible to say ; certain it is, they were by some means lost, 
 and a Mr. Savage was held accountable ; for in February, 1818, the record states that 
 " a settlement was effected with Mr. Savage for the loss of the Brazilian tigers, which 
 were presented to the Society by Capt. Stewart of the Navy," and it subsequently 
 appears that the treasurer was authorized to pay out of the money received from 
 Mr. Savage, rent due by the Society. 
 
 At the second Quarterly Meeting of the year, held in September, Dr. Randall read an 
 interesting paper on the history and medical properties of the native plant Triosteum 
 perfoViatinn. 
 
 In October, the Museum was arranged into several departments, and members were 
 allotted to take charge of them, as follows : 
 
 First division of Minerals. . Dr. Randall. Amphibia .... Mr. Gould. 
 
 Second " " " . Dr. Channing. First division of Insects . Mr. Pickering. 
 
 Third " " " . Mr. Dana, Sen. Second " " " . Mr. Dana, Jr. 
 
 Plants Mr. Tucker. Third « " " • Mr. Codnian. 
 
 Mammalia .... Dr. Bigelow. Shells Mr. Gray. 
 
 Birds Dr. Gushing. Zoophytes, <fcc. . . . Dr. Hayward. 
 
 Fishes Dr. Ware. 
 
 In November, a paper was read by Dr. Goodwin of Sandwich, on tadpoles found there 
 
 In December, Dr. Channing was requested to make up, from the duplicates, a box 
 of minerals, and send to France, for exchange, and the Vice President was requested to 
 use his exertions to procure a moose for the Society. Professor Cleaveland of Bowdoin 
 College, a distinguished mineralogist, had been invited to deliver the quarterly 
 address in December, but unable to visit Boston, was obliged to decline, and no address 
 was delivered. 
 
 It has been thought weU in view of the lesson to be derived from the experience of 
 this Society, to give at some length an account of the proceedmgs of this first year of its 
 existence with the intention of being more brief in mention of subsequent proceedings. 
 Enough is known of the character and ability of the members of the Societ}-, and enough 
 has been shown of their devoted zeal in its service, to satisfy all that if ultimate success 
 did not crown their efforts, the fault was not so much in them, as in the fact, that more 
 was undertaken for accomplishment through voluntary labor, than can ever be expected 
 from men however zealous, who are engaged in professional or business life. 
 
 The second year of the Linnasan Society was marked by the same manifestation of zeal 
 on the part of the members as was shown diu-ing the first. From the assessment of the 
 members enough was raised to pay for some professional labor, and an artist, so called, was 
 hired, who probably could mount specimens ; as in January, a committee was appointed to 
 
8 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 procure animals, that he might find employment in preparing them. In February the 
 room in which the cabinet was kejjt being unsatisfactory, one was hired over Boylston 
 Hall, where the collection was placed, and where meetings were subsequently held. 
 The Museum of the Society was opened to the public every Saturday afternoon. 
 
 In all the months of this year valuable donations of specimens were received. Among 
 others specified may be mentioned a living bear, presented by Commodore Chauncy of the 
 navy; a miscellaneous collection of objects of natural history from Bowdoin College; a 
 valuable collection of birds ffom Africa; besides cases of insects, handsome minerals 
 and beautiful shells and corals, from other donors. 
 
 The meetings were well attended, and there appeared thi-oughout the year no loss of 
 interest on the part of the members. The annual meeting was held at Fresh Pond Hotel, 
 Cambridge, and the attendance was general on the part of the members. Judge Davis 
 presided, and the day being pleasant, all found great enjoyment in excursions and in 
 amusements until dinner, which they partook of together, returning to town in the 
 evening. 
 
 In August Dr. Bigelow gave an interesting account of an expedition, undertaken 
 by himself, and the other members of the Society, for the purpose of visiting the White 
 Mountains in New Hampshire. Being equipped, as he states, with proper instruments, 
 the height of the mountains was ascertained more accurately than it ever had been. His 
 estimate of the height is not mentioned. Particular attention, the record states, was 
 given to the mineral, annual, and vegetable specimens that were found in the mountains, 
 and the whole paper abounded with curious facts and ingenious observations. All 
 who in subsequent years had the pleasure of intercourse with Dr. Bigelow, need 
 not be assured of the interesting character of the paper presented by him to those who 
 were favored by hearing it. It would, undoubtedly, be read with great interest now, 
 notwithstanding the general knowledge prevailing relative to the region mentioned. 
 
 The Society increased m numbers during the year, and there appeared no loss 
 of interest on the part of the members. Save a few lines found in the report of 
 one of the meetings in September, everything denoted great prosperity. But these 
 few lines are enough to suggest to those of a later day, conversant with the 
 history of natural history societies, the probable decay at a not distant time, of 
 that zeal and interest so marked at this period. They may be found in the report of a 
 committee appointed to obtain from the Legislature an act of incorporation. This report 
 declares it inexpedient to petition at present, provided our expenses can be defrayed 
 until we are united with the Athengeum. This is the first expression in the records 
 implying what, alas, the history of most natural history societies shows to be inevitable 
 when sustained only by the voluntary labors and assessments of members, and dependent 
 on the uncertain contributions of friends ; lack of adequate means for the care and 
 preservation of the rapidly augmenting collections and consequent disaffection. We 
 shaU later see, that notwithstanding the strenuous exertions of the members, and 
 abundant success in collecting specimens, an increasing uneasiness manifested in a 
 disposition to unite with another society and thus sacrifice its own identity ; or, failing 
 this, to dispose of its collections in a way that would not have been considei^ed for a 
 moment at an earlier period. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 9 
 
 The time, however, has not arrived to dwell upon anything not agreeable in the record 
 of the devoted workers of the Society. The Recording Secretary ajipears to have been 
 quite elated at the progress made, for he Avrites in October : The zeal and activity of the 
 members seem to be luiabated, and if the collection continues to increase for a few years 
 in the same proportion, it will surpass every establishment of the kind in the United 
 States, and almost rival those of Europe. 
 
 The close of the year shows no less activity. In December a valuable paper was read 
 by Dr. John Ware. Large and valuable specimens were set up under the su])erintGndence 
 of the committees, and arrangements were made, as the record states, for labelling all the 
 birds, beasts and fishes belonging to the caljinet. A committee was also appointed to see 
 what could be done in relation to furnishing permanent a^Dartments for the collection of 
 the Society, which implies, probably, that it had increased to a size rendering more room 
 necessary for its accommodation. 
 
 1817. Judging by the records of this year's doings alone, it might be thought that all 
 was well with the Society, and that its continued existence and progress were secure. 
 Donations continued to pour in, many of a very valuable character. Among them may be 
 noticed a fine American elk, which is mentioned as one of the most interesting and 
 valuable animals which our country affords. There seems certainly to have been 
 no fears of calamity, for in the eai'ly part of the 3^ear a fine specimen of a female 
 moose, from Maine, was pui'chased, and the hope is expressed that another year 
 a male may be obtained, together with a reindeer, which the Secretary states will 
 make complete the collection of the deer of the United States. Arrangements were 
 also made with Capt. Waterman to procure specimens of natural history from the 
 coast of Africa. 
 
 The annual meeting was held at Brookline, where the members, as usual, sat down to 
 dinner. Valuable papers were presented, one on the mineralogy and geology of 
 Cambridge and its vicinity, by Mr. S. L. Dana, Jr., containing, it is stated, " unquestionably 
 more accurate information on the subjects upon which it treats than has ever before been 
 communicated ;" one on the luminous appearance of the sea, translated from the 
 Transactions of the Swedish Academy by Judge Davis ; and one on the medical properties 
 of Phytolacca decandra, by Dr. Hayward. 
 
 It is distinctly mentioned by the Secretary, in June, that the usual business of 
 collecting and preserving specimens had been regularly attended to. 
 
 On the 18th of June, Dr. Channing delivered an address. At a previous meeting of 
 the Society it had been voted to call a public meeting of the members, each of 
 whom should have the privilege of inviting others to be present on this occasion, 
 which was made one of great interest, many of the leading men of the state and city 
 being present. Among them, the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Council, members 
 of the Senate, and many ladies. The whole company were surprised at the size of the 
 collection, and highly pleased with its general order and neatness. 
 
 At twelve o'clock the address was given, which was upon the importance of literature 
 and science, particularly to the people of New England. The claims of the Society to the 
 patronage of the public w^ere urged with great force and ingenuity. A sketch of the 
 progress of the institution from its first foundation was given, and statements made 
 showing the rapid growth of the cabinet. 
 
10 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 The interest excited by this meeting gave the Society reason to believe that the 
 unportance of its work Avas folly appreciated, and that the public already felt disposed to 
 protect and patronize it. It is sad to think how soon the hopes excited by the 
 feeling manifested at this meeting were doomed to flide away. 
 
 Soon after this meeting, wonderful stories were circulated concerning a strange marine 
 animal, said to have been seen in the* harbor of Gloncestcr, and a special meeting of the 
 Society was called for the purpose of taking measures to ol)tain information. Judge Davis, 
 Dr. Bigelow, and Mr. Gi'ay, wei'e constituted a committee to write to, and have depositions 
 taken of, all who had seen the animal. The committee reported, in September, that they 
 had no doubt of tlie existence of an animal of extraordinary appearance and enormous 
 dimensions, as there were many credible witnesses. They expressed the hope of getting 
 more information soon. In October, a very full report Avas made npon Avhat Avas 
 now designated as the sea serpent, and an account Avas also given of a small one, probably, 
 the record says, of a " spawn," that had been taken at the Avater's edge. Tlie committee 
 were of the opmion that these animals were of a genns Avholly unknown to naturalists, 
 and they designated them nndcr the name of Scoliophis. from the singnlar cnrA'atures 
 of the spine, by Avhich they ^Jossessed a A'ertical motion. To this they added the specific 
 name Atlanticus.^ 
 
 It is a subject of great regret, the Secretary Avrote, that all the efforts that Avere made 
 to take the great serpent proved Avholly ineffectual, notwithstanding tlie zeal and activity 
 of his pursnei's. 
 
 1818. We have thus far traced the history of this Society from its formation, have 
 dwelt upon the cA'idences of its rapid progress, and ha\'e had brought before us accounts 
 of its great acquisitions, through Avhich it h!id become possessed of a collection Avhich, in 
 the language of its Secretary, seemed likely to surpass any one of like character in this 
 country and even rival the great collections of Europe. Henceforth Ave shall find evidence 
 of declining vigor on the j^art of the Society as such, notAvithstanding great struggles on the 
 part of many of its members to sustain it and give it renewed activity ; Ave shall see the 
 interest in its meetings rapidly Avane, and its valuable cabinet becoming ruined for the Avant 
 of proper care ; Ave shall see that even the hope for continued existence is giving place to 
 utter despair, foreboding dissolution. 
 
 In January a committee Avas appointed to make propositions to the trustees of the 
 Athenteum for a union of the tAvo institutions, and if this could not be effected, to report 
 what measures should be taken for the preservation of the cabinet. 
 
 Meetings Avere held in the succeeding months, but not Avith so much regularity as here- 
 tofore. At one of the meetings a A^aluable j^aper Avas read by Dr. J. W. Webster on the 
 mineralogical character of the Island of St. Nicholas, which he had lately visited. This 
 seems to have been the only paper In'ought forward during the year. The Immediate 
 Members made an excursion up tlie Middlesex Canal, upon invitation of Mr. J. L. Sulli- 
 van, and they dined together at Woburn, — their last dinner as a society. 
 
 ' Report of a Conimittce of the Liiinaean Societ}' of New 52 jjp. See remarks by Dr. Jeffries AVyman, Proc. Best. 
 England relative to a lai'gi^ marine animal, .supposed to be a Soe. Nat. Hist., IX, 245. 
 Serpent, seen near Cape Ann, Mass. Boston, 1817. Svo. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 1 1 
 
 1819. During tliis j^ear the meetings were not held with any regularity. Attempts 
 were made to take charge of and preserve the specimens, but without success, and the 
 members had the mortification of seeing a museum going to decay that had cost them so 
 much labor and expense ; but it seemed inevitable. They were mostly engaged in profes- 
 sional pursuits, and of course could not give their personal serv'ices to the preservation of 
 the collection ; and the fmids of the society were not sufficient to hire any one perma- 
 nently. 
 
 18:^0. Things remained in this condition until March, 1820, when a meeting was called 
 for the purpose of considering the expediency of disposing of the collection. 
 
 It was then voted, that if one hundred dollars per year could be obtained for ten years, 
 the members would renew their efforts to preserve the institution. 
 
 In April it was reported that enough had been subscribed, and more, for the preser- 
 vation of the collection. This seemed for a time to revive hope and inspire interest. 
 Amendments were made to the Constitution, and a committee was appointed to attend to 
 the preservation of the collection. A number of new members were elected. 
 
 In May, committees were chosen to examine and report upon tlie state of each depart- 
 ment of the collection, and they were expected to attend at the hall of the museum every 
 Saturday, from 3 to 6 o'clock. A committee was also appointed to petition the legisla- 
 ture for an act of incorporation ; evidence certainly of renewed hope. 
 
 The Society l)ecame incori^orated, and the first meeting under the act was held in June. 
 Dr. Jacob Bigelow was elected President. 
 
 In August a specimen of a seal and several minerals were presented, and in October 
 there were many minerals added to the collection. In Decendjer a movement was made 
 towards the formation of a library, and in the following March (1821) rules and regula- 
 tions were adopted for it. Notwithstanding, however, these signs of activity on the part of 
 the Society, the records afford sufficient evidence of declining interest. The meetings were 
 not well attended. Immediate Members resigned as such, and were made Associate Mem- 
 bers, mainly for the reason that they could not attend to the duties of the former. 
 
 1822. In the early part of this year there yet appeared no evidence of yielding to the 
 inevitable, and specimens, among them the bones of a camel, were received for the cab- 
 inet with satisfaction and thanks. In August, however, we find that a committee had 
 been appointed to consider upon the future disposal of the cabinet, which reported : 
 
 " That it appears, by the resignation and non-attendance of members, that it has become 
 burdensome to individuals of the Society to support its meetings and collections as they 
 have hitherto done ; that it is expedient, therefore, to suspend its meetings and give up the 
 room of the Society, and place the collection, or such part of it as can be preserved, in 
 some place whei-e it will occasion no further expense to the Society or its contributors ; 
 that a committee be appointed to remove it from its present location and place it in the 
 hands of any other person or persons who will aflord suitable rooms for its reception, the 
 preference being always given to a scientific corporate body ; that the present funds of the 
 Society be devoted to removing, securing and enlarging the collection, at the discretion of 
 the committee." 
 
 This committee was made permanent, with directions to appoint a Secretary, and to call 
 a meeting of the Society on the application of three nu^mbers. 
 
12 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 The expression that the funds of the Society be devoted to enlarging as well as securing 
 the collection denotes the existence of a vague hope at least of renovation. 
 
 The election of officers was made, as in former yeax-s. 
 
 1823. In March of this year a meeting was called l)y the Society, and the committee 
 appointed in August of the previous year relative to the collection reported, that they had 
 offered the whole of it to the Boston AthennBum. upon condition that suitable rooms should 
 be j^rovided for its reception and preservation, but that the Trustees had declined to accept 
 it ; that they had sub.sequently offered it to the Corporation of Harvard College or to the 
 Board of Visitors of the Massachusetts Professorship of Natural History, who jointly 
 accepted the offer, agreeing to erect a building for the collection and to grant to the mem- 
 bers of the Society free access to the collection and to the Botanic Garden. 
 
 This report after considei'ation was acted upon by a vote that the conditions on which 
 the Corporation of Harvard College and the Board of Visitors of the Massachusetts 
 Professorship of Natural History, propose to accept the cabinet of this Society, be acceded 
 to ; and the committee were requested to make the transfer. This was done, and the 
 balance of cash in the hand.s of the Treasurer, $264.29, was also included in the transfer. 
 
 A vote was finally passed that all subscriptions and assessments not collected be can- 
 celled. Thus came to an end the Linna;an Society so far as exertion for the furtherance 
 of the objects of its existence was concerned. It yet remained a corporate body, and 
 years after, ujDon the formation of the Boston Society of Natural History, it was once more 
 called together by its Secretary for the purpose of recovering if possible from Harvard 
 College such part of the collection as yet remained Avortli removing, in order to present 
 it to the new society. This reclamation was made on the ground that the College had 
 failed entirely to comply with the conditions made at the time of the transfer ; no building 
 having been erected, and proper care not having been given for its preservation as a 
 collection for promoting the study of natural history. In the sketch which follows of 
 the doings of the Boston Society of Natural History, it will be found that very little of 
 the really extensive and valuable collection of the Linnrean Society came into its possess- 
 ion, though all that remained of it was given up by the College. It had gone to ruin for 
 want of care, as hundreds of earlier collections had before it, and as hundreds will 
 hereafter, if the views which the history of the Linntean Society are calculated to incul- 
 cate do not prevail in their aims and purposes. 
 
 That these views may be presented and dwelt upon has been the motive of giving 
 so full an account of the doings of this Society, as its experience so well illusti'ates their 
 truth. As stated in an earlier page, if success did not crown the efforts made 
 by the members to build up a permanent institution, the fault was not so much in them, 
 as in the fact that they undertook more than it was possible for men engaged in 
 professional or business life to accomplish, however zealous and devoted they might be. 
 The views referred to and which it is thought desirable to inculcate, may be given 
 in a few paragraphs. They are not new, for the same ideas may be found expressed in an 
 address delivered before the Linniwin Society of London, in 1867, by its President, George 
 Bentham, F.R.S., and also in an article by Dr. II. A. Hagen, published in the 
 American Naturalist (Volume x, pp. 80 and 135). They are as follows: 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. ' 13 
 
 No society organized for the pursuit of the study of naUnal history should undertake 
 to form a large museum, unless it is endowed with means fully adequate for the constant 
 care and preservation of its collections, either through support of the government, 
 or from funded property that will yield income sufficient for such purpose. Large 
 collections require enormous expense for preservation from destructive agencies, in 
 the necessary supplies of jars, bottles, alcohol, and other articles absolutely required 
 for use ; and for the pa}Tnent of competent curators ; as experience demonstrates that 
 none others than those who are paid for their services can be relied on to permanently 
 do the work, without which, sooner or later, all there is destructible in a collection 
 will certainly go to ruin. In the early period of an institution founded by voluntary 
 effort and designed to be so sustained, the members, zealous and active, may for a time, 
 and while the collection is not great, manage to arrange the specunens received, and keep 
 them from destruction by care, but as the museum increases, this becomes onerous 
 to theRT, and finally impossible. Its impending destruction discourages the members, 
 and the society itself, unable to bear the necessary expense of preserving what they 
 look upon as an important element of existence, is finally dissolved. A society of 
 natural history not supported by government, and inadeqiiately endowed, should never 
 undertake to make more than a very limited collection of specimens, and these should 
 be coufined to such as illustrate the natural histor\^ of the immediate neighborhood, 
 with perhaps a few others, typical specimens only, of forms found in distant regions. 
 Where more than this is attempted by any societ}', continued existence and progress 
 can only be predicted in case it ^jossesses ample means to employ steadil}' a sufficient 
 number of capable men to take charge of its museum, and exert a careful 
 watchfulness over the specimens. No society can long exist that depends upon voluntary 
 continuous labor on the part of its members, or on the voluntary subscriptions of its 
 friends. 
 
 Nor is the collection of an immense number of specimens in every department of nat- 
 ural history a desirable thing for the general student. It is far more important that there 
 shall be an epitome collection so arranged as to give elementary instruction to visitors 
 who seek knowledge and to whom a great multitude of specimens might be confusing. Of 
 course there is no objection to the largest collection of known species where there are 
 abundant means to obtain and care for them, but an arrangement of such shoidd always 
 be preceded by a proper synoptical series ; the latter for the instruction of the general 
 student, the former for the use of advanced naturalists -wlio need such collections for 
 comparison. A large collection has the effect of attracting great attention, and the 
 wondering thousands who are drawn by its exhibition to visit it daily or weekly, enjoy an 
 innocent pleasm'e that is well worth providing for iu all large conmiunities, especially as 
 the influence may often go far beyond gratifying curiosity. The collection of species k)cal 
 to the neighborhood, should perhaps be the aim of every society, as a knowledge of all the 
 forms of life met in our daily walks is very desirable. 
 
 Perhaps the experience of no society better iUustrates the truth of some of these remarks 
 than that of the Linna3an Society. It was formed by men of more than ordinary ability, 
 and in a community ready and willing to aid it by voluntary contributions. Its members 
 were hard workers, and freely gave much time to its interests. But it had no funded 
 
14 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 ■wealth and could not look to government for support. It flourished greatly for a consid- 
 erable period and only showed signs of weakness when its rapidly increasing collections, 
 garnered from every quarter of the globe, called for continuous labor and large exi^endi- 
 ture of money. Engaged as the members were in professional or business occupations, 
 they could not give the former, and they became tired of soliciting subscriptions to meet 
 the latter. The result was inevitable. 
 
 The Boston Society of Natural History. 
 
 In passing from the consideration of the doings, the experience and the dissolution of the 
 Linna3an Society to a review of the history of the Boston Society of Natural History, the 
 question naturally arises in the mind whether the new Society started under any better 
 auspices, financially or otherwise, than the old, and if not, whether its aims and objects 
 were so different as to render it less liable to ultimately meet with the same fate. 
 
 A careftd reading of its records fails to show that pecuniarily it was any better provided 
 with means in the early period of its existence, or that its aims and objects or its proposed 
 methods of action were in the least different from those of its unfortunate predecessor. 
 This is especially noticeable, as among its earliest members are found the names of several 
 who had been active in the Linna^an Society. 
 
 As will be seen further on, the Society was at first dependent entirely on the annual 
 assessment of its meml^ers ; yet it proceeded at once to collect specimens for its museum 
 without discrimination, thus involving itself in the same kind of expenditure for their 
 arrangement and preservation. That it finally succeeded in establishing itself on a firm 
 foundation will be seen to have been the result of fortunate circumstances that could not 
 have been foreseen, much less depended upon, and without which success would probably 
 have been impossible. 
 
 The first meeting of such persons as favored the formation of a new society was held 
 at the house of Dr. Walter Channing, February 9th, 1830. Dr. Channing was made 
 Chairman, and Mr. Simon E. Greene, Secretary. A committee was appointed to 
 recommend at a future day such measures as it should judge advisal^le for the formation 
 of the Society, and for creating an interest on the part of the public in its objects. 
 
 Dr. George Hayward, Dr. John Ware, Mr. Edward Brooks, Dr. Amos Binney and Mr. 
 Geo. B. Emerson, composed the committee. It does not appear whether other persons 
 were present than the seven named, as the number that met is not mentioned. Of those 
 whose names appear, three were active members of the Linnoean Society, viz. : Dr. Walter 
 Channing, Dr. Hayward, and Dr. Ware. There were two other original members 
 of the new Society who had been active in the Linnsean, viz. : John Davis, LL.D., and 
 Mr. Henry Codman. 
 
 At a meeting subsequently held, the date of which is not given, the committee made 
 a report, which was adopted and a vote was passed, " That a Society on the plan proposed, 
 be now formed," and this was followed by the appointment of a committee to wait upon 
 persons favorable to the objects of the Society and obtain their signatures ; with authority 
 to call another meeting as soon as a sufficient number had subscribed. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 15 
 
 Such a meeting -was called toffcther on the 28th of Ajiril, and ^vas held at the room of 
 the Trustees of the Athenannn at 7 1-2 o'clock P. ]\I. Dr. Channing uas chosen 
 Moderator, ;nul 'rhe()|)hilu.s Par.sons, Secretary. Tlie names of the subscribers were read, 
 and a .sketch of rules ami b^-hnvs for the govci'nmcnt of the Society presented for con- 
 sideration. It Avas then 
 
 Voted, That the name of the Society shall Ijo The Boslon Society of JVatural History. 
 
 Then followed discussion on the rules proposed, and finally a committee was appointed 
 to draft a constitution and code of by-laws and to report at the next meeting. Dr. Biuuey, 
 Dr. llayward and Simon E. Greene were made this committee. 
 
 Thus was fonued this Society, destined to become one of the leading institutions of the 
 kind in the world, into whose museum thousands would gather weekly for ob.servation and 
 instruction, and whose publications would be known and valued in every civilized 
 community. 
 
 The next meeting was held on M;iv Gth, and the constitution and bv-iaws which had 
 been proposed, after due consideration and with some amendments, were adopted. An 
 adjournment for one week followed. On reassembling at the appointed time the members 
 proceeded to vote for officers and the following named persons wei'e chosen to 1111 the 
 positions designated : 
 
 Tlionins Nuttall, rresidoH. 
 
 Geo. IlMyward, First Tice-President. 
 
 Jolin Ware, Second Vice-President. 
 
 (TiiiiKilifl Br;icll'onl, Correspoudinff Secretary. 
 
 'I'lu'oiihilus Piirsons, Recording Secrelanj. 
 
 Simon E. Grooiie. IVcdswer. 
 
 Sctli Bass, Librarian. 
 
 Curators : 
 
 Francis C. Gray, Edward Brooks, Amos Binncy, Jr., 
 
 Geo. B. Emerson, Walter Channing, Benj. D. Greene. 
 
 Joseph W. McKean, Francis Algor, 
 
 A committee was tlu'u appointed to make enquiries relative to the collection of the 
 late Linnanin Society, which ha<l been presented to Harvard College upon certain 
 conditions which had not been complied with, and to Icani wlictluM- tlie whole or aiiv part 
 of it could be obtained for the cal)inet of this Society. No farther meeting is recorded 
 until August 9, though the adopted by-laws required that one should be held on the first 
 Thursday of every month. At this meeting it was announced that Dr. Nuttall had 
 declined to accept the office of President. wlKTcupon the ni('Uil)ers present procet'ded to 
 (ill the vacancy, and Benj. D. Gi'eene was unanimously elected. Thus was completed the 
 organization of the Society, and we find that the Council, nowcomjjosed of all the ofiicers, 
 })ioceeded at once to take active measures for the furtherance of its objects. The next day 
 after the election of Mr. Greene, it held a meeting and appointed a conunittee to arrange 
 for a course of lectures, to designate the lecturers, and to decide upon their compen.sation ; 
 also one to procure rooms for the u.se of the Society. At the next meeting of the Council 
 a week later, the conunittee on lectures reported in favor of a course of sixteen to be 
 given besides an introductory lecture, and that tickets of admission be put at §3 each, 
 
16 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 $5 for a gentleman and lady, and $2 for each person additional. The subjects proposed 
 and the number of lectures to be devoted to each were as follows : 
 
 Two on a general account of the Mineral Kingdom and Geology, particularly as 
 connected with annual and vegetable remains ; four on Anatomy and Physiology of the 
 Vegetable Kingdom, with general account of the characters, relations, and uses of plants 
 and their distribution ; two on Anatomy and Physiology of the Animal Kingdom, and of 
 the principles upon which its scientific arrangement is founded, etc. ; two on the 
 Mammalia ; two on birds ; one on Reptiles and Fishes ; two on Insects ; one on 
 Invertebrate Animals. 
 
 Subsequently the Committee reported that they had decided upon the compensation for 
 the lectures, and fixed it at $20 for each. The pei'sons selected to deliver the lectures, 
 and who accepted the invitations, were Dr. George Hayward, Mr. Thos. Nuttall, Dr. Gam- 
 aliel Bradford, Dr. John Ware, Dr. Walter Channing, Dr. J. V. C. Smith and Dr. D. Hum- 
 phreys Storer. The introductory lecture was free to the public. This course of lectures 
 was commenced on the third Tuesday of October, and they were continued weelvly. 
 Where they were delivered, and by whom the introductory one was given, does not appear 
 in the records. 
 
 These lectures yielded a net profit of $174.58. Besides this course, there was another 
 given under the auspices of the Society, before the close of the lecture season, by Mr. 
 Nuttall, on Botany. This yielded $170, $100 of which was paid the lecturer and $5.50 
 for expenses; the balance, $64.50 going into the treasury. 
 
 It will be recollected that in the sketch given of the closing proceedings of the Lin- 
 ntean Society, it was stated that as the Trustees of Harvard College had failed to comply 
 with the conditions bindmg upon them m accepting the collection of that Society, re- 
 clamation had been made with the purpose of presenting whatever might yet be of value 
 to the Boston Society of Natural History. This had been done at the instance 
 of several members of the latter society who had likewise been members of 
 the former, and who reasonably felt aggrieved at the want of care shown for 
 the collection by its possessors. One of these, Dr. Hale, remarked that " he felt it to be his 
 duty as an officer of the Linna^an Society, to express the opinion that something effec- 
 tual should be done ; that he would take the opportunity to again assert that 
 Harvard University had forfeited all her right to the possession of the cabinet of 
 the Linniean Society. The members of that Society were not so faithless to the 
 cause they had espoused as to desert it. When few in numbers and burdened with 
 heavy assessments, they had relinquished their rich collection to the Corporation of said 
 University, that body having passed at a formal meeting a vote to erect a suitable 
 building to preserve the collection, for the benefit of students in natural history. 
 That agreement had not been complied with, no building had been ei'ected, and 
 the specimens were scarcely to be found. Justice to the members of the Linnajan 
 Society compelled him to make these observations." It seems now but right to give 
 here the remarks of one whose statement can be taken as authentic concerning the 
 whole matter, as it furnishes more succinctly than anything else found, a full 
 justification of the course taken in presenting the valuable collections of the Linna^an 
 Society to the College. Provision was made as far as was possible for its preservation, in 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 17 
 
 placing it where it was thought it would be of great service to students in Natural 
 History. 
 
 The result of the application which was made to obtain for the Society whatever might 
 be left of value may be given in the few words taken from the record of the Annual 
 Meeting of the Society in May, 1832, which are as follows: " In the course of the year, 
 an order was obtained from the President of Harvard College for the surrender of such 
 articles as might remain of the old Linnsean Society, in pursuance of \vhich a (juantity of 
 refuse matter was sent to the Society's room, but nothing of any considerable value was 
 obtained." 
 
 Early action was taken to render the monthly meetings interesting, first, by referring 
 specimens presented to such Curators as were the most interested in the department 
 to which they belonged, to report upon at the next meeting. This added much interest 
 to the proceedings, and led to better attendance. At that time, so little was known of 
 many of the objects now familiar to all in the collections of natural history, that many 
 which would now be received without remark, Ijecause of their well known character, 
 excited not only much interest, but considerable discussion. It was at a time when a 
 convoluted mass of chalcedony might have been seen in the Boston Museum, labelled 
 jjetrified kidney, when at the store of a dealer in curiosities, within a stone's throw of the 
 hall of the Society, fossil corals were exposed for sale as petrified flagroot, when Ammonites 
 upon being discovered in the rocks were heralded in the papers as coiled snakes, 
 sometimes mentioned as being as large as cart-wheels, and exciting wonder in proportion 
 to their size. The writer well remembers receiving notice of a remarkable " petrified 
 bug " in a museum at New Orleans, and upon its being procured and sent to him, 
 finding it to be an excellent specimen of a Trilobite, originally, no doubt from the Trenton 
 limestone of New York. 
 
 Soon after the organization of the Society a room was hired for its use in the 
 Athenoeum building in Pearl street. Here its collections were deposited and here the 
 meetings, after the first two, were held until more suitable accommodations were obtained 
 three years afterwards. The early meetings took place in the evening, but subsequently 
 for several years in the afternoon, sometimes at 3 and sometimes at o^ o'clock. 
 They were held once a month until August, 1833, but after this time twice a month. 
 
 In January, 1831, measures were taken to procure an act of incorporation for the 
 Society, and in the same month, in view of the grciit lack of books on Natural History, it 
 was Voted — That this Society considers a library of works essential to its success ; and 
 funds were appropriated to purchase the Ix'st elementary books in the different branches 
 of natural history. 
 
 A Committee of the Council was also appointed at this time to apply to the Governor and 
 his Council requesting that the gentleman making a Geological Survey of the State might 
 furnish the Society with a suite of geological specimens. No further reference is made to 
 this matter, and the request does not appear to have been I'avorably considered, as no such 
 collection ever became the property of the Society. The State Collection itself, was, how- 
 ever, deposited for several years in the Society's rooms. 
 
 A singular provision to obtain information was made in February, 1831, by a vote 
 passed, which was in substance as follows : 
 
18 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 That a blank book be provided and placed on the table in -which may be written 
 queries on subjects of natural history l)y any n.ember and such answers as may be given; 
 unless the latter may be of considerable length, when they may be put on file. 
 
 March 18, 1831. A special meeting of the Society was held to accept the Act of Incor- 
 poi'ation, and to organize under it, which was done. The Constitution and By-laws were 
 re-adopted, the only change made being that of providing that the Annual Meetings of 
 the Society be held on the first Wednesday of May each year, and that stated meetings be 
 held on the first Wednesday of every month. The same officers were elected the preceding 
 year, excepting that Dr. Storer was chosen to fill the place of Theophilus Parsons who had 
 resigned, and J. S. Cople}' Gi'eene was chosen Curator in the place of B. D. Greene elected 
 President. 
 
 May 4, 1831. In accordance with the provisions of the Constitution as re-adopted in 
 March, the first Annual Meeting, so called, of the Society, was held on this day. As an 
 account of the receipts and expenditures during the period from its organization to this 
 time may interest the pi'esent generation of members, the items are recorded and given 
 in full. 
 
 Receipts: Admission of 75 Members 1375.00 
 
 Tickets sold for Lectures 600.22 1975.22 
 
 Expenditures: Compensation of Lectures 340.00 
 
 Fuel, Lights, Advertising and Printing Tickets for Lectures 86.20 
 
 Rent of Society Rooms 125.00 
 
 Fuel and attendance Society Rooms 7.00 
 
 Cabinets UIO, and Chairs $14.77 184.77 
 
 Other small bills 57.07 $800.64 
 
 Leaving at disposal of the Society $174.58 
 
 The Society proceeded to the choice of officers for the year, and the following named 
 gentlemen were elected : 
 
 Dr. Benj. D. Greene, President. 
 
 Dr. George Hayward, First Yice-President. 
 
 Dr. John Ware, Seco7nl Vice-President. 
 
 Dr. Gamaliel Bradford, Corresponding Secretary. 
 
 Dr. D. Humphreys Storer, Recording Secretary. 
 
 Simon E. Greene, Treasurer. 
 
 Dr. Seth Bass, Librarian. 
 
 CUEATOKS : 
 
 Francis C. Gray, Dr. Joseph W. McKean, Dr. Josluia B. Flint, 
 
 Dr. Amos Binney, Jr., Rev. J. S. Copley Greene, Dr. Augustus A. Gould. 
 
 George B. Emerson, Francis Alger, 
 
 To avoid frequent repetition the names of those elected each year will not be mentioned 
 hereafter, except in a summary of the past officers of the Society at the end of this 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 19 
 
 sketch. The election at this time being the first under the act of incorporation, tliis 
 list of those chosen is given in full. 
 
 A letter was received at this time from Professor Edward Hitchcock, then engaged in 
 making a Geological Survey of the State, requesting the aid of members of the Society in 
 furnishing lists of the animals of Massachusetts, to be published with his report. The 
 following were appointed by the Council to serve as requested : Thos. Nuttall and Simon 
 E. Greene, on Ornithology; Drs. John Ware and Joshua B. Flint, Mannnalia; Dr. J. V. C. 
 Smith, on Ichthyology ; Drs. Bass, Storer, and Binney, on MoUusca ; Drs. Harris and 
 Gould on Entomology; Dr. B. D. Greene, on Zoophytes. They were to submit their 
 reports to the Society. 
 
 In July, 1831, the Committee on lectures reported that it was expedient to have fifteen, 
 and the following gentlemen were invited to deliver them : Dr. George Hayward, the 
 2d, 3d and 4th, on the natural history of man ; Dr. Joshua B. Flint, the 5th and 6th, on 
 quadrupeds ; Simon E. Greene, the 7th and 8th, on birds ; Dr. McKean, the 0th and 
 10th on reptiles; Dr. D. Humphreys Storer, the 11th and 12th, on shells; Dr. Thaddeus 
 W. Harris, the loth, 14th and 15th, on insects. Mr. Fi-ancis C. Gray was afterwards 
 appointed to give the introductoi-y one. 
 
 This course of lectures was given the ensuing season, but no record is found of the 
 result. That it was pecuniarily unsuccessful is, however, clear from a statement made 
 when the question of another series came up in the following February, to the purport 
 that the fixilure was disheartening. 
 
 In February, 1832, a proposal was received from Mr. Savage of the Savings Bank, for 
 leasing a room in the building to be erected for that institution on Tremont street. This 
 led to the appointment of a committee to confer with him, and finally to an arrangement 
 by which the hall of the third story was engaged for the use of the Society. 
 
 In February also, the committee on lectures reported that a course for the next season 
 was absolutely necessary for the prosperity of the Society. They advised that seventeen 
 should be given, and that Mr. Edward Everett be asked to deliver the introductory one ; 
 that the price of tickets should Ije $2 for the single one, and $1 for each additional ; 
 that the lecturers be requested to deliver them gratuitously ; and that the whole 
 arrangement for the coui'se be to the important one of increasing the finances of the 
 Society. The committee were instructed to engage Temple Hall for the lectures, and to 
 make all necessary arrangements for their delivery. 
 
 At a subsequent meeting of the Society, doubts were expressed relative to the success 
 financially, of the proposed course for 1832-33, and apparently to ensure this it was 
 voted to put the tickets at %1. Whatever the effect of this reduction may have been, 
 it is certain, from the Treasurer's report of the next year, that financially, the course 
 was an exceedingly successful one, as it yielded a net profit of $720 to the Society. 
 
 In March of this year, the committee on publication reported that it was expedient 
 to publish a Journal, but ncjthing appears to have been done towards carrying the 
 recommendation into effect, until sometime after. The report of the conunittee shows, 
 however, the feeling at this period relative to such publication. There seems to have 
 
20 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 been for a considerable time an arrangement with the proprietors of Silliman's Journal, 
 by which some of tht' jKipors read before the Society and some of its jiroceedings appeared 
 in that periodical. 
 
 At the annual meeting of May, 1832, the report upon the collection in the difTorent 
 departments stated that donations were withheld from the Society awaiting its having 
 proper accommodations for their preservation and exhibition. 
 
 At the election of officers the following changes were made : Dr. John Ware was chosen 
 first Vice President, in place of Dr. George Ha^^vard, resigned ; Mr. Francis C. Gray was' 
 chosen second Vice President, in place of Dr. John Ware. Dr. Amos Binney, Jr., was 
 chosen Treasurer, in place of Mr. Simon E. Greene, resigned ; Mr. Charles Amory was 
 chosen Lilirnrian, in place of Dr. Seth Bass, resigned. Dr. Win.'^low Lewis, Messrs. Wil- 
 liam B. Fowle, Clement Durgin, Dr. George W. Otis, were chosen Curators, inplace of 
 Mr. F. C. Gray, Dr. Amos Binney, Jr., Rev. J. S. Copley Greene, and Dr. Joshua B. 
 Flint. 
 
 As in the sketch of the Linna^an Society the earlier proceedings were more fully 
 described, so in the account of this Society they are given in greater detail than will 
 be possible to accord to the subsequent records, consistently with proper limits. It has 
 seemed well to dwell somewhat at length upon early transactions, in order that the reader 
 may better undei'stand the character and scope of the work undertaken by the first 
 members, and the better appreciate their earnestness and devotion. To do full justice 
 to their merits, it woidd be necessary to imderstand the great difticulty of procuring any 
 information ujion many of the objects sent to the Society. It was sometimes impossible 
 to make out their character, and often found indispensable to await the reception of works 
 on natural history before any adequate idea could be expressed concerning them. 
 Mr. Samuel 11. Scudder, in a brief sketch of the history of the Society, given some j-ears 
 since, quotes what seems particularly appropriate to repeat here. One of the original 
 members recalling, in after years, the success of their undertaking, wrote thus of the 
 difficulties encountered : 
 
 " At the time of the establishment of the Society there was not, I believe, in New 
 England an institution devoted to the study of natural history. There was not a college 
 in New England, excepting Yale, where philosophical geology of the modern school was 
 taught. There was not a work extant by a New England author which presumed to grasp 
 the geological structure of any portion of our territory of greater extent than a county. 
 There was not in existence a bare catalogue, to say nothing of a general history, of the 
 animals of Massachusetts, of any class. There was not within our borders a single 
 museum of natural history founded according to the requirements and based upon the 
 system of modern science, nor a single journal' advocating exclusively its interests. 
 
 " We were dependent chiefly upon books and authors foreign to New England for our 
 knowledge of our own zoology. There was no one among us who had anything like a 
 general knowledge of the birds which fly about us, of the fishes which fill our waters, or of 
 the lower tribes of anmials that swarm both in air and in sea. 
 
 " Some few individuals there were, distinguished by high attainments in particular 
 branches, and who formed honorable exceptions to the iudifterence which prevailed ; but 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 21 
 
 there was no concentration of opinions or of knowledge, and no means of knowing Low 
 ninch or how little was known. The laborer in natural history worked alone, without aid 
 or encouragement from others engaged in the same pursuits, and without the approbation 
 of the puldic mind, which regarded them as Inis^' triflers." 
 
 In August of this j^ear Dr. Martin Gay reported in reference to some objects which he 
 had been requested to give an account of, that it was impossible to do so, because of the 
 want of neccvssary books. 
 
 In October the Council held a meeting for the especial object of arranging the Hall, 
 which the Society was to occupy, for the Cabinet. 
 
 In December, recognizing the importance of a permanent fund, it was voted in Council 
 assembled — That all money received from Patrons and Life Members should be invested in 
 bank stock for the purpose of creatmg one. 
 
 Probaljly the most important event of the year was the election to membership of Mr. 
 Ambi'ose S. Courtis, whose subsequent benefactions were a great aid to the Society when, by 
 reason of increased expenditure it had become considerably in debt, and when its efficiency 
 seemed likely to be much impaired, to say the least, for the want of means to carry on its 
 work. 
 
 In March, 1833, the hall engaged for the Society over the Savings Bank in Tremont 
 Street, being represented as ready or nearly ready for occupancy, a committee was 
 appointed to remove articles to it, and in May following this committee reported that the 
 cabinet had been transferred and would be arranged as soon as circumstances would 
 admit. It was announced at the same time that the Historical Society had voted ta 
 deposit its collection of Natural History in the cabinet of this Society. 
 
 Arrangements were made early in the year for a course of lectures in the winter of 
 1833 and 1834, and the committee having this liusiness in charge, reported that Audubon 
 would deliver the introductory one, that the Rev. Dr. Greenwood would give two ; 
 Dr. Harris, three ; Dr. Gould, one ; Dr. Otis, one ; F. C. Gray, one ; and Dr. C. T. Jack- 
 son, two. It was subsequently stated that as Mr. Gray had declined to serve, Dr. Bradford 
 had been substituted in his place, and that he would give two lectures. The committee 
 considered it expedient to pay $15 for each lecture. 
 
 Dr. J. V. C. Smith, an active member of the Society, who had devoted much time to the 
 study of fishes, and had made quite a large collection of tlicm, oflered to sell all that he 
 possessed at a very low price, and a committee appointed for the purpose of considering 
 the subject, having reported in favor of securing them for the cal)inet, they were 
 purchased for the sum of $100. The collection was contained mainly in 111 glass 
 vessels, many having several specimens, and was generally in good condition. Besides the 
 contents of the bottles, there were several dried preparations. 
 
 At the Annual election of officers in May, Mr. Chas. K. Dillaway was chosen Libra i-i an 
 in place of Mr. Charles Amory, resigned, and Dr. Chas. T. Jackson, Curator, in jilace of 
 Mr. Clement Durgin, resigned. 
 
 The president, B. D. Greene, at one of the meetings of the Council of the Society this 
 year, expressed a strong desire that a fund of $5000 might be raised, the interest of 
 
22 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 which should l)e devoted to paying the rent bills inciirred by the Society. He Avislied 
 that we might feel independent,, and thought with such provision against indebtedness 
 there would need be no doubt of success. He then pledged himself ready to furnish 
 $500 for this object. Mr. Charles Amory likewise pledged himself to raise $400. Noth- 
 ing further seems to have been done towards the creation of such fund. 
 
 Pending the ari'angement of the cabinet in the new hall, and the necessary prepar- 
 ation for its use, meetings were not held in June or July of this year. 
 
 The first meeting in the new hall was held on Aug. 7. The cabinet of the Society, 
 increased by the collection purchased of Dr. J. V. C. Smith, had been fully arranged 
 during the summer months. The magnificent collection of shells laelonging to Dr. Amos 
 Binney, Jr., and of minerals belonging to Dr. Chas. T. Jackson had also been deposited 
 with the cabinet of the Society, and put on exhibition. 
 
 Surrounded by such evidences of prosperity, the membei's might well feel gratified at 
 what had been accomplished in the past, and reasonably hopeful for the future. They 
 were rejoiced too, by the accession of a large number of specimens to the several 
 departments of the Museum, that had long awaited a fitting place for their reception. 
 
 Before adjourning, it was voted that hereafter meetings be held twice, instead of once a 
 month, as heretofore. Accordingly on the 21st of August the second meeting for the 
 month was held, and a large number of members were present. At this meeting an 
 address was delivered before the Society by the Rev. F. W. P. Greenwood, commem- 
 orative of the opening of their new hall. This very admirable address was published in 
 full in the first volume of the Journal of the Society. As the first paragraph undoubt- 
 edly expresses fully the feeling pervading the minds of all the members, it is quoted here. 
 
 " With good cause, gentlemen, may we congratulate each other at this meeting, on our 
 condition and prospects as a Society. This spacious and delightfully situated apartment ; 
 these neat and well contrived cases and tables, already exhibiting treasures, the lustre of 
 which is more pleasant to the eyes of science than the shining of silver and gold ; this 
 convenient furniture; these ample accommodations — are all indubitable evidences of our 
 improved, established, and promising state. Everything wears a congratulatory aspect. 
 Our countenances are full of animation. Even the mute rej^resentatives from the several 
 kingdoms of Nature, which here in new order surround us, seem to participate in our 
 pleasure, and, rejoicing in their deliverance from the damp and obscure region in which 
 they have been hidden, to l)id us welcome to upper air, and the comforts of our present 
 abode." Another quotation from the address of Dr. Greenwood will find an appropriate 
 place in this liistory. before its conclusion. 
 
 It may be well to note, as showing the comprehensive ideas relative to the work of the 
 Society, that a committee at this meeting was appointed at Dr. J. V. C. Smith's desire, to 
 consult with him upon the expediency of forming a zoological garden. Nothing of 
 course covdd come from this under the circumstances of the period, and the consum- 
 mation of such a wish seems now but a remote possibility of the future. 
 
 Action was taken at a meeting of the council in October of this year, which 
 shows that as yet the public were not admitted to view the Society's treasures, as a record 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 23 
 
 states that a vote was passed to allow those wlio purchased tick'cts to the lectures the 
 privilege of visiting the Society's cabinet one day each week. 
 
 Early this year a committee was appointed to ins])ect the rock spi-ciinciis and iniiuTals 
 collected by Dr. Hitchcock in making the survey of the State, and, if thouglit best, to 
 petition the Legislatnre to allow them to be deposited with tbe collection of tbe Society. 
 This was done, and for many years following the whole State collection arranged in propi'r 
 order was on exhibition with that of the Society. 
 
 18o4. In February, a very triumphant vindication, by the Ilev. John Bachman, of the 
 accuracy of the observations and truthfulness of the statements of Ibe lionort'd and beloved 
 Audubon, written against attacks made upon iiis veracity which appeared in Loudon's 
 Mai'-azine, was read before the Society, and subsequently pubiislu'd in the lirst volume of 
 the Journal. It excited great interest at the time and was regarded as I'ully conclusive. 
 
 At the annual meeting in May, the Curators reported that the collection contained of 
 Mammalia, 1-4 perfect ligamentary skeletons, 34 crania, 1 5 pairs horns and many teeth; 
 of Reptiles, IG Chelonia, CO Ophidia, 52 Saurians ; of Birds, 40 species; of Corals, .30 
 species; of Fishes, about 100 species, well preserved; of Insects, about 4000 species, of 
 which 2000 were numbered per catalogue; of Shells, 1600 to 2000 species; of Plants, 
 about 800 specimens, nearly all from the neighborhood. Of the Insects it stated that the 
 collection would soon surpass all in America. 
 
 Before the election of officers, an alteration in the Constitution and By-laws proposed 
 at a previous meeting was made, by which the office of Cabinet Keeper was created. 
 His duties were defined to be the general charge of the rooms of the Society, that the 
 contents be kept in the best order, that he should select a competent person as a porter, 
 who should be under his immediate control, and that Avhen convenient lie should attend 
 personally at the rooms upon days of public exhibition. 
 
 Upon jjalloting, Eev. F. W. P. Greenwood was chosen Second ^"ice-President in place of 
 Francis C. Gray, resigned ; I)i-. Amos Binney, Jr., Corresponding Secretary, in place of 
 Dr. Gamaliel Bradford; Epes S. Dixwell, Treasurer, in place of Dr. A. Binney. Jr. ; Dr. J. 
 B. S. Jackson, Curator, in place of Francis Alger, resigned ; Estes Howe, Cabinet Keeper. 
 In October, the comtnittee on lectures for the season reported that Professor Hitchcock 
 of Amherst, Rev. F. W. P. Greenwood, and Dr. Flint, had been chosen to deliver them, 
 and they advised that f 20 be })aiil for each lecture. This programme was probaljly carried 
 out as there is no mention to the contrary. In November, Dr. Ware suggested applying 
 to the Legislature for a grant in aid of the objects of the Society, and a- committee was 
 appointed to ask it. Tiie result of this was a subsidy of three hundred dollars per annum, 
 for five years, granted by the State, payment of which commenced in 1845. 
 
 1835. At the first meeting of the Society in January, the mendiers were cheered 
 by tiie announcement that one of their number who was in Europe, iMr. Ambrose S. 
 Courtis, had provided in a will nnide by him that the Society should receive certain sums 
 for specific purposes amounting in all to 1 15,000, and that to ensure the reception of a 
 part of it soon, he had foi-\varded an order I'or the immediate payment of $2000. This 
 amount was received by the Society. It is painful to add, considering the Society's financial 
 condition, that this whole sum was lost by the failure of a bank in which it was deposited. 
 There were conditions annexed to the benefiictiou of Mr. Courti.s, which were not entirely 
 
24 niSTORICAL SKETCH OF TIIK 
 
 satisfactory, and a ooiniiiittoe was appointed to correspond with liiin and suggest some 
 modiiication of tlieiii. 
 
 Up to this tiuK' the meetings of tlic Council had nni hccii held ri'gularlv. hut only as 
 occasion seemed to recpiire. It was now. Januai'v 7th. \-otiMl that they he iioldrn twice 
 each montli. immediately after the reguhir meetings of tiie Society. 
 
 At the annual meeting in May, it Avas reported that hesides the ^2000 cash helore 
 mentioned, a note payahle in five years for a like amount had heen received from Mr. 
 Courtis, 
 
 It was also reported that the usual success did not atten(] the lectures of the last season, 
 the expenses having exceeded the receipts, ^177.05. I lie lirst '■'annuaV so called, 
 issued b}' the Society, embracing the address delivered by the Kev. F. W. P. Greenwood, 
 upon opening of the new hall ; Remarks in defence of the Author of the Birds of America, 
 by the Rev. .IdIiu l>aclnnaii ; Description of a (Jihi)on. by Winslow Lewi<, M. D. ; Cicin- 
 delae of Massiiehusetts, by Augustus A. Gould, M. 1). ; and observations on a shell in the 
 cabinet of the Society, supposed to be identical with the Murex aruauus of Linnaeus, by 
 Dr. Amos Biimey, Jr., was reported to have ])aid for itself the first year. These papers 
 compose part lirst of the lirst volume of the Journal of the Society. 
 
 At this meeting the Annual Address was delivered by Dr. Walter Channing. Tt is thus 
 spoken of in the record. '• Dr. Channing laid the Society under great obligation by an 
 exceedingly well-timed and interesting address. The objects and progress of the Society, 
 its wants, its claims upon the members and the connuuuiiy at large, the i-easous why it 
 should ]i\c and llourish ; all these considerations were dwelt u|ioii with an eaniestne.ss and 
 enthusiasm which could not but produce a, corresjujnding iuipulse in the uilnds of his 
 hearers." 
 
 The thanks of the Society were voted to Dr. Channing. and he was requested to depo.sit 
 a cojiy of his discourse with its papers, for the use of the uiend)ers. 
 
 In a revision of the ])r(K-eedings of the Society published .some years later than this 
 period, the statement is distinctly made that this address of Dr. Channing. which was 
 highly connuended by those who heard it, was printed, but a copy has lieen sought 
 in vain. Unfortunately the manuscript itself cannot be found in the aicbives of the 
 Society, which is the more to be regretted as it is supi)Osed to have iMubraced matter con- 
 nected with its early history, that would have been interesting to present in these pages. 
 
 The only changes made in the officers this year were as folloAvs : Dr. N. B. ShurtlefT 
 was chosen Cabinet Kee]K'r. in place of Estes Howe, resigned; Dr. Thaddeus W. Harris, 
 Mr. J. E. Tcschemacher. and Di-. .Martin (iay. were elected Curators in j)lacc of Mr. William 
 B. Fowle. l)i'. George W. Otis aud Dr. Joseph W. McKean. 
 
 In June ol' this year the curators agreed among themselves to each take charge of sep- 
 arate divisions of the cabinet. The curatorships were not assigned to .special departments 
 until three years later. 
 
 A solar microscope was received this year from Europe, the gift of Mr. Ambrose S. 
 Courtis, who purchased it for presentation to the Society. This was put on exhibition for its 
 benefit, the members only being admitted gratis. In October the exhibition having ceased 
 to be remunerative was closed. lu August, the committee on lectures reported that they 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 25 
 
 Lad been disaj^pointed in every way, and had not been al)le to obtain a single Icctiu-er. 
 At a fsnbsequent meeting, Dr. Gonld expressed his unwillingness that the lectures should 
 l>e entirely omitted, and offered himself to give a course on Botany in the Spring. Tlie 
 offer was accepted and a connnittee appointed to make the necessary arrangements. 
 
 1836. In April of this year, considerable discussion took place relative to the means of 
 paying the debts of the Society, and it was unanimously voted at a Council Meeting to 
 expend the money received from the State towards this end. 
 
 At a meeting this month it was announced that no one had accepted an invitation to 
 deliver the annual address, and it was therefore voted to omit it and have the report of 
 the Curators substituted. 
 
 The Annual Meeting was held May 4, the Rev. F. W. P. Greenwood in the chair. 
 
 From the Treasurer's report at this time, the liabilities of the Society were shown to l)e 
 $1476.70 with a cash balance of only $56.09 in his hands, and but $:L27 due it from 
 members, much of which mio-ht not be realized. The Courtis Fund was stated to be 
 intact and amounting to $2057, invested in Fulton and Granite Bank stocks. 
 
 The officers of the previous year were re-elected, with the following exceptions : Rev. 
 F. W. P. Greenwood was chosen first Vice President, in place of Dr. John Ware, re- 
 signed ; Dr. Walter Channing, second Vice President, in place of Rev. F. W. P. Green- 
 wood ; Dr. Martin Gay, Recording Secretary, in place of Dr. D. Humphreys Storer ; 
 Dr. D. Humphreys Storer, Curator, in place of Dr. Martin Gay. The thanks of the 
 Society were presented to Dr. Storer, the late Secretary, for the great zeal, accuracy 
 and fidelity which he had manifested in its behalf since the establishment of the insti- 
 tution. 
 
 The Cabinet of the Society had been enriched by the addition of the skeleton of an 
 elephant that had died in a menagerie. The bones were stored and bleached in the house 
 of Mr. James Blake, and a vote of thanks was passed to him for his great kindness in 
 allowing this, and for the care shown by him in their preservation. To the skill and labor 
 of Dr. Shurtleff" the Society was indebted for putting them together and forming the 
 perfect skeleton. 
 
 The Committee on lectures reported in August that it was not expedient to have a 
 course of lectures durinti; the comino' season. 
 
 At a meeting held Dec. 7, Mr. Epes S. Dixwell resigned the office of Treasurer, and 
 Mr. Ezra Weston was elected to fill the vacancy thus created. 
 
 1837. The Legislature of the State was invited to visit the rooms of the Society. 
 
 In February of this year, a letter having been written to the Legislature reconnneuding 
 a re-survey of the State, and that a collection of the plants and animals should be made 
 under the charge of the Boston Society of Natural History, a Committee was appointed 
 by the Society to meet a Committee of the House, to whose consideration the sul)ject had 
 been given. 
 
 In April, the Legislatiu-e authorised the Geological Surxe}" l)y Prof Hitchcock, and 
 the following persons were commissioned subsequently to report upon the Botany and 
 Zoology of the State : George B. Emerson, President Boston Society of Natm'al History 
 Chester Dewey, Professor of Botany in the Berkshire Medical Institute ; Ebene/.er Eunnons, 
 M. D., Professor of Natural History in Williams College ; Rev. William B. 0. Peabody, of 
 
2G HISTORICAL SKETCH OF '11 IK 
 
 Sprin<rfiel(l ; Tliiuldeiis W. Harris, M. D., Lilirarian Harvard University ; D. H. Storcr, 
 M. D., Curator of Boston Society of Natural History ; Augustus A. Gould, M. D., Curator 
 of Boston Society of Natural History. 
 
 These gentlemen met, and it was arranged among them that Professor Emmons shoidd 
 undertake to report upon Mammalia; Rev. Mr. Peabody, upcm the Birds; Dr. Storer, 
 upon Fishes and Reptiles ; Dr. Harris upon Insects , Dr. Gould, iipoii Mollusca, Cnista- 
 cea, and Eadiata; Professor Dewey, upon the Herbaceous Plants ; and Mr. Emerson upon 
 the Trees and Shrubs. 
 
 Tlie Reports presented to the Legislature were puljlished in 1839-1846. 
 
 It will be remend)ered that in January, 18.j5, the announcement was made to 
 the members that Mr. Anibi-osc S. Courtis had provided in a will that the Society 
 should receive certain sums for specific purposes, amounting to $15,000, and tliat 
 prepayment had been directed by him of |2,000 of that amount. A copy of the 
 will had been forwarded by him for examination by the Society, and a committee 
 on its part had been appointed to suggest some modifications of its ])rovisious. 
 
 It is not known whether the matter received his attention. Possibly his change 
 of residence from place to place delayed the reception by liim of the communication 
 of the committee until increasing illness prevented consideration of it. Intelligence 
 of his death was received a few months after. What is known of this early benefactor 
 of the Society is but meagre. It will however be read with grateful interest, 
 
 Mr. Ambrose Stacy Courtis, for that was his full name, was born in Marblehead, Mass., 
 on March 1, 1798. He received only a connnon school education, but early acquired a 
 taste for literature and science, which often manifested itself in his subsequent life. 
 Upon leaving school he entered a country stoi-e of his native ])lace, and there was ac- 
 customed to devote all the spare tiiiie he had to classical and scientilic studies. He 
 afterwards came to Boston, and entered into pai-tnership with Mr. Samuel Johnson, the 
 firm l)eing Johnson & Courtis. The business was that of wholesale dry goods. 
 
 While actively engaged in that occupation, he kept up his interest in other pursuits, 
 devoting much spare time, as when at Marl)lehead, in reading works upon his favorite 
 pursuits. lie accuniulatcd ])roperty, but his health became im])aired. In 18;)4, he 
 retired from the firm ol' wliicli he was a mend)er, and Iravt'lled in Europe, hoping 
 to regain his .strength. In this he was disappointed, and he finally died in Greece, 
 August 27, 1830. His remains were brought home and buried at Mount Auburn. 
 
 On a tablet in the vestibule of the Museum, may be found the i'ollowing inscription: 
 
 TO 
 
 AMBROSE S. COURTIS 
 
 MERCHANT OF BOSTON 
 
 WHOSE GENEROUS BEQUEST IN 1838 WAS 
 
 FOR TWENTY-FIVE YEARS ITS CHIEF SUPPORT 
 
 THE IJOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY 
 
 ON THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF ITS FOUNDATION 
 
 APRIL 28 1880 
 
 GRATEFULLY INSCIUBES THIS TABLET 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 27 
 
 There seems to have been some anxiety on the part of the Society relative to the will 
 of Mr. Courtis. In February of this year, at a meeting of the Council, extracts were read 
 and considered, and finally a committee was appointed to take charge of the matter with 
 power to take legal measures if necessary to protect the Society's interests. 
 
 At the Annual Meeting in May, the Rev. Hul)ljard Winslow delivered an address on 
 the relation of natural science to revealed religion, which was subsequently publi-shed by 
 the Society. It is spoken of in the records as an ingenious, eloquent and fervid address. 
 
 The Ti-easurer's report at this meeting shows the Society had on hand but ^180.17, 
 whilst it owed a note for $677 with 10 months interest. 
 
 No money had been expended on the library during the year, and the need of a fund 
 for the pui-chase of books which were indispensable for progress was strongly felt. 
 Dr. Storer reported upon the state of the collections, giving a very elaborate account of 
 the condition of every department, with notice of the many valuable additions made to it 
 during the year. 
 
 The most important acquisition was that of the great collection of insects purchased of 
 Professor Hentz, the entomologist, then residing in Florence, Alabama. This was the 
 fruit of seventeen years labor in this field of study, and was undoubtedly one of the Ijest 
 collections extant. Professor Hentz was very desirous that the wliole collection should be 
 possessed by some society of similar character to our own, rather than that it should be 
 sold abroad. He had previously offered it to Harvard College, together with liis ento- 
 mological books, for |1600, but the offer had been declined. Professor T. W. Harris, then 
 Curator of the Entomological department of the Society, interested himself in obtaining 
 subscriptions in its behalf, and after much exertion, obtained in this way enough to sectu-e 
 the collection, and also such portion of the library of Professor Hentz as was most needed 
 for oiu- Society. The insects alone cost $550, the books $200, and other incidental 
 expenses, |39, making in all $789. 
 
 The principal donors to the fund were Dr. B. D. Greene, Dr. James Jackson, 
 Dr. George C. Shattuck, Hon. Francis C. Gray, Hon. Jonathan Phillips, Dr. John Randall, 
 the Hon. David Henshaw and an anonymous person who gave $250 of the amount. 
 
 The collection contained, by the count of Dr. Harris after arrival, l-i,126 specimens, of 
 which 12,811 were American, and 1315 foreign. There had been much delay in 
 responses to the application for subscriptions, and Dr. Harris was annoyed in consequence. 
 In mentioning the great accession to the cabinet at the annual meeting, lie expresses 
 himself thus : " I congratulate the society in the ac(juisition it has received, and 
 although the tediously protracted negotiation has caused me much anxiety and vt'.xation. 
 and the small and lingering success whicli has attended my efforts in your behalf has 
 subjected me to severe mortification and disappointment, I cannot but feel happy at the 
 result. It is my hope that we shall have here in entomology, as well as in other depart- 
 ments, a standard collection, rich in genera and species, as complete as possible in the 
 productions of our own country, arranged and with the names affixed to every 
 described species. Our museum tlien will be useful, not t)idy to ourselves, but to all 
 others who may wish to refer to well authenticated specimens, to remove their doubts or 
 confirm their conjectures." 
 
28 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 The reception and the magnitude ol' this eullection has been partiouhirly dwelt 
 n|)on. l)eeause of what will ibilow in due time respecting its fate. It is necessary 
 that there should be a jiroper appreciation of the value of this as well as of other 
 unportant collections subsequently allowed to perish, in order that lessons may be 
 derived from experience sucli as it is so well calculated to teach. 
 
 Previous to the election of officers, the highly resjjected and much Ijcloved President, 
 Benjamin D. Greene, tendered his resignation, greatly to the regret of all. The following 
 changes were made : Mr. George B. Emerson was chosen President, in the jjlace of 
 Dr. B. D. Gi'eene, resigned ; Dr. Amos Binney, 2d Vice Pi-esident, in place of Dr. Walter 
 Channing, resigned ; Mr. Epes S. Dixwell, Corresponding Secretary, in place of Dr. 
 Amos Binney ; Dr. T. M. Brewer, Cabinet Keeper, in place of Dr. N. B. Shurtlell"; 
 Dr. N. B. Shnrtleff, Curator, in place of Mr. George B. Emerson. 
 
 In August of this 3'ear, Louis Agassiz was elected an Honorary Member, and 
 in November, Jeffi'ies Wym;ui was elected a resident member of the Society. These 
 admissions are particularly mentioned, because of the great iniluence these gentlemen 
 afterwards exerted upon its welfare. 
 
 As showing the linancial trouble of the Society, it may be mentioned that at a 
 meeting of the Council in .N'ovembcr. it was reported that the rent of the hall, 
 $150, was due in two days, and that tliere were only $50 on hand to meet the call. It 
 wa.s voted that the treasurer make the best arrangement in his power with Mr. Savage, 
 respecting it. 
 
 The Committee to whom the subject of lectures was intrusted, reported that several 
 members of the Society had ])ledged themselves to bring forward at times such exercises 
 upon the subject of nnlural history as they thouglit woidd be interesting to the 
 public, and recommende<l tliat the members shouM liave the privilege of attending 
 these, and of introducing inenil)i'rs of their families and strangers who migiil be in tlie 
 city. The reconnnendation was ado])ted. 
 
 This seems to have led not exactly to what was suggested, but to the aihnission of 
 ladies of the members' families and such others as they chose to invite, to the regular 
 meetings; for at the next one. held Dec. 20, the record states that the occasion being the 
 first on which ladies had been invited, the President, Mr. Emerson, addressed the Society 
 upon the subject of this invitation, lie ex])lained the ol)jects of the Society somewhat 
 at length, and said much to interest the auilience in the study of natural history. He 
 spoke of the many pleasures and benclits to lie derixcd from some knowledge of Nature 
 as shown in lier works and operations, and concluded with some account of the advantage 
 we have over the ancients in our more extended knowledge of these subjects. 
 
 The admission of ladies seems to have had lor a time considerable influence u])on 
 the attendance, as the number of members reported as present at this and succeeding 
 nveetings was nuich larger than had been usual. There was a gradual falling oflf how- 
 ever, but how soon ladies ceased to attend is not mentioned in the reports of subsequent 
 meetings. 
 
 18-38. In .lanuary. the Council voted : That m)tice be given by written card posted up 
 in the State House, that the Museum will be open every Wednesday, between 12 and 2 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 29 
 
 o'clock, for visits from the public, and that the member,s oi the Legislature be invited to 
 examine it at those times. 
 
 By the advice of the Council, an alteration was made in the By-laws by which each 
 Curator should have his particular department allotted him at the time of his election ; 
 he to have the privilege of selecting from among the members of the Society a person to 
 assist him in arranging and labelling the specimens. 
 
 The Annual Address was delivered this year l)y Dr. Chas. T. Jackson, and was a very 
 intei'esting and lucid discourse upon the various influences of the study of Natural 
 History of Man, both in an individual and a social capacity. 
 
 At the election of officers the following changes were made : Dr. Augustus A. Could 
 was chosen Recording Secretary in place of Dr. Martin Gay ; Dr. Jeffries Wyman, 
 Cabinet Keeper, in place of Dr. Thos. M. Brewer. 
 
 The Curators were for the first time elected for special departments ; the following were 
 chosen : 
 
 Dr. N. B. Shurtleff, for Comparative Anatomy; Dr. Thos. M. Brewer, Birds; Dr. D. 
 Humphreys Storer, Reptiles and Fish ; Dr. Thaddeus W. Harris, Insects; Mr. J. E. Tesch- 
 emacher. Botany ; Dr. Chas. T. Jackson, Mineralogy and Geology, State Collection ; 
 Dr. Martin Gay, Mineralogy and Geology. Society's Collection. 
 
 1839. In Januar}', 1839, the Legislature was formally invited to visit the collection 
 during the hours when it was open to the public. 
 
 Since occupying the hall in Tremont street, the libi'ary of the Society had l)een 
 jjlaced in cases much needed for portions of the cabinet, and the librarian having made 
 a proposition to receive it into his room in Tremont Row, where the books could 
 be kept together, and where access could be had to them at all times, and at all 
 hours of every day ; it was voted to accept the offer of the librarian, and that imoccupied 
 cases in the attic over the hall be made use of Ijy him for the reception of the book.s 
 in his room. 
 
 The necessity for more room for the increasing collection had become so great, 
 that many claims were at once presented by the curators of several departments for 
 the space about to be vacated by removal of the library, and it became necessary 
 to appoint a conunittee with power to assign it as they thought expedient. 
 
 At the Annual Meeting this year, the Treasurer reported receipts amounting to 
 $1337.18, and payments $1167.51, leaving on hand $1G9.67, with debts outstanding 
 to the amount of $1001.90. 
 
 The Report on the Cabinet stated that out of one hundred and twenty species of 
 Massachusetts Fishes ninety were in the collection, and of the Reptiles every described 
 species; all in good condition. The Annual Address was delivered by Rev. John L. Rus- 
 sell, on the pursuit and delight of the Study of Nature. 
 
 At the election the changes made in the officers were as follows : Dr. Jeffries W\nnan, 
 chosen Recording Secretary, in place of Dr. Augustus A. Gould ; Mr. John James 
 Dixwell, Treasurer, in place of Mr. Ezra Weston ; Dr. Samuel Caljot, Jr.. Cabinet Keeper 
 in place of Dr. Jeffries Wyman ; Dr. Jeffries Wyman, Curator of Mammals, in ])lace of 
 Dr. Winslow Lewis; Mr. Thomas J. Whittemore, Curator of Mulhisks (office not previouslj^ 
 filled). 
 
30 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 III June, at a meeting of the Council, it was voted that the Committee to wliom 
 was referred the affairs rehiting to the will of the late Ambrose S. Courtis, be authorized 
 to complete the negotiations with the heirs of said Courtis on such terms as tliey 
 may deem expedient, and to receive all money accruing therefrom, to be deposited 
 in some bank for safe keeping. 
 
 Before the close of the year, a settlement was made with the heirs of Mr. Courtis, 
 by which they were to be released from all oljligations, upon the payment of ^10,250. 
 For some reason not given, $10,000 were finally received. 
 
 In October, Dr. Samuel Cabot resigned the office of Cabinet Keeper, and Mr. William 
 I. Bowditch was elected to the position, but as he preferred a month later to have 
 another substituted in his place. Dr. Samuel L. Abbot was chosen to succeed him. 
 
 In November, a report was made upon the disposition of the money from the 
 Courtis bequest, and the members, feeling now that they could reasonabl}^ expend some- 
 thing towards meeting wants long felt : Voted, to procure such books as were most 
 needed for the library. They also appointed a committee to make an estimate of the 
 cost of mounting the Birds of Massachusetts in first rate order. 
 
 In December, the librarian proposed that the meetings through the winter should be 
 held once a week at his room opposite the hall, provided he should be made a life 
 mendjer, and the expenses of the lights and fuel be paid for by the Society. This offer 
 was accepted, and the meetings were accordingly held there. 
 
 It is pleasant to notict' in looking over tlie proceedings of the Society, that it was 
 enabled .sometimes to aid otliers in scientific measures to serve the public, as it has often 
 done in more recent periods. At one time we find Prof Hitchcock appealing to it for 
 information concerning soils ; at another the specimens of tlie Cabinet were solicited by 
 Prof. Silliman for use in illustrating his great course of lectures before the Lowell Insti- 
 tute. It is unneces.sary to add that these calls were cheerfully met. 
 
 1840. In February, of this year, the Society was saddened by the death of one of its 
 original founders and most interested meml:)ers, Mr. Simon E. Greene. This gentleman 
 was a business man of great a(;tivity. In early years he was an officer in one of the city 
 banks, but afterwards, and until the close of his life, was a brokiT in whom the utmost 
 confidence was placed. All ol his contemporaries represent hini as a iiinn hiLili miiided 
 and honorable in all his dealings, and of much public sjiirit. He was a ne[)lie\v of 
 Gen. Simon Elliott, and from him derived his name. In the Ibrmation of the Society he 
 was not only one of the original members, but Avas the secretary of the first meeting of 
 gentlemen favorable to the formation of a society for the study of natural history, which 
 was held at Dr. Walter Channing's house. He was afterwards api)ointed, with Dr. Amos 
 Binney, Jr., to call upon such persons as it was thought would like to be associated in 
 the project and obtain their signatures. At the Hrst election of officers for the new 
 Society, Mr. Greene was chosen Treasurer, which ollirc he held for two years, when he 
 resigned, receiving the thanks of the Society for the services rendered by him. At a 
 meeting held February 12, the President feelingly alluded to the loss the Society had 
 sustained, stating that Mr. Greene had a great love for the study of nature, more partic- 
 ulai'ly for the departments of Ornithology and Botany ; that he had ever shown himself 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 31 
 
 one of the firmest friends of the Society, ready to assist and co-operate with others in 
 times of need, and on all occasions manifesting a strong interest in its prosperity and 
 nsefulness. The following resolutions, offered by the President, were unanimously 
 adopted : 
 
 " Resolved, that in the death of our late valued and honored associate, Simon Elliott 
 Greene, we, members of this Society, feel that we have lost a firm, liberal, and enlight- 
 ened friend. 
 
 " That we cherish fondly in oiu' hearts the memory of his many virtues as a generous 
 friend, an honorable merchant, a ^jerfectly upriglit and honest man ; and that while 
 we mourn over our loss, we deeply sympathize with those whose bereavement, from their 
 nearer connection with our friend, is still more heavy than ours." 
 
 Mr. Greene, though bearing the same family name, was not connected by ties of 
 relationship with the President. His means were limited, but he manifested his continued 
 interest in the Society by a bequest of five hundred dollars in money, a fine collection of 
 about twelve hundred species of shells, and several works on natural history. 
 
 In Api-il of this year the meetings were resumed in the hall of the Society, and 
 were continued weekly, as through the winter, until the Annual Meeting in May, after 
 which they were held twice a month. 
 
 At the Annual Meeting held May 6, Dr. C. T. Jackson, who presented the Reports 
 of the Curators, after referring to the additions made to the Cabinet during the year, 
 made some pleasant remarks relative to the Society, of which a few lines may be 
 appropriately quoted : " We have now shown to the world that a Society of Natural 
 History can be supported in Boston, and trust that the time is not far distant when 
 the public generally will feel that the establishment of such a Society has contril>uted 
 not a little to the general weal. Our hall is already crowded with visitors at such 
 times as we throw open the doors for general admission, and tliere cannot be a doubt 
 respecting the beneficial influence which is exerted by this institution upon the minds 
 of its young visitors. Many a student in science will look back Avith gratitude to those 
 objects in your collection that first attracted his attention to the delightful walks of 
 Natural History." 
 
 The only change made in the oilicers of the Society at the election was in Mr. 
 Marshall S. Scudder being chosen Curator of Birds, in place of Dr. Thomas M. Brewer, 
 who resigned. 
 
 The Curatorships of Comparative Anatomy' and Mammals were united at this time, 
 and Dr. Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, who had held that of the former, was chosen to fdl 
 that of the combined departments. Dr. Jeffries Wyman, who had been Curator of 
 Mammals, retired. 
 
 Let us now review briefly the history of the Society during the first ten vears 
 of its existence, touching upon some general points not hitherto presented. It will 
 be well to do this at the close of each decade, as thus periiaps a better idea may 
 be conveyed, not only of the progress of the institution during each period in material 
 prosperity, but t)f the change in thought relative to its proper mission as an educational 
 institution, and the means necessary for the accomplishuient of its aims and purposes. 
 
32 
 
 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Some statements have been made in tlie notices of the Annual Meetings, of tlie 
 Treasurer's reports showing excess of expenditure over receipts, and the fact of an accu- 
 iiiuliiting dt'l)t which threatened seriously the welfare of the Society, notwithstanding the 
 annual subsidy of ,$300 received from the State, and which was granted for five years. 
 The Treasurer's Report for the year ending May, 1840, will show the financial condition 
 of the Society, at the end of the ten years of its existence. 
 
 Its receipts for the year were as follows : 
 
 From tlic previous treasurer .... 
 Dividend on one share Granite Bank stock 
 Annual and last grant from the State . 
 Annual assessments and entrance fees . 
 Borrowed from the Courtis Fund in order to pay oflf 
 the Society 
 
 indebtedness of 
 
 Payments as follows : — 
 
 Notes held against the Society and interest 
 
 Rent and taxes duo for rooms prior to the jiast year 
 
 Amounts due incurred jirior to year . 
 
 Whole debt paid 
 
 Books added to library . . . . 
 Hent and taxes of Society's apartments 
 Printing and advertising . . . . 
 Miscellaneous exi)enses of cabinet 
 Current expenses of the cabinet . 
 Entomological cabinet . . . . . 
 Care and attendance on the room, fuel, &c. 
 Expense altering shell-cabinet 
 Commissions collecting fees, <fec. . 
 
 ^150 
 
 00 
 
 18 
 
 00 
 
 3U0 
 
 00 
 
 504 
 
 00 
 
 800 
 
 00 
 
 $767 
 
 17 
 
 271 
 
 96 
 
 51 
 
 25 
 
 ^■i:> 
 
 72 
 
 280 
 
 51 
 
 32 
 
 77 
 
 10 
 
 00 
 
 89 
 
 42 
 
 50 
 
 00 
 
 90 
 
 47 
 
 63 
 
 00 
 
 27 
 
 05 
 
 .?1,7- 
 
 00 
 
 1,090 38 
 
 Cash balance in treasury 
 
 60S 94 
 
 $1,759 32 
 12 68 
 
 ?:1.T72 (Id 
 
 This account has been given in full, in order to exhibit more clearly the economy exer- 
 cised in managing the afTairs of the Society, necessary if the Societj'' was to be saved from 
 the burden of a debt that could not be borne, yet destructive afterwards to portions of the 
 collection of very great value, from that want of expenditure rc(|uisite to the proper care 
 and preservation of perisha))le objects. 
 
 The Society had struggled with debt during the greater part of its existence, and was 
 for the first time free from its harrassing claims. This, however, was only brought about 
 by borroAving from the fimd which it desired to hold sacred for special purposes; that 
 received from the heirs of Ambrose S. Courtis, $10,000. The claim that ''we had now 
 shown to the world that a Society of Natural History could be supported in Boston," 
 having the aims and objects of the one existing, and relying on voluntary labor and 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 33 
 
 voluntary contributions for the furtherance of its objects, is not sustained by the 
 condition of affairs at this time, for it may well be asked how long the Society could have 
 gone on with an increasing debt consequent upon increasing expenditure not to be 
 avoided, if the bequest of Mr. Courtis had not relieved it from embarrassment ; especially 
 when it will be seen that with the additional means thus acquired, the best portion of its 
 rich collections went to ruin for want of that necessary care which only paid service can 
 be relied upon to render, and which could not be afforded. 
 
 The income fi'om the Courtis fund was a great help, and a great encouragement. It 
 enabled the Society to go on with its work in a manner that secured for it public appro- 
 bation, of great service to it later when its increasing collections called for more room for 
 their exhibition, and made an appeal for help necessary. It was not enough to enable it 
 to adequately protect its perishable treasui'es. A much larger income was indispensable, 
 but experience had not yet demonsti-ated this fully. 
 
 Sometime during this year, though no record is made of it, the Council agreed to 
 appropriate the income of the Courtis Fund one-third to the Library, one-thii'd to publi- 
 cations, and one-third to the Cabinet. 
 
 It may be interesting to the members of the present time to know something of the 
 attendance of members in the early days of its activity. 
 
 The following talkie will show the highest and lowest number present, together with the 
 average attendance each year. 
 
 1 
 
 t4 
 
 IP 
 
 i5S.§ 
 
 m B a 
 Oi (V a 
 
 iA Us) 
 
 0.1 
 be el 
 
 SI 
 
 18.31 . 
 
 . . 22 . . 
 
 7 . . 
 
 . 18 
 
 183-2 . 
 
 . . 26 . . 
 
 11 . . 
 
 . 17 
 
 1833 . 
 
 . .20. . 
 
 8 . . 
 
 . 13 
 
 1834 . 
 
 . . 4.5 . . 
 
 10 . . 
 
 . 26 
 
 1835 . 
 
 . . 70 . . 
 
 6 . . 
 
 . 21 
 
 1 
 
 V c q 
 
 sga 
 
 >J CCS 
 
 g 
 
 1836 . 
 
 . . 50 . 
 
 . . 6 . . 
 
 . 14 
 
 1837 . 
 
 . . 40 . 
 
 . . 6 . . 
 
 . 12 
 
 1838 . 
 
 . . 40 . 
 
 . . 8 . . 
 
 . 19 
 
 1839 . 
 
 . . 35 . 
 
 . . 9 . . 
 
 . 14 
 
 1840 . 
 
 . . 61 . 
 
 . . 8 . . 
 
 . 12 
 
 An increasing interest seems to have been felt in the meetings during the year ending 
 May, 1834, as the average attendance is shown to be double that of the one previous. 
 This was due in part at least to the removal of the Cabinet to the new hall in Tremont 
 Street, over the Savings Bank, where subsequently the meetings were mostly held. The 
 average afterwards fell off and Ijecame small in the years ending in May, 1836 and 1837, 
 when it again increased considerably, as during the year ending May, 1838, there was an 
 attendance of over 50 per cent, more than during the two previous years. This is 
 likely to have Ijcen the temporary effect of ladies being permitted to accompany the 
 members. There is no record of this permission being withdrawn, and the probability 
 is that too few continued to feel such interest as to lead to the custom of their attend- 
 ance becoming permanent. In the 3-ears following nothing is said of their presence and 
 the average number of members at the meetings again fell off. 
 
 Respecting the increase of the Cabinet up to this period it may be said that there were 
 but few meetings held when specimens were not brouglit forward and presented. Some- 
 times these donations were of great value, and deserve special mention. 
 
34 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 At one meeting, Pnrk Bcnjaiiiin presented ninety-two beautifully preserved bird-skins 
 and a box of insects, from Demerara. Joseph Coolidge, forty-live bird-skins, with corals 
 and other objects from BomVjay. John James Dixwell, one hundred and thiity-three 
 specimens of bird-skins, in perfect order, with many fishes, from the vicinity of Calcutta. 
 J. N. Reynolds, a magnificent collection of between four and live hundred bird-skins ; 
 a large collection of botanical specimens ; boxes of minerals, organic remains, and of 
 insects ; a large and valuable collection of shells ; skulls, fruits, and fishes, all from 
 South America, the Islands of the Pacific, and the South Shetland Islands. Dr. James 
 Jackson, a valuable Herbarium. Mr. J. S. Copley Greene, also, a valuable Herbarium. 
 Dr. F. W. Cragin, of Surinam, magnificent donations of zoological and Ijotaiiical speci- 
 mens. 
 
 Dr. D. Humphreys Storer was continually bringing forward specimens for the 
 caliinet. At one time he presented seventy specimens all carefully put up by him, 
 in glass Ijottles and labelled. To his generosity mainly was due the fact, that out 
 of one hundred and twenty species of Massachusetts fishes then known, ninety were in the 
 collection, and every described reptile of the State, with one exception. Alas, that 
 through the want of proper care in after years, nearly all these should have been 
 destroyed ! Of this more will be said hereafter. 
 
 It would require pages to specify all the donors who enriched the cabinet b\- their 
 contril)utions; suffice it, therefore, to mention the names of some who were particular 
 benefactors in this way, viz.. Doctors Augustus A. Gould. Amos Binney, Jr., Winslow 
 Lewis, John Flint, B. D. Greene, C. T. Jackson, J. V. C. Smith , G. C. Shattuck; Kev. F. 
 W. P. Greenwood ; Messrs. Joseph P. Couthouy, "William B. Fowle, Estes Howe, Edward 
 Tuckerman, Jr., Simon E. Greene; Commodore Downes, of tlie United States Navy; Messrs. 
 George W. Pratt, George James Sprague, J. W. Mighels, H. T. Parker, and C. J. F. 
 Biune3^ 
 
 It is impossible to state the number of specimens in all the departments of the 
 cabinet. There were of fishes three hundred and forty-four species, of which there 
 were, as has before been stated, ninety of Massachusetts waters alone, out of one hundred 
 and twenty known. Of birds, there were of mounted specimens about seventy-five, and oJ 
 bird-skins not mounted, about four hundred. There had been a much larger number ol 
 the latter, but the collection had suffered from the attacks of insects. 
 
 Of lleptiles no statement can be made excepting that already given, that the collection 
 contained every known Massachusetts species excepting one, and that had only once 
 been found Avithin our limits. In the Maz;ological department there were 23 specimens. 
 In that of Comparative Anatomy many, but the number is not given. 
 
 Of Mollusks there were over 3000 species in the collection, but wliether these 
 embraced the private collection of Dr. Amos Binney, is not certain. At this time he had 
 already proffered to give the whole of his to the Society, provided other gentlemen 
 having collections would allow a connnittee to select from those species not possessed by 
 him or the Society. This was complied with afterwards, so that all in the cabinet at the 
 time soon became the property of the Society, with a great nmuber in addition. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 35 
 
 The Entomological (li'partnu'iit was very rich, eml tracing as it did tlio great collection 
 purchased of Hentz, hut the wliole nuniher of species and specimens cannot he stated. 
 
 Of the llerharium there is no mention of the magnitude at this time, hut it contained 
 the \'aluahle donations of plants made l)y Dr. Jas. Jackson and hy J. S. Copley Greene. 
 
 Already the collections of the Society were heyond the ahility of the curators to find 
 proper s])ace for in the exhilntion cases, and it was necessary to put away many in drawers 
 out of view. 
 
 The Lihrary as well as the (Jahinet had constantly received donations during the ten 
 years past, hut as yet was very deficient in works necessary for students in every 
 department. It consisted at this time of 660 volumes, besides numerous pamphlets. 
 But little money had been ex[)ended il)r l)ooks. as the financial condition of the Society 
 had not warranted it. The largest donors to this department were Judge Davis, who in 
 lSo7 presented a great number of valuable works; and Col. Thomas 11. Perkins, who in 
 the last year of the decade presented a magniiicent copy of Audubon's work on the 
 lairds of America. Other donors to the library of valuable books were Drs. D. H. Storer, 
 John Ware, Amos Binney, Jr., Joseph W. McKean. B. D. Greene, and Messrs. E. Tucker- 
 man, Jr., Edward Warren, Henr}'. Codman, Isaac McLellan, John Lowell, Jr., and Joseph 
 Coolidge. 
 
 Addresses were delivered before the Society at its amuial meetings, first in 18oo, and 
 afterwards in 1837, 1838, 18311, and 181(), as already mentioned. Several of these were 
 published. 
 
 At this time the first two volumes of the Journal of the Society and the contents of a 
 large portion of the third had been pulilished. All the papers were communications tliat 
 had been made at meetings of the Society, and were of such character as to establish for 
 it a high scientific reputation, both at home and aliroad. It served greatly towards 
 obtaining the works of foreign societies throudi exchanne. 
 
 Communications of important character were made at almost all the meetings, and often 
 interesting discussions followed concerning the matter presented in them. The members 
 who took the most conspicuous part in the proceedings during the first five years, were 
 Dr. C. T. Jackson, Dr. D. H. Storer, Dr. A. A. Gould, Mr. George B. Emerson, Mr. C. C. 
 Emerson, Mr. Epes S. Dixwell, Dr. J. V. C. Smith, Dr. J. B. S. Jackson. Dr. Walter Chan-- 
 ning. and Rev. F. W. P. Greenwood, though many others participated. During the later five 
 years may be mentioned as the most frequent contributors to the interest of the meetings 
 by their t-ommunicatious, Drs. C. T. Jackson. Augustus A. (Jould, D. Humphreys Storer, 
 Thomas M. Brewer, Martin Gay, Thaddeus W. Harris, Amos Binney, llev. F. W. P. Green- 
 wood, Professors Jeffries Wymau and C. B. Adams, and Messrs. J. E. Teschemacher, 
 Edward Tuckerman, Jr., George B. Emerson and P]pes S. Dixwell. 
 
 The Council of tbe Society, consisting umU-r tbe Consiitulion of the oilicers elected by 
 it, and whose duty it was to control the expenditure of (be money, select lecturers and 
 decide upon the subjects to be treatt'd upon by them ; designate what l)ooks should be 
 purchased for the lilirary ; nominate Honorary and Corres])ouiling Memlters ; attend to the 
 publication of the Journal; and to transact any other business not inconsistent with the 
 Constitution and By-laws; met in the early days only as specially called together, but 
 subsequently, after the regular meetings of the Society. 
 
36 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 For the furtherance of its objects. Committees were annually chosen on the Finances, 
 on Lectures, on Publications, and on Honorary and Corresponding Members. Those who 
 were active on these Committees previous to this period were Drs. Harris, Binney, Gould, 
 C. T. Jackson, Lewis, Storer,the Rev. Mr. Greenwood, and Messrs. Emerson, Dillaway, 
 J. J. Dixwell, Epes S. Dixwell, and 8. E. Greene. 
 
 Decade H. May, ]840-Mat, 1850. 
 
 We now enter upon the second decade of the existence of the Society, with the grati- 
 fying fact of its freedom from debt, and its possession of a funded property sufficient at 
 least with due economy to sustain its life and enable it to do much in furtherance of its 
 objects ; but not enough to furnish the means necessary for the proper care and preserva- 
 tion of its increasing collections, as will be seen hereafter. At the first meeting after the 
 annual one, there came to hand a large donation of verj' valuable specimens from Dr. 
 Thomas S. Savage, a missionary at Cape Palmas, West Africa, mostly of just the character 
 which afterwards suffered greatly from lack of care, viz., insects and reptiles. 
 
 In June of this year, an official conununication was received from the heirs of Mr. 
 Simon E. Greene, announcing the bequest before mentioned, of five hundred dollars, and 
 of some works on natural history. 
 
 In November, the lease of the hall occupied Ijy the Society was renewed for three years, 
 and also an arrangement similar to that of the previous year was made with the Librarian, 
 by Avhich tlie meetings through the winter were held at his room in Tremont Row, in the 
 evenings, once a week until Dec. oOth, and twice a month afterwards. 
 
 The Society had again an opportunity of making a part of its Cabinet serviceal^le to 
 the public otherwise than l)y exhil)ition within its own halls, by granting permission to 
 Prof. Wyman to use specimens from it, in illustrating his course of lectures before the 
 Lowell Institute on Comparative Anatomy, given this season. 
 
 1841. Early this year, the usual invitation was extended to the Legislature to visit the 
 Museum. On such occasions the Curators made it their business to be present, in order 
 that such visits might be the more agreeable and instructive. 
 
 An attempt to render the meetings more interesting was made at this time by forming 
 committees on the several departments of natural history, who should be held responsible 
 for the presentation of communications. 
 
 As showing a strong feeling against the absorjjtion of the Courtis Fund in the expendi- 
 tures of the Society, action taken in February of this year is noticed. It will be remem- 
 bered that in order to liquidate outstanding debts before the last annual meeting, a sum of 
 eight hundred dollars had been borrowed from this fund, and four notes of two hundred 
 dollars each, on interest, had been given by the Treasurer to the Trustees of that fund. 
 
 The Society now voted to apply the five hundred dollars, received b}^ the bequest of 
 Mr. Simon E. Greene, and the proceeds of a sale to be made of the one share yet held of 
 the Granite Bank stock, to pay the first three notes ; and that the fourth note should be 
 paid out of any sui-plus in the hands of the Treasurer, during the current year. 
 
 For the first time in the history of the Society, we find the Council appropriating any 
 amount of money for the use of the several departments of the Museum. The income 
 from the Courtis Fund now enabled the Curators to expend something, though little, 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 37 
 
 towards the purchase and preservation of spechnens. We accordingly learn that 
 were appropriated for the department of Ornithology, $30 for that of Comparative Anat- 
 omy, and $25 for that of Botany. Moderate sums have ever since been asked for by the 
 Curators, as recpiired in the several departments, and these have been granted when the 
 state of the finances would justify the exj)enditure. 
 
 It will be remembered that Dr. Amos Binney, Jr., had proffered his whole collection of 
 shells to the society, upon the condition that other gentlemen possessing cabinets should 
 open them to a committee, who should be allowed to select from them such species as 
 would serve towards completing the collection of the Society. At the annual 
 meeting in May of this year, the Curator of the Conchological department reported 
 that from the caJjinets of Messrs. Dixwcll, Greenwood, Emerson, Storer, Emmons and 
 Warren, abont six hundred species had Ijeen selected, most of which were new to the 
 collection. He also reported that by the bequest of the late Simon E. Greene, his entire 
 collection of about 1200 species had come into the Society's possession. The Curator, 
 after referring to the accession of Dr. Binney's collection and that of Mr. Simon E. 
 Greene, with the additions made from compliance with the conditions of Dr. Binney's 
 gift, and by the donations received from various other parties, spoke of the cabinet of 
 shells as standing foremost of all the pulilic collections of the New World. Bj^ the 
 reports of the other Curators for the year, it appeared that the donations to their depart- 
 ments had not been very important, except to that of Entomology. The additions to the 
 Library were numerous and valuable, some being received from the bequest of Mr. Simon 
 E. Greene and others from purchase by means of the money received from the Courtis 
 fund. 
 
 The Treasurer reported the entire receipts for the year |1S37.41 ; the entire expendi- 
 tm-es $1715.32 ; leaving a, cash balance of $122.09 applicable to the purposes for which 
 the income of the Courtis Fund had been specially appropriated, viz., the increase of the 
 cabinet, tlie increase of the library and the publication of the Society's Journal. 
 
 After the reading of the several reports, the President congratulated the Society on the 
 evidence furnished by them of its prosperous condition. lie remarked that " the constant 
 circulation of the volumes proves the usefulness of the library and the increasing taste for 
 stud}^ and investigation on those subjects for the pursuit of which we are associated. The 
 state of the treasury shows the gratifying fact that the Society is out of deljt and with a 
 considerable income annually applicable to its purposes. During the past year there have 
 been twenty-five meetings, at which seventy-five reports, written and oral, were nrade, 
 including the whole range of subjects embi'aced by the Society. Besides these, twelve 
 other written communications of interest, with letters I'cceived, have occupied the time of 
 the meetings, and aftbrded us the gratification of reflecting that wc have not been quite 
 idle in the work we have undertaken to do." 
 
 The following changes took place among the olficers of the Society — Rev. Dr. Green- 
 wood having declined to serve longer on account of ill liealtli. Dr. Amos Binney, Jr., was 
 elected First Vice-President in his place, aud Dr. Charles T. Jackson succeeded Dr. 
 Binney as Second Vice-President ; Dr. Frederick A. Eddy was chosen Recording Secre- 
 tary ; Dr. A. A. Gould, Curator of Conchology ; Thomas Bulfinch, Curator of Mineralogy 
 and Geology (State Collection) ; S. L. Abbot, Jr., Curator ol" Ornithologj^, and Thomas 
 T. Bouve, Cabinet Keeper. 
 
38 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 The Society then listened to an interesting and instructive address from Mr. Tesche- 
 macher upon the progress of Natural Science. This was subsequently puhlisherl. 
 
 Nothing of unusual interest occurred during the summer and fall months. When the 
 season became too cold for meetings in the hall, the members met by invitation at the 
 President's house in the evening, until February; after wliich they assembled ot the room 
 of the Lil)rarian, 7^ Tremont Eow, until spring. 
 
 1842. In April of this year a committee was chosen to make arrangements for the 
 reception of the Association of American Geologists and Naturalists in the hall of the 
 Society, where their approaching meetings were to be held hy invitation of tlie Society. 
 These meetings, the first in Boston, took place during the week commencing April 25th 
 and ending on Saturday the .30th. The most eminent scientific men of the country were 
 present, including Profs. William B. and Henry D. Rogers, Dr. Sanuiel G. Morton, Prof 
 Hitchcock, Prof Benjamin Silliman, Dr. James D. Dana and Prof Locke. Mr. Lyell the 
 distinguished geologist, afterwards Sir Charles Lyell, was also present. The meetings were 
 of great scientific interest and importance, and several of the members, also members of 
 the Association, took an active part in the proceedings and discussions, among others Dr. 
 C. T. Jackson and Capt. Joseph P. Couthouy. 
 
 The Association before adjourning passed a vote of thanks to the Boston Society of 
 Natural History for tlie use of tlie hall, and for the kind attention shown Ijy its individual 
 members. 
 
 Previous to and in anticipation of the meeting of the Association, the Society had voted 
 to hold a special meeting on the 27th of the month, in order to invite the members of 
 that body to hear the Annual Address which was to be delivered hy one of tlieir number. 
 Dr. Samuel G. Morton, the celebrated ethnologist. This meetiug so held, was largely 
 attended by the members of the Society and by those of the Association. The President 
 first gave a brief history of the doings of the Society the past year. This was followed 
 by tlie address, which was upon tlie distinctive characteristics of the aboriginal race of 
 America, and was extremely interesting and instructive. It was published l^y the Society 
 in its Journal, Vol. IV, p. 190, and in pamphlet, 8vo., 1842. 
 
 The yearly reports of the Curators were not always ef such character as to give partic- 
 ular information concerning the extent of the collections, sometimes being limited to a 
 statement of donations received, with remarks upon condition, etc. When jn-esented in 
 detail, it seems well to embody their substance here, in order that comparisons may be 
 made hereafter if desirable. Some of the reports made at the annual meeting in May, 
 1812, are therefore dwelt upon at length. They were all quite encouraging. 
 
 In tlie Iclith3'ological department the wliole numlier of sjjecies was given as 450, of 
 which 390 were from the Western Hemisphere, and 60 from the Eastern. Gf the Massa- 
 chusetts species alone, there were now 108, an increase of 7 during the year. 
 
 Gf the mineral Cabinet it was stated ljy tlie Curator that he had rearranged the collec- 
 tion, and that there were 610 specimens on the shelves, which probably comprised all 
 worthy of exhibition. 
 
 The Curator of Entomology reported the enriching of this department by the addition 
 of eighty species of African beetles presented by Kev. Dr. Savage. 
 
 The Curator of Conchology reported the continued prosperity of the department under 
 his charge. During no former year had a greater amount of labor been bestowed upon 
 
noSTONT SOCIETY OF NATURAL TTTSI'ORY. 39 
 
 it, or inoiv iinportMiit accessions luadc. Six Inniilrcd and fifty species had been added and 
 entered in the catalogue, and neaily a IJjousand names had been ascertained, and the 
 labels applied. There were now in all oUOO species, not inclnding duplicates, all ol" which 
 Iiad come into the juissession of tlie Society by donation. 01' the whole number, 1722 
 species had been contributed b_y Dr. IJiiuiey, 1197 by Captain Joseph P. Couthony, 104 
 by roniiHodore Downes of tlie Navy, '•'•") by Mr. Dixwell, 54 l)y Mr. George B. Emerson, 
 <S5 by Mr. T. J. Wiiittemore, 4." \>y Mr. George P.rown, 44 by the Rev. Dr. Greenwood, 29 
 b}' Mr. John Warren, ■'>'■> by Mr. Stephen Ennnons, 41 by Dr. Storer, 155 by Di'. Gould. 
 and many had come from the bequest of Simon E. Greene. The want of room and tiie 
 want of books on the subject were com])lained of, the meml)ers being almost Avholly 
 dependent upon the splendid library of Dr. Dinney for information. This, however, was 
 liberally open to the use of all who sougiit knowledge. 
 
 The Curator of the State Collection of Geology reported the addition to it of 1100 
 specimens collected Ijy Professor Hitchcock on his resurvey of the State, making, witli the 
 previous collection, 2()4r), besides the scries of soils nvnnbering 227. 
 
 The C\n'ator of Botany reported the addition of 1 194 species, mostly foreign, to the 
 department under his cluirge. No account of the whole collection was given. 
 
 The Curator of Ornithology reported the whole number of birds in the collection as 
 540, very few being duplicates; 120 of these were mounted, of which ItKi. including 75 
 species, were of Massachusetts. PVjity-three specimens were received during the year, the 
 donors being Capt. Josei)h P. Conthouy, Judge Amos of Bengal, Messrs. Tescheniacher, 
 H. Bryant, Lewis Ashnuni. Charles Mayo, and Dr. J. P. Kirtland. 
 
 The Curator of Comparative Anatomy reported some additions to his department, but 
 stated that the large skeletons were in Ijad condition from exposure to dust. 
 
 The Liljrarian rejxirted (he condition of tlie library as pi'osperous ; 110 volumes, 
 including o<S pamphlets, lia\'ing l)een added during the year, presented by various indi- 
 viduals. 
 
 The Treasure)- rt'ported the whole receipts during the year, incduding balance at com- 
 mencement, |1;]50.29; whole amount expended. .$1213.30, leaving a balance of $136.93. 
 
 The changes among the ollieers this year were, that Dr. M;irtin Gay was chosen Curator 
 of Minerals, Mr. T. '1\ Bouve of Geology. Mr. 'I\ BuUineh, Becording Secretary, and Dr. 
 Henry Bryant, Cabinet Keeper. 
 
 In May of this yeai- the Diploma uow in use by tli(^ Society was lirst adopted. 
 
 In June, it is recorded that Dr. .bdl'ries Wynian was made a delegate to represent the 
 Society at a meeting of the British Association, .soon to be held at Manchester, England. 
 
 In September, there a])])ears to have been some apprehension as to the sal'ety of por- 
 tions of the collection, as Dr. Wyman was requested to devote such of his leisure as he 
 could couiiuand for the eusuiuL;- vear, to its i)reservation and increase, and ^200 were 
 appropriated Ibi' the piu'pose. 
 
 In Decend)er. the Couucul of (he So<'iety having learned "that a proposal had been 
 made to take from their authors the notes, journals, and observations made by some of 
 the corps of the late Kxploring Expedition, and to place them in the hands of otliers for 
 publication." and recognizing the injustice of such proceeding as well as the manv other 
 objections thereto, (houg]i( fit to remonstrate against it, which they emphatically did, hy 
 
40 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 past>ing votes expressive of their views on the subject, copies of which were sent to tlie 
 Hon. Secretary of the Navy, and to Hon. Eobert C. Winthrop, the representative of this 
 district in Congress. 
 
 1843. In the early part of this year ten members of tlie Society subscribed to Audu- 
 bon's work on the Quadrupeds of the United States for presentation to the Society. They 
 were George B. Emerson, N. I. Bowditch, Amos Binney, Ji-., Geox'ge C. Sliattuck, Jr., 
 J. Amory Lowell, George Parkman, William Sturgis, F. C. Gray, John James Dixwell 
 and Amos A. Lawrence. 
 
 On May 3d, in the al)sence of many members who wei'e attending the meeting of the 
 Association of Geologists and Naturalists at Albany, it was voted to postpone the business 
 of this meeting, the annual one, to the 17th inst. On tliat date, therefore, it was trans- 
 acted. The Curators' reports were generally ver_y gratifying. Dr. Cragin of Siu'inam 
 had again enriched the cabinet by donations to the several departments of Comparative 
 Anatomy, Herpetology, Ornithology, and Ichthyology, and as usual in former years fre- 
 quent contributions to them all had been made by the members. 
 
 The Curator of Ornithology mentioned that the collection had increased during the 
 year to 753 specimens mounted and innnounted, of which 172, comprising 131 species, 
 were natives of Massachusetts. 
 
 The Curator of the department of Geology as disconnected with that of Mineralogy, 
 made his first report. The whole collection was stated to consist of about 1000 specimens, 
 400 of which had been received by donations during the year, 200 of these being Silurian, 
 50 Carboniferous, 25 New Red Sandstone, nearly 500 Tertiary and 50 of unstratified rocks, 
 lavas, etc. The remainder were undetermined. It should be borne in mind that this 
 department of Geology embraced the fossils of the several formations at this time, that of 
 Palaeontology not l)eing made a separate one until years later. 
 
 The Librarian stated the increase of books during the year to have been 105 volumes 
 and 55 pamphlets, m.iking the whole collection 1071 volumes and 250 pamphlets, inde- 
 pendent of the publications of the Society. 
 
 The Treasurer reported expenditures exceeding receipts in the general account showing 
 a deficit of $258.45, but of the Courtis Fund income he reported excess of receipts over 
 expenditures ,f 303.53. 
 
 The annual address was delivered by Dr. JefiVies Wyman, and was a learned and inter- 
 esting discoiu'se on the progress of science during the past year. 
 
 Mr. George B. Emerson, who had served the Society with great fidelity as President for 
 six years, having declined a re-election, Dr. Amos Binney was unanimously elected in 
 his place. The Corresponding Secretary who had likewise held this ofl&ce for six years, 
 also resigned, and Dr. A. A. Gould was elected to fill the vacancy. Dr. Charles T. Jackson 
 was chosen First Vice-President, and Dr. D. Humphreys Storer, Second Vice-President. 
 Other changes were in Jeffries Wyman being elected Curator of Keptiles and Pishes, and 
 A. E. Belknap, Curator of Conchology. 
 
 On the 2d day of August of this year, there passed from earth one of the best of 
 men ; one whom all who knew, loved and revered. This man was the Rev. F. W. P. 
 Greenwood. It is a joy to dwell on such a character, and it was a privilege of the early 
 members of the Society to have associated with them one so much loved and respected, 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 41 
 
 and whose tastes led to his zealous cooperation with them in advancing its interests until 
 health and strength no longer permitted active exertion. 
 
 Dr. Greenwood was not one of the original members of the Society, but he was early 
 connected with it and ever afterwards participated largely in its work. He became 
 second Vice President in 1834 and first Vice President in 183G, holding the latter position 
 until May 1841, when by reason of failing health he resigned. As Vice President he was 
 frequently called upon to preside at the meetings of the Society, and he often liy commu- 
 nications or otherwise, took part in the proceedings. In 1833 he delivered an address be- 
 fore it upon the opening of its new hall in Tremont street. This was published in the 
 Journal of the Society and formed its first article. This address has been before referred 
 to ; but some remarks in it bearing upon the importance of a collection of local species 
 merit attention. He said : "It should be our object to attend particularly to the formation 
 or completion of such collections as may give a good idea of the natural features of our 
 own country and of our own section of our country. If I Avere traveling in Spain or Per- 
 sia, I should desire especially to examine some depository of the natural productions of 
 Spain or Persia. If I were traveling in our western states I should prefer seeing a mu- 
 seum well stocked with their own curiosities to one well stocked with all curiosities but 
 their own. And so, too, I presume a traveler in New England will first of all desire to 
 see those objects which illustrate the natural history of New England. For our own in- 
 struction and gratification, indeed, and for the advancement of natural science amongst 
 us, we shall gladly collect from every quarter and every coast and corner of the globe ; 
 from every sea and lake and river, whatever can be furnished for our purposes ; and yet, 
 for our sakes too, we shall least of all choose to be ignorant of the beings and things with 
 which Providence has surrounded our own dwellings, of the plants which spring from our 
 native soil, the birds which fly in our own heavens, and whatsoever passeth through the 
 paths of our own seas." 
 
 We pass on to the Annual meeting of 1844, which was held on the 1st of May. The 
 President in presenting the reports of the Curators for the year took occasion to make 
 some remarks upon the early history, progress and present condition of the Society, and 
 then forcibly stating the pressing want of larger accommodations for the collections and 
 for the librar}', appealed to the public for aid in supplying them. 
 
 The Reports then given, though generally satisfactory as to the condition of the speci- 
 mens in the several departments, presented exceptions which were Init too suggestive of 
 what would inevitably follow under the S3stem of reliance wholly upon voluntarj^ care 
 and labor. 
 
 The Curator of Entomology reported that the collection had been inl'ested to an alarm- 
 ing extent by Anthreni, and great injury done ; that in order to better pi'eserve the speci- 
 mens he liad been obliged to take a portion of them into his own keeping away from the 
 Hall, and resort to active measures to destroy the pest that was making sucli ravages. 
 Nothing, he said, but the utmost vigilance on his part enabled him to keep the collection 
 from destruction, and he urged that provision should be made for such glazed cases as 
 • would effectually exclude the enemy. 
 
 The Curator of Comparative Anatomy reported that by subjecting the specimens under 
 his care to over 180" of heat in the steam oven of the Society, they had been freed from 
 insects, and by the free use of poisonous washes future ravages prevented. 
 
42 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 The Curatoi' of Ornitliology likewise reported that specimens in his department had 
 been attacked, but that by baking those infected, the collection was now in good condition. 
 
 Thus it will be perceived that in three of the important departments of the Museum 
 the collections had been seriously attacked and much injury done. Up to this period no 
 harm had come to the Ichthyological collection, which the Curator reported in good order. 
 
 The only reports that specified to what extent the collection had been increased, were 
 those of Ornithology and Geology. The mounted birds were given as 233, of which 195, 
 comprising 151 species, are found in Massachusetts. Of unmounted skins the number 
 given was 592, making in all 825 specimens. 
 
 The number of specimens in the Geological Collection was given as upwards of 1000, 
 of which about one half were Tertiary, the remainder being of the older formations. 
 Quite a number of these were yet undetermined, and the Curator stated would have to 
 remain so, until the Library should be better furnished with works on the subject of 
 Palaeontology. 
 
 The most important addition to the Cabinet of the Society, during the year, was that 
 made to the dej^artment of Herpetology by Dr. Cragin of Surinam. From him twenty- 
 three jars were received, containing nearly one hundred specimens of Saurian, Ophidian, 
 and Bati'achian reptiles, all in an excellent state of preservation. The Curator deplored 
 the necessity of storing these out of sight for want of room to put them on exhibition. 
 
 The officers elected were the same as chosen the year previous, except that Dr. A. A. 
 Gould was made Curator of Conchology ; Dr. S. Cabot, Jr., of Ornithology ; and Dr. H. J. 
 Bigelow, Cabinet Keeper. 
 
 The Annual Address was delivered by Professor Asa Gray, and gave an account of 
 the recent progress and present state of Vegetable Physiology. It was exceedingly inter- 
 esting and instructive, and was listened to by a numerous and highly cultivated audience 
 with marked attention. 
 
 In June of this year, the first notice was taken of the bad condition of the Button- 
 woods in New England, which had always been, until within a short time, one of our 
 healthiest and most beautiful trees. At the sugjo-estion of Dr. J. B. S. Jackson, the 
 Rev. John L. Russell was appointed a Connnittee to investigate the cause of the injury to 
 them. Mr. Russell, whose attention had already been given to the subject, communicated 
 the result of his observations at a meeting in August. His views appear in the Proceed- 
 ings of the Society of that date. He ascribed the evil to the young wood being winter- 
 killed, remarking that well ripened wood was always essential to vigorous health in peren- 
 nial vegetation, and that for several years no such young wood had been seen. He 
 thought that the great vigor in the larger limbs would eventually enable the trees to 
 survive until favorable circumstances facilitated the ripening of the young wood, though 
 doubtless some would perish. The views then given of the cause of the trouble have 
 been sustained by experience, and are here briefly expressed because the subject has by 
 no means lost its interest in the minds of those who admii'e stately and vigorous growth, 
 such as was exhibited in the Buttonwoods of our neighborhood forty years ago. 
 
 1845. As showing the means sometimes adopted to obtain specimens for its collections, 
 it may be mentioned that early this year the Society appropriated $25, and various mem- 
 bers individually subscribed a considerable amount in aid of an expedition to Florida, for 
 such a purpose, to be undertaken by Mr. John Bartlett. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 43 
 
 It had been for some time apparent that the accommodations afforded by the Hall oj 
 the Society were entirely inadequate for the proper care and arrangement of the increas- 
 ing collections. 
 
 At the Annual Meeting in May, several of the Curators complained bitterly of this, and 
 it became manifest to all that some measures should be adojjted towards obtaining more 
 room to meet this requirement. The Curator of Ornithology stated that less than one 
 third of the specimens in his department were mounted, for the want of room to place 
 them in, tliat the cases in which the unmounted specimens were placed were so accessil)le 
 to moths and other destructive insects that the collection had suffered considerably, and 
 there was consequently not much encouragement for him or others to make exertion 
 for its increase, until assured that the labor would not be thrown away. Others of the 
 Cui'ators. expressed themselves in like manner. 
 
 In the President's review of the doings of the Society during the past year, he likewise 
 remarked upon the necessity for more room, saying that the time had now come when the 
 crowded state of the collections and limited accommodations for meetings made it neces- 
 sary to take earnest measures for the erection of a suitable building for the Society. 
 
 The present is a propitious time, he said, to commence an energetic movement for the 
 accomplishment of this great object. 
 
 The members all feeling the necessity for decisive action, it was 
 
 Voted : That in the opinion of this Society, the time has now arrived when a strenuous 
 effort should be made to raise sufficient funds to ensure the prosperity and permanence of 
 the institution. 
 
 Voted : Tiiat a Committee be appointed to act personally or through others, to be selec- 
 ted by them, to solicit subscriptions for the purpose of erecting a building for the use of 
 this Society. 
 
 Drs. Amos Binney, Jr., C. T. Jackson, D. H. Storer, and A. A. Gould, were elected to 
 compose this Committee. 
 
 The Curators' Reports did not mentioii generally the extent to which the collections 
 had increased. That of the _ Treasurer showed, independently of the Courtis fund, an 
 excess of expenditure over the income of $142.88, which added to excess of former 
 years, |327.22, made an amoiuit of debt due to the Courtis fund of $470.10. 
 
 The income from the Courtis fund showed a balance of cash on hand of $421.88, with 
 $470.10 due from the General Fund. The understanding that the income from this fund 
 should be equally divided between the Library, Publication expenses and the Caljinet, had 
 not been complied with, in fact it seldom if ever was ; the general expenses of the 
 Society being too great to admit of such compliance. The publications, moreover, fre- 
 quently required too much to allow the others a fair share. During this year they had 
 over $300 of the $618.66 received, whilst the Library had obtained only $28.55, and the 
 Cabinet nothing. 
 
 Among the pleasant events of the year just closed, may be nicntioned two of consid- 
 erable importance ; one was the bequest of $2000 from a gentleman then recently de- 
 ceased, John Parker, Esq., a merchant of the city, and the other a donation of more than 
 fifty volumes to the Library by Dr. Francis Boott of London. 
 
44 HISTORICAL glvETCII OF THE 
 
 One means of obtaining many books much wanted by the Society has not been yet 
 referred to. At the time of the generous donation of the great work of Audubon, by 
 Col. Thos. H. Perkins, there was ah'eady a copy in the library which had been acquired 
 through the subscription of a number of the members. After the reception of the last 
 copy, the consent of the donors of the first was asked and readily obtained, to its disposal 
 by the Society in exchange for other works. A Connnittee was therefore appointed by 
 the Council to effect such exchange. Messrs. Little & Brown, who had always manifested 
 a very friendly feeling in behalf of the Society, purchased the work, agreeing to allow 
 $625.00, and to deliver in return for it such books as might be ordered from time to 
 time throuuh the Committee. As the works received in exchange were to be such as 
 related to Ornitliology only, it was several years before the negotiation was completed ; 
 the Committee for this purpose meanwhile being annually reappointed. 
 
 Mr. John James Dixwell, who had served the Society as its Treasurer for six years, re- 
 signed at this meeting, and a vote was passed expressing sincere regret at his retirement, 
 and thanks for the acceptable manner with which he had filled the office for so long a 
 period. Patrick T. Jackson, Jr., Esq., was chosen to succeed him. The only other change 
 among the officers was that Edward Tuckerman, Esq. succeeded Dr. A. A. Gould as Cu- 
 rator of Conchology. 
 
 The Annual Address was by Prof. Charles Brooks, and was entitled " The history of 
 Philosophical Zoology from the earliest times to the present day." 
 
 In July of this year the Society had again the gratification of serving the cause of 
 Science by a loan of several of its specimens from the collection of the Radiata to 
 Dr. Dana, who was preparmg his great work on the Corals of the U. S. Exploring Expe- 
 dition. 
 
 In this year, too, the Society was enabled, by the publication of a report made by Prof. 
 Jeffries Wyman at one of its meetings upon what purported to be the skeleton of a Sea 
 Serpent, to do great service to the community by saving it from continued deception. 
 There had been placed on exhibition in New York some fossil remains, consisting of a 
 great number of vertebrae arranged in such a way as to give them the appearance of 
 having belonged to a single individual. These, with what purported to be the head, 
 measured in length about one hundred and Iburteen feet. Tliere were also teeth, ribs 
 and paddles. The character of the remains was not understood by the exhibitor. 
 Dr. Koch, and no obstacle was put in the way of as thorough an examination as could 
 be made without separating the parts which had been, to a greater or less degree, ce- 
 mented together. The name of ILjdrarchus SilUmani had been given to this so-called' 
 sea-serpent, and its exhibition of course attracted large crowds of visitors. The full descrip- 
 tion of the bones, as read by Dr. Wyman, may be found in the published proceedings 
 of the Society. Suffice it here to state that the vertebrae were shown to lielong, not to 
 one individual, but probably to many of different ages, tliat so far as they could be 
 studied they did not present any of the characters of an ophidiau reptile; and that some 
 at least of what purported to be bones, or portions of the bones of the paddles, were 
 not bones at all, but casts of the cavities of a camerated shell. The teeth Dr. Wyman 
 clauned to be those, not of a reptile, but of a warm blooded mammiferous animal, prob- 
 ably a Cetacean. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL TITSTOllY. 45 
 
 This report did honor to the Society, and added much to the reputation of Dr. Wyman. 
 It soon became well known that the l)ones were not those of a Eeptilc, but of a Cetacean 
 beloug'iuLi' to a genus to whicli Prof Owen had gi%'on the name of Zeuglodon. They were 
 found in the Tertiary deposits of Alabama and belonged undoubtedly to man^- individuals. 
 Vertebrae and other bones of this animal may be now seen in the collection of the So- 
 ciety. 
 
 It may be well to state, as the annual reports of the Curators do not always give par- 
 ticulars desired relative to the collections, that during this year the Mu^;eum was visited 
 by Prof Lewis R. Gibbes of South Carolina, and that he carefully studied the Crustaceans 
 in its cabinet and made a full catalogue of them. This r('])i'esents that there were 58 gen- 
 era and 91 species, some of them rare and until recently undescribed. 
 
 184G. But little happened during this year that would interest the general reader. 
 From the reports of the Curators it appeared that a gratifying increase was made to the 
 several departments of the Museum, and from that of the Librarian that there had been 
 added 143 volumes to the Library, mostly obtained by purchase. No very considerable 
 donations were mentioned. Great complaints of lack of room for useful exliiljition of the 
 specimens in the Museum were made. 
 
 The Treasurer reported a balance in his hands belonging to general fund of ^20.72 
 and a balance of income from permanent fund of $148.01. The permanent fund now 
 amounted to $12,000. 
 
 The only change in officers was the election of Dr. John Bacon, Jr., to succeed Edward 
 Tuckerman, Esq., as Curator of Conchology. 
 
 1847. The advent of Agassiz among us, was, as Mr. George B. Emerson afterwards char- 
 acterized it, a most important event to all engaged in the study of natui'al history in our 
 country. It was not alone that he possessed information most desirable for our education 
 in science, and great ability to impart it, but largely because of a personal influence that 
 he extended over all who came in contact with liim. His noble mien, his personal beauty, 
 his genial manner and expressive features, the earnestness with which he spoke when- 
 ever he sought to interest others in the pursuits he loved; all conspired to impress every 
 one who approaclied him not onl}' witli admiration for himself, but with the great im- 
 portance of the science he taiight. It is to show wiiat were the feelings of the members 
 of the Society regarding him and his teaching, that tliis notice of him is given in this 
 place, together with the action of tlie Society at a ineeting held Feb. 3, 1847. He had 
 but recently arrived, and had just completed his lirst course of lectures before the Lowell 
 Institute. At the meeting referred to, Dr. I). Humphreys Storer submitted tlie following 
 resolutions, which were unanimously adopted : 
 
 "Resolved, That this Society pi-esent to Professor Agassiz their heartfelt thanks for the 
 gratification and instruction received by its members during Ids late course of lectures on 
 the Plan of Ci'cation. 
 
 ''They would assure him tliat his lectures have given an impetus to the study of natural 
 history such as has never before been felt in this ct)mmunity ; and which, while they have 
 excited the curiosity and called forth the admiration of the public, have more than realized 
 the most sanguine expectations of this Scientific Society. 
 
46 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 " While as a body we would thus tender our acknowledgeineut to the liberal naturalist 
 and enlightened philosopher, we beg him to accept our individual esteem and friendship." 
 
 These resolutions not only received the signatures of all present, but of the members 
 generally, who subsequently visited the library, all gladly availing themselves of the op- 
 portunity to sign them. 
 
 In March of this year the Society received the sad intelligence of the death of its 
 highly respected President, Dr. Amos Binney. A special meeting was called on the 24th 
 of this month to take such action as the feelings of the members should dictate. After 
 remarks by the Vice President. Dr. C. T. Jackson, upon the melancholy event that had 
 brought the members together, Dr. Storer moved the following resolution : — 
 
 " Resolved, That the unexpected tidings of the death of our much valued friend, Amos 
 Binney, Esq., late President of this Society, fills us with inexpressible sorrow. To us, we 
 feel that his loss is irreparable. The founder of this Society, he was ever its steady, devo- 
 ted, true friend ; constantly evincing his interest by suggesting new plans for its advance- 
 ment ; constantly proving his sincerity by his endeavors to perfect them. To his encour- 
 agement, decision and perseverance we owe, in no slight degree, our present prosperous 
 condition. With full hearts, we would acknowledge our obligations, while we gratefully 
 chei'ish his memory." 
 
 Prof Asa Gray offered the following resolution : — 
 
 " Resolved, That the Council be requested to prepare, or cause to be prepared by such 
 members of the Society as they may designate for that purpose, a sketch of the life, the 
 scientific labors and the services of our late lamented President, to be read before the So- 
 ciety and pul)lished in its Journal, or in such other manner as the Society may direct." 
 
 These resolutions were unanimously adopted. 
 
 At a subsequent meeting of the Council Dr. Augustus A. Gould was appointed to pre- 
 jDare the memoir asked for. This was done, being made introductoi-y, however, to the pub- 
 lication of Dr. Binney's Avork on the Teri-estrial Mollusks of the United States. From this 
 memoir are taken many tacts here presented concerning the subject of it. Dr. Binney 
 was born in Boston, October 18th, 1803. He received his early education at the Derby 
 Academy in Hingham, and aftei"wards entered Bi'own University, from which he graduated 
 in 1821. Subsequently he studied medicine with Dr. George C. Sliattuck of this city, and 
 atteiided medical lectures at Dartmouth College. At this time his health tailed and he 
 was obliged in consequence to give up his studies, and by the advice of his medical friends 
 to travel extensively over this country and Europe. Whilst abroad he visited England, 
 France, Italy and Germany, giving his attention to the hospitals and to the great collec- 
 tions of science and art. In December, 1825, he returned home much improved in health. 
 He again devoted himself to professional study, and took the Degree of Doctor in Medi- 
 cine at Harvard University in 1826. The practice of his profession, however, he did not 
 find congenial to his tastes, and thinking it would not be so favorable for his health as mer- 
 cantile pursuits, he abandoned it, and engaged in trade and subsequently in mining opera- 
 tions. 
 
 While so employed he never lost his interest in scientific studies, which indeed ab- 
 sorbed a large part of the leisure time that could be spared from business. After suf- 
 fering from some vicissitudes of fortune, and having finally obtained a competence, he 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. • 47 
 
 ilotermmed to devote his life especially to science and art, intending " after his own family " 
 to make the Boston Society of Natural History and the Boston Athenaeum, the objects 
 of his solicitude and bounty. His anticipations were not realized. His health again 
 declined, and encouraged by his former experience he sought to regain it by a .sea voy- 
 age and a sojourn in Europe. His intentions were, if health permitted, to make him.self 
 acquainted with the scientific collections of the old world, and to select while there, a fine 
 lil)rary of such scientific works as would be of service not only to himself but to others 
 engaged in like pursuits. He left home in October, 1846, was not improved by the voy- 
 age, and after suflering much from disease both in France and Italy, finally died at Eome, 
 February 18, 1847. His remains, in obedience to his wishes, were brought home for 
 l)urial at Mount Auburn. As the memoir states, " Dr. Binney in person was above the 
 middle stature, erect, roljust and well formed. His complexion was dark, with very dark 
 hair and eyes. His features were full and w^ell formed. His dress was scrupulouslv neat, 
 his manners were dignified and Ijespoke the gentleman. His voice was deep toned, full 
 and melodious, and his enunciation was remarkably distinct. In his opinions he was 
 decided but not obstinate. He was elegant and refined in his tastes, and passionately 
 loud of the iine arts. He was most happy in his domestic relations, an excellent fiither, 
 unsjjeakably anxious to train up his children, both by example and precept, in all their 
 duties to God and Man." An extract from his Journal quoted in the Memoir expresses 
 well his feelings relating to his children. "May they," he wrote, "especially hubibe 
 principles of honor and religion, and may it be their high aim to acquire and deserve the 
 name of the Christian gentleman. May it be said of my house, not that all the sons were 
 l)rave and the daughters virtuous, but that all the sons were upright and honorable, and 
 all the daughters good." 
 
 The part taken by Dr. Binney in the formation of the Society, and his active zeal for 
 its interests manifested ever afterwards, have l)een shown but inadequately in the pa^es 
 of this history. To do full justice to the menrory of all to whom it owed its origin, and 
 who nurtured it in its inflxncy, would require volumes where but In-ief chapters can be 
 given. He was, as has been stated, of that small numl)er of [)ersons who first met at the 
 house of Dr. Walter Channing on February 9, 1830, to consider the (question of forming 
 a Society of Natural History. 
 
 He felt a great interest in the Joiu'ual of (lie Society and contributed several papers 
 which appeared in its eoluiuns. To the Musetim he presented .specimens of great value, 
 not only for his favorite department of Conchology, Init for any of them as opportunity 
 favort'd. It will be borne in mind by readers, that he offered tipon condition that other 
 gentlemen opened their cabinets to a committee of the Society to select from them species 
 not in his own, his whole collection of more than twelve hundred. The condition having 
 been conq)lied with, the Society was enriched through his generosity to the extent of 
 about two thousand species. The first large donation of fossils and of minerals was made 
 by him and the number of specimens aggregated about five hundred. Of mounted Amer- 
 ican birds he also presented many. He had a large and valuable library of books on sci- 
 entific subjects, and these were always at the service of all who required them for investi- 
 gation. 
 
48 ' HISTORICAL SICETCII OF THE 
 
 Up to the time when again forced by disease to reliiKiuish his labors, lie continued to 
 manifest the same zeal in behalf of the Society as had always been shown by him from its 
 formation. His last work for it was in a strenuous effort to obtain subscriptions from the 
 public that would enable it to possess a building suitable for its increasing collections, and 
 he had well nigh succeeded before incapacitated from further exertion. 
 
 Tlie Society could have met, apparently, no greater loss than that incurred by the death 
 of Dr. Binney. This was felt deeply by its members, as his intentions to devote time and 
 means largely to its service were well known to them. 
 
 But they did not mourn his loss merely as that of one from whom, had he lived, the 
 Society might have received continued benefits, but because they felt in common with all 
 who knew him intimately, that a helpful companion, a good citizen, and an upright man 
 had passed away, one possessing all the traits that constitute the character which he 
 prayed might be the high aim of his children to acquire, that of a Christian gentleman. 
 
 Li April, Dr. Samuel Cabot, in behalf of a Committee to whom had been allotted the 
 dutv of seeking for the Society a suitable edifice for its purposes, rejiorted that the build- 
 imr in Mason Street known as the Massachusetts Medical College was for sale at a reason- 
 able price, and that after a thorough examination, they judged it capable of being adapted 
 perfectly to the wants of the Society. They therefore recommended its purchase, and 
 that the necessary alterations be made. 
 
 After some discussion a vote passed unanimously that the Committee have authority to 
 purchase the property and make the proposed alterations. 
 
 The Annual Meeting was held on the first Wednesday of May and the reports of the 
 Curators were presented, but on motion being made, the reading of them was postponed 
 until the next meeting, when the annual address w'ould be delivered. Tlie officei's of the 
 Society were elected, John Collins Warren, M. D., being chosen President. Tlie only 
 other change from those of the previous year, was that Dr. S. Kneeland, Jr., was made 
 cal)inet keeper. 
 
 The reports of the Curators were read at the next meeting. The specimens of the sev- 
 eral departments, excepting that of Entomology, of which no report was made, Avere rep- 
 resented to be now in safe condition, though not much increased in number. Those of the 
 Ornithological department were two-thirds of them stowed away carefully in the garret, 
 sealed up, for want of more suitable accommodations. To preserve them from the Der- 
 mestes, which had attacked tliem seriously in spite of previous precaiitions, they had been 
 hnmersed in corrosive sublimate. Twenty-seven or twenty-eight s^Decimens had been re- 
 ceived from that indefatigable friend of the Society, Dr. Cragin of Surinam. 
 
 As was remarked at the meeting, it must not be inferred from the reports of the Cura- 
 toi's, that there was any less interest felt in the collections than formerly. It had been 
 necessai-y to refuse .specimens for want of room to accommodate them and it had not been 
 possible to arrange properly those already belonging to the Society. 
 
 Tlie Vice President, Dr. Storer, made some very appropriate remarks upon the late 
 President, Dr. Binney, and addressing his successor, warmly welcomed him to the seat he 
 was now occupying, pledging the hearty co-operation of his brother member's and himself 
 in aiding him to advance the interests of the Society. 
 
/" ^ /ji r.^ y. J r ji 
 
 7 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 49 
 
 The President, Dr. Warren, expresi^ed the gratification felt by him at the honor con- 
 ferred in hi.s election, and at the kind welcome given him. 
 
 An addres.s by Dr. Augu.'^tu.s A. Gould, followed, and was principally upon tlie life, 
 character and labors of the late President, Amos Binney. lie dosed by congratulating 
 the Society upon the prospect that the next annual meeting would be held in a new edi- 
 fice, more suitable for its purposes. 
 
 From the Treasurer's report for the year it was shown that the whole receipts on gen- 
 eral account had been §499.22, and the expenditures §409.26, leaving a balance due the 
 Treasurer of four cents. The Courtis fund account exhibited receipts including balance 
 of previous year, §oo5.51, and expenditures §3oS.2G, showing a balance on hand of 
 $197.2.3. 
 
 There was a special meeting, later in .May. at the house of the President, to take fur- 
 ther measures relative to the proposed new building. It would seem from the action 
 taken that the purchase had not been consummated. pr()l>ably awaiting the subscription of 
 a sutlicient amount to warrant it. as votes were passed directing the Treasurer to collect the 
 moneys alreailv sub.scribed for the purpose ; that the Building Committee be requested to 
 continue their efforts to increase the sub.«cription ; and that they l)e authori/^ed to conclude 
 the purchase of the Medical College. 
 
 From tiie sul)sequent records of the year there is little or nothing to Ije learned of fur- 
 ther action relative to the acquisition of the building it w'as propo.sed to purchase ; yet be- 
 fore its close it had come into the possession of the Society, and such alterations had been 
 made as were necessary to adapt it for the use of the mu.seum and library. 
 
 1848. On the fifth of January. 1848, the Society met in the new building, and a 
 large number of members were present. The President congratulated the Society on the 
 agreeable circumstances under which the first meeting of the year was held ; spoke of the 
 dilficulties under which it had labored from restricted accommodations and narrow means ; 
 and ended with expressing the hope, that with increased means of usefidness, it woidd not 
 permit the achievements of its maturity to contrast unfavorably with those of its youth. 
 
 The movement inaugurated by the late President to raise an amount of money by an 
 appeal to the public sufficient to enable the Society to possess a building of its own, had 
 been quite successful, the sum of §28,660 having been contributed for the purpose by 
 eiirhty-six individuals. The following resolutions were introduced by Dr. Storer at this 
 meeting: — 
 
 '^Eesolved, That the heartfelt thanks of this Society be presented to those gentlemen 
 whose mnnihcence has enabled us to call this temple our ow^n. 
 
 '•Resolved, That we will endeavor to prove our sense of obligation by a renewed de- 
 votion to the cause of science. 
 
 '■'■Resolved, That we deeply feel the kindness and liberality of George M. Dexter and 
 Edward C. Cabot, E.sqs., in advising and aiding in the architectural arrangements of our 
 building ; and most especially do we feel indebted to N. B. Shurtleff. M.D., for the skill 
 he has exhibited in adapting, and the zeal and fidelity with which lie has for months su- 
 perintended the advancing work." 
 
 At the next meeting, held January 19th, a vote was passed thanking Dr. Storer, Dr. 
 Cabot and their associates for the earnestness and perseverance shown by them in raising 
 
50 
 
 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 funds toAvards the purchase of the new buildius^ and its adaptation to the use of the Soci- 
 ety, and at a meeting in February a special vote of thanks to Dr. Shurtlefl was passed for 
 the great care taken, for the time given, and for tlie taste and skill e.xliibited by iiim in 
 providing for the accommodation of the Society and its collections. 
 
 At the ;iiniiial meeting in May the Treasurer reported that the whole amount received 
 From general sources was ........ $1288.96 
 
 From Courtis fund 1103.56 
 
 From subscribers to building 26999.75 
 
 Total received ........ 
 
 That the whole amount expended was 
 
 For general jmrposes ......... 
 
 From Courtis fund .......... 
 
 Towards new building 
 
 For repairs and alterations ........ 
 
 Total e.N]iended ....... 
 
 Leaving a balance of cash .... 
 
 There yet remained due, — ■ 
 
 On the building ......... 
 
 Interest ........... 
 
 To architects and others 
 
 Towards liiiuidation of this, subscribers to the building yet owe 
 Leaving an amount to be ])rovided for of .... 
 
 SI 300.35 
 450.73 
 
 20000.00 
 7257.63 
 
 $29392. 
 
 $29008. 
 
 27 
 
 • 
 
 71 
 
 $383.56 
 
 $3000.00 
 
 425.00 
 
 1295.00 
 
 $4720.00 
 1720.00 
 
 $3000.(10 
 
 The Librarian reported that during the year there had been received 120 volumes, and 
 102 pamphlets and parts of volumes, most of them donations. Of the works received, 
 twelve volumes had been selected from the library of the late lion. Judge Davis, in 
 accordance with a provision in his will ; Audubon's Quadrupeds of America had been pre- 
 .sented by subscribers to that work ; and other valuable publications had been the gift of 
 Alcide D'Orbigny, and Drs. Kneeland, Shurtlefli' and Bacon. The whole number of vol- 
 umes in the liln-ary now numbered 1260, and of pamphlets and parts of volumes there 
 were 120. 
 
 The Curator of Mineralogy reported that of the specimens in his department eight 
 hundred ouly were thought worthy of a place on the shelves of the new building, wdiere 
 they had been deposited and classified. Mr. Francis Alger had presented eighty valuable 
 specimens to the collection, and others, costing fifty dollars, had been procured by sub- 
 scription. 
 
 The Curator of Ornithology reported that there had been presented eighty birds by 
 various persons during the year, and that he was ready to give from his own collection 
 one hundred more, as soon as funds could be had to mount them. A valuable collection 
 of eggs had been received. The donors to this department during the year, were 
 Major Townsend, Messrs. G. M. Dexter, E. C. Cabot, W. Sohier, Robbins and Ogden, and 
 Drs. ShurtlefT, Read, Abbot and Bethune. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. . 51 
 
 The Curator of Ichthyology reported that the collection ol' this department was not in 
 good condition, owing to the losses produced by the ravages of insects and the means 
 used to eradicate them. To Capt. N. E. Atwood the Society was indebted for several line 
 specimens, two of which were of genera new to the waters of Massachusetts. 
 
 The Reports upon other departments were too meagre of information to call for notice 
 here. 
 
 The .same board of oflicers was elected, except tliat Dr. S. L. Alibot was cho.sen Record- 
 m<r Secretarv, Wal<lo 1. Burnett Curator of Entomoloirv, W. O. Avres of Ichthvology, 
 Dr. JefTries Wyman of Ilerpetology. and Dr. Wm. Reed of Conohology. 
 
 The annual address was delivered by Dr. D. Humphreys Storer, and was a \cvy inter- 
 esting historical sketch of the origin and growth of the Society up to that period. 
 Dr. Storer availed himself of the opportunity to acknowledge the indebtedne.'^s of the 
 Societv to its numerous friends and benefactors, who at all times had been ready with a 
 liberal hand to supjdv its wants and promote its interests, until by a crowning act of mu- 
 nificence it had lieen furnislied with a building in every respect suited to its Avants. lie 
 urged with great earnestness upon the members the duty of making redoubled eflbrts in 
 the cause of science. 
 
 This address, of which the record gives the above account, was listened to with great 
 attention by a crowded audience. The thanks of the Society were voted to Dr. Storer for 
 it, and he was a.sked to furnish a copy for pultlication. It is to be regretted that he neither 
 did this nor preserved the original manuscript, as there was undoubtedly much in it of 
 historical, value. 
 
 From the time that the Society took po.ssession of its new apartments there was an 
 increased interest shown on the part of the members, both in attendance upon its meetings 
 and in work upon the collections. The room of meeting, that of the Library,' was a cosy 
 one. and in the afternoons some of the Cui-ators were generally to be fouml there engaged 
 in the examination and study of specimens, or arranging them on tablets. Here the Cu- 
 rator of Botany miglit often, for years, have been found at work upon the Herbarium, and 
 the Curator of Geology, then embracing Palaeontology, striving in vain perhaps to obtain 
 some knowledge of fossils, of which little could be learned, lor want of the necessary 
 books. 
 
 1849. At the annual meeting this year, the figures given, showing the extent of the 
 collections, are repeated here. Several of the Curators as usual, omit a statement. 
 The department of Mineralogy had been increased by the addition of 542 specimens, mak- 
 ing the whole number now about 1450. Of those received, about 200 had been presented 
 by Francis Alger, the remainder by several donors. The collection of insects was 
 reported as containing 14,000 specimens comprising about 4,000 species. J. M. Bethune, 
 Esq., had presented 540 species from the vicinity of Boston, and Dr. T. W. Harris 070 
 species. Great pains had been taken to exclude Dermestes and Anthreni, and to repair 
 the ravages already made by them. The collection of birds had been increased 
 by several donations, and now numbered somewhat over a thousand specimens, eflect- 
 ually secured against the attacks of insects. 
 
 The department of Ichthyology had received donations from Dr. D. Humphreys 
 
 ' The use of the Library room was sometimes granted to Desor was tlius permitted to occupy it two eveninj;s in a 
 members of the Societv who wished to lecture. Mr. week, for a course delivered by him in the fall of 1S48. 
 
52 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF TIIK 
 
 Storer, Mrs. Binnoy. Dr. 11. B. Storor anrl others. 'V]\v collection oontainerl ?)fiO species, 
 all reported in i^xjod condition. 
 
 The Lil)rary now contained 13:^11 volumes, and l^l-"! painiddets. 
 
 'Die Treasurer's account sliowed a halaucc ol' ca'-li in lii< liaiids of |124.98, and an 
 amount of ^1100 due from suhscril)ers to the Building, not ])aid. There was yet due by 
 the Society on account of the Building, debts to the amount of about $ l-j()U. 
 
 The changes among the officers this year, were in C. C. Sheafe being chosen Cabinet 
 Keeper; Francis Alger lieing made Curator of Mineralogy, aud J)r. S. Kneeland. Jr., of 
 Comparative Anatomy. 
 
 This year a proposition was made by an Association called '' A Repnldican Institution " 
 to deposit the Ijooks possessed by it in our librar^^, and to grant for the use of the Society 
 one half of a fund l)elonging to the Institution, of over $2500. for the ])nrcliase of such 
 works upon Natural History as the Society might select, with the understanding thai the 
 other half should be expended upcm works of History, Biograph}', Geography, Bolilics 
 and Finance; and that the whole, together with other books now owned by them, should 
 be placed in our library on deposit ; provided that the mendjers of the Association should 
 have the same ])rivileges in the use of the Society's library, as the nu'iubei's of the So- 
 ciety. This proposition was accepted, aud the sum of $lo()0 was ])laced in the hands of 
 the Treasurer for piu'chasc of books on natural history. 
 
 Another event very gratifying to the mendjers occurred this year. This was the nni- 
 nificent donation of two thousand dollars, made by Mr. Jonathan Phillips of Boston. By 
 this most tinudy and ludpful act. the Treasurer was enabled to pay the debts of the So- 
 ciety, and to have the satisfaction of reporting it free from all encundu'ances. 
 
 Most heartily the Council passed a vote of thanks, which was conveyed to Mr. Phillips 
 in a letter signed by the President and Secretary of the Society. 
 
 185(1. In the early part of this year the Society was called upon to mourn the loss of 
 one of the original members of the Society, Dr. Martin Gay. He was a man ol learning, 
 and ardently devoted to science and art; of strict integrity, and of singular purity of 
 life and thought. Perhaps the writei' of these pages can give no better idea of him than 
 by repeating IVoui the records of the Society, the words in whicdi he gave utterance to 
 his feelings upon the announcement of the sad evc^ut. 
 
 ■'With Dr. Gay I was indeed most intimate, and I e.xpress, therefore, what I know, when 
 I claim for him a degree of virtue, a nobleness of purpose, an exaltation of character, far 
 beyond \\liat is generally found in man. Conscientious to a great degree, every deed per- 
 formed by him. every judgment given, first received the sanction of the highest senti- 
 ments of his soul; and. long as I have known hun, I never heard him express an impure 
 thought. Loving God, and loving man, his desire was to enlarge his own being that he 
 might the better serve both. Too great by nature and cidtnre to confine his regard to 
 those of a class, or a sect, all who sou"ht his friendshii> aud were worthy, fouud iu him 
 ready sympathy. The bickerings and the jealousies that trouble smaller men, never 
 reached him; but yet he was always ready to advocate manfully the cause that appeared 
 to him just. Without guile, transparent to all whose motives were kindred to his own, he 
 inspired aud enjoyed the confidence of the eomuiuuity. His attainments were of a high 
 order. Love of the beuutifid in nature and art, and iu spirit, was a ruling trait of his 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 53 
 
 character. A fine scene, a good painting, or a noble action, would alike kindle his enthu- 
 siastic admiration. In truth we have lost from amongst us a presence which sanctified 
 connnunion hy its purity ; a wisdom whicli was more than that of this world ; and a lov- 
 ing .soul which we trust has found acceptance in the land of the pure and the holy. God 
 help us, that we may be as ready a.s was our lu-other. to bid adieu to present scenes of 
 action, when we are summoned hence to be no more here forever." 
 
 All that was thus expressed before the Society of the character of Dr. Gay was recog- 
 nized as beintr true of him by his associates in the medical profession, and in other 
 .•Societies of which he was a memlier ; and l)y a large niunljer of friends, among whom he 
 was respected and beloved. Dr. Gay was born in Boston, Feb. IG. 1803, and received his 
 education at Harvard College being a meudier of the class of 1823. His attainments as 
 a chemist were of a high order. Judge Shaw, in a tribute to his memory before the 
 Academy of Arts and Sciences, of which he was a valued member, spoke of him as an 
 adept in medical jurispruilence, and as having a pecidiar faculty of rendering scientific 
 principles and processes intelligible to a jm-y. 
 
 From annual reports of the Curat<us ol" the Musi-um. May 1. IS")!), and of the other 
 officers of tlie Society, may be learned, so far as these give particulars, statements of the 
 conditions of the several departments, and what progress had been made during the two 
 decades now j^a.s.-'ed in the history of the Society. Unfortunately they are too brief to be 
 entirely satisfiictorv. 
 
 The Ornithological department is mentioned as in good condition, free from insects, and 
 as improved by the substitution of many good, in place of bad .specimens. The whole 
 nuudjer reported in the Cabinet was given as I'JOT. In the (ieological department but little 
 change was reported as having occurred through the year. It may be stated, therefore, 
 that the collection at this time consisted of about lOdU specimens desirable for exhibition, 
 and about oOU duplicates. The Curator of Ichthyology reported the collection in his de- 
 partment to be in good condition, but gave no figures. As there were reported at the 
 previous annual meeting, 360 species, and a large number of donations had been i-eceived 
 during the year, there were probabh- about 400 species. 
 
 The Curator of Entomology reported that there had been no material increase in his 
 department, and stated that he thought it more an object to take care of and to .system- 
 atically arrange what specimens were already in the Cabinet, than to add to their number. 
 It may be presumed from this that there were about as many specimens in the Cabinet as 
 mentioned the previous year, viz: 14,000, compi'ising about 4000 species. 
 
 The Curator of Comparative Anatomy reported many valualde additions, among others 
 the entire skeleton of the Manatee, then the onh' one in the country ; with the stuficd skin 
 also. This had been obtained and presented by the President. A fine skeleton of a male 
 moose had likewise been presented by him and had been beautifully mounted by Dr. Shurtr 
 lefT. The number of specimens was not reported in this department, and as this had been 
 the case for several years, no statement as to how many there were can be made. 
 
 The Curator of Mineralogy reported the accession of about 100 specimens to his de- 
 partment during the year, but made no mention of the entire immber belonging to it. 
 Adding those received since the previous annual meeting to those then i-eported in the 
 
54 HISTORICAL SIvETCH OF THE 
 
 Cabinet, and we have about 1550 specimens as comprising tlie whole collection at this 
 time. 
 
 The Curator of llerpetology made no rejjort beyond stating that the collection was in 
 about the same condition as it had been for some time. The number of specimens cannot 
 be stated, as the reports for several previous years are too meagre in detail. It will be 
 remembered, however, that every species of reptile belonging to Massachusetts, with pos- 
 sibly one exception, was reported in a previous year as in this department, in good con- 
 dition. 
 
 The Librarian reported the whole niunber of books in the Library as 3500, including 
 about 300 deposited, these being the property of "A Republican Institution." 
 
 The Treasurer reported a balance due him on general account of $74G.19. This 
 occurred from causes not likely to happen again, arising from the removal, such as adding 
 iron shutters to the building. As there was a balance at the same time to the credit of 
 the Courtis fund account of |983.88, the Society could not be regarded as in debt. The 
 Treasurer was afterwards authorised to pay himself out of the income of that fund. 
 Mr. J. Elliot Cabot was chosen Corresponding Secretary at this meeting, and Dr. N. B. 
 Shurtleft", Treasurer. The other officers were re-elected for the ensuing year. 
 
 Notwithstanding the favorable character of the Reports of the Curators at the annual 
 meeting, upon the condition of the collections under their charge, there must have been 
 indications of evil ; as at the meeting of the Council held after that of the Society, a 
 Committee of three was appointed to check the ravages of insects, with power to notify 
 the various Ciu-ators of their presence in the specimens under their charge, and if need 
 be to adopt measures themselves to free the cases from them. This implies not only the 
 opinion that harm was likely to result from insects, but some question whether the Cu- 
 rators could be relied upon to free the collections from them. 
 
 The annual address was not delivered until June 5. It was by the Rev. Zadock Thomp- 
 son, of Burlington, Vermont, upon the natural history of that state, and was a very in- 
 teresting and instructive discourse. 
 
 There were some facts mentioned by Mr. Teschemacher at the annual meeting which, 
 considering the great excitement following the recent discovery of gold in California and 
 the consequent results, were certainly s;u-prising. These were, that in a work printed in 
 London in 1818, Phillips' Lectures on Mineralogy, it is distinctly stated that gold is found 
 in large lumps deposited a few inches below the surface of the soil throughout an exten- 
 sive district bordering on the sea; that Mr. Ellis, thirty years ago (about 1820) obtained 
 from this region a mass of native gold mixed with quartz ; and that in 1839 Mr. Alfred 
 Robinson sent to Boston from California $10,000 worth of gold in large lumps. It seems 
 strange in view of such evidence of the existence of gold in large quantities in the soil of 
 California, that no action was taken to obtain it, and that the finding of it by Mr. Sutter 
 in 1847 should have been regarded as a new discovery. Phillips probably had learned 
 from Spanish priests what he stated. 
 
 In November Mr. Wm. Read, who had served the Society for over two years as Curator 
 of Conchology, resigned, and in December Mr. William Stimpson was elected to this 
 office. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 55 
 
 In reaching the end of the second decade of the existence of the Society, some men- 
 tion will now be made of what has not been Ix'fore presented, respecting tlie attendance 
 of members at the meetings. 
 
 In the year ending May, 18-41, the average nmnber was about 11. For the year 1842, 
 12, for the year 1848, 10, for the year 1844, 11, for the year 1845, 11, for the year 1846, 
 9, for the year 1847, 11, for the year 1848, 18, for the year 1849, 18, for the year 1850, 
 25. 
 
 It should be borne in mind that meetings were held then in the summer months as well 
 as at other seasons of the year, when very many of the members would be likely to be 
 away from the city. The average attendaiice from this cause, was unavoidably less than it 
 would have been if meetings had been omitted in the hot season. There were, however, 
 very rarely more than from fifteen to twenty present until the building in Mason street 
 was occupied by the Society. The average attendance then increased very much, as the 
 figures show, and during the last year mentioned it had more than doul)led that of any 
 one of the first seven, and it was not uncommon to have present over thirty members. 
 This increased attendance arose largely from the interest added to the proceedings by the 
 presence of such distinguished men as Agassiz, Desor, Wm. B. Rogers and othei-s, who 
 took an active part in them. Those whose names appear the most frequently as making 
 communications at the meetings during the first five years of the decade are Drs. Gould, 
 Storer, Wyman, Cabot, S. L. Abbot, C. T. Jackson, J. B. S. Jackson, Binney, and Messrs. 
 Teschemacher, Emerson and Bouve ; during the last five years Drs. Gould, Wyman, C. T. 
 Jackson, Storer, Kneeland, J. B. S. Jackson, Burnett, Bacon and Cabot; Profs. Agassiz 
 and Rogers; Messrs. Teschemacher, Desor, J. D. Whitne}', Ayres, Alger and Bouve. 
 
 Addresses were made at the Annual Meetings of 1841, 1842, 1843, 1844, 1845, 1847, 
 1848, and 1850. 
 
 Donations were made to the several departments frequently, but to less extent than 
 during the first ten years. The collection of Hevp otology was enriched by many speci- 
 mens from Dr. F. W. Cragin of Surinam ; that of Ornithology by many from Dr. Cragin 
 also, and l)y some from Dr. G. A. Bcthune ; that of Entomology by insects from Dr. Sav- 
 age of Cape Palmas ; that of Mineralogy by about 200 fine specimens from Francis Alger ; 
 that of Comparative Anatomy by many anatomical preparations from Dr. Jeffries Wyman ; 
 and that of Icthyology by fishes from J. G. Anthony of Cincinnati, Dr. F. W. Cragin of 
 Surinam, and Capt. N. E. Atwood of Pi'ovincetown. 
 
 The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions presented many shells and 
 plants, and Dr. Morton, Rev. Mr. Bachman, Mr. Audubon and many others, presented 
 books. 
 
 The increase of the Library during the ten years had been from about 600 volumes to 
 upwards of 3000. 
 
 The financial condition of the Society was not much better than at the commencement 
 of the decade. The income derived from assessments and from the funded property had 
 sufficed for its ordinary expenditures, and there remahied a small balance of cash in the 
 Treasury. Yet its means remained far from adequate to provide for the necessary care 
 and preservation of its collections. 
 
56 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 In 1841, the Society commenced publishing its Proceedings, and the fii'st two volumes 
 with a large part of the third, had been issued before the annual meeting of 1850. 
 
 The Journal of the Society Avas icsued with some degree of regularity, gaining for it 
 much reputation both at home and abroad, Ijy the character of its articles. At the 
 time of the annual meeting in 1850, five volumes had been published, all of them 
 containing papers of great value, many of them elaborate treatises upon the natural pro- 
 ductions of our own State, of which may be mentioned those on the Fishes and Reptiles 
 of Massachusetts, l^y Dr. Storer ; on the Lichens of New England, Ijy Edward Tucker- 
 man, Jr.; on the Mosses of Massachusetts, by John Lewis Russell ; on the Shells of Mass- 
 achusetts, by Dr. Augustus A. Gould and by Joseph P. Couthouy ; and on the Coleop- 
 tera of Maine and Massachusetts, by Dr. J. W. Randall. 
 
 The members of the Standing Committees of the Council during the ten years past, 
 should be mentioned here, as on them devolved a great part of the Ijusiness of the So- 
 ciety other than that performed in the Museum. 
 
 They were the Presidents, Geo. B. Emerson and Amos Binney, Jr.; the Librarian, 
 Charles K. Dillaway ; the Treasurers, John Jas. Dixwell and Patrick T. Jackson, Jr.; 
 with Drs. Harris, Storer, Gould, Bacon, Kneeland, Abbot, Cabot, Wyman, Shurtleff, and 
 Messrs. Epes S. Dixwell and Thos. Bulfinch. 
 
 Dr. Storer served on two of these Committees, viz., those of Publication and the Lib- 
 rary during the whole period, and several of the others a great part of the time. 
 
 Decade IIL May 1850 -May 1860. 
 
 1850. In June, a letter was received from the President of the Society, stating that he 
 had pi'ocured through the American Minister at the Court of St. James, a donation from 
 the Hon. East India Company of a complete suite of casts from the fossils of the Him- 
 alaya Mountains. These were received in the following November, and were placed in 
 the Cabinet of the Society. There were in all forty-one specimens, mostly of Mam- 
 malia. The collection was found to be peculiarly rich in Pachj'dermata, especially 
 mastodons and elephants. Of reptiles there were casts of several bones of a gigantic 
 turtle. Upon motion made, the thanks of the Society were passed to the Hon. East 
 India Company for the very valual)le donation made by them, and also to the Hon. 
 Abbot Lawrence, and to Sir John Richardson, for their kind offices in aiding the President 
 to secure it. 
 
 1851. In January of this year, two xery remarkable Indian children, a boy and a girl, 
 dwarfs, were exhibited in Boston and other cities of the United States, under the name of 
 the Aztec children. Tliey were quite small, of nearly the same size, and having much 
 vivacity, drew the attention of crowds to visit them. As it was claimed that they belonged 
 to a race of similar Ijcings found in Central America, they became objects of scientific 
 examination. Dr. J. Mason Warren, after studying their characteristics, read a paper 
 in which were presented his conclusions respecting them, viz.: 
 
 1. That these children are possessed of a very low degree of mental and physical 
 organization, but are not idiots of the lowest grade. 
 
 2. That they probably originated from parents belonging to some of the mixed Indian 
 tribe.*!. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 57 
 
 3. That tlioy do not belong to a race of flwarfs, because history teaches the truth, of 
 the doctrine of Geoflroy St. Ilihiire, that dwarfs cannot perpetuate their Ivind. 
 
 These children wex-e subsequently brought before the Society, and being placed upon 
 the table, the meinljers sitting around, amused all liy their interesting and lively move- 
 ments. There was nothing disagreeable in their appearance or manners. 
 
 The views of Dr. "Warren were fully corroliorated by a letter received from Mr. E. G. 
 Squier, respecting their origin. 
 
 At the annual meeting the usual reports were made, the several departments being rep- 
 resented as in good condition. That of Ornithology had received valuable donations from 
 Mrs. G. II. Shaw, Dr. Henry Bryant, Mr. J. C. Leighton, Mr. Theodore Lyman and others ; 
 that of Geology from the Hon. East India Co., Dr. C. T. Ja':!kson, Messrs. Moses II. Per- 
 ley and Alexander Vattemare ; that of Ichthyology from Mr. Horatio R. Storer, Dr. 
 Plenry Bryant, and Dr. Samuel Kneeland, Jr. 
 
 The Report upon the department of Comparative Anatomj^ was unusually full, em])rac- 
 ing what had. not before been presented for several years. From it is learned that there 
 were in the collection at this time, 73 complete skeletons, 17 human skulls, and l-iS of 
 animals, including l/irds ; 85 jars of specimens in alcohol ; and 25 stuffed skins. 
 
 The Treasurer reported the total receipts during year, $2218.59, expenditures, 
 $1714.54, leaving a balance of $504.05 in his hands. 
 
 The Librarian reported the addition to the lil)rary of 353 volumes, and 130 pam- 
 phlets, and that the whole numljer of volumes in the Library was 25G9, including 59 
 copies of the Society's Journal, and 28 of the Proceedings ; unbound volumes 1280, 
 including 80 Legislative reports on the natural history of the State ; and about 500 
 pamphlets or parts of volumes. The number of volumes in circulation during the year 
 was 506. 
 
 The only change made at the annual election, was in the choice of Horatio R. Storer as 
 Curator of Ilerpetology in place of Prof Jeffries Wyman. 
 
 1852. The Reports of the Curators at the annual meeting in 1852, were brief, and 
 excepting that upon the Crustacea and Radiata, presented but little of interest. The collec- 
 tion of that department was represented to have suffered very seriously from the attacks of 
 insects. Almost all the specimens of Crustacea had been mutilated, limbs detached, and in 
 some cases lost. Many very valuable species had been entirel}' destroyed. Of the Radi- 
 ata the soft parts had been completely consumed. 
 
 The Treasurer reported a balance of $754.56 in his hands. The Librarian, alluding to 
 the fact that the Smithsonian Institution at Washington had made such arrangements as 
 to enable the Society hereafter to transmit abroad, and to receive from foreign Societies, 
 publications at little expense, recommended a more liberal exchange of our Journal and 
 Proceedings, for the works of such Societies. 
 
 Before the election of officers, final action had been taken upon a proposed amendment 
 to the Constitution, by which the numljer of Cux'atoi's was no longer limited. In July of 
 the previous year. Dr. Thomas M. Brewer had been placed in charge of the nests and 
 eggs of birds, and Mr. W. O. Ayres of the (Jrustacea and Radiata of the Society, 
 and at this election these gentlemen were made Curators of the two departments re.spect- 
 ively. 
 
58 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 There had been in Feb. 1841, a department established, embracing the collections of 
 Crustacea and Radiata, and'' Dr. Amos Binney, Jr.. had had charge of it for several 
 months, when it appears to have been discontinued. Other changes at the election were 
 as follows : 
 
 Mr. Charles Stodder succeeded Mr. Chas. C. Sheafe as Cabinet keeper. Mr. Charles J. 
 Sprague was chosen Curator of Botany in place of Mr. Jas. E. Teschemacher, and Dr. 
 Silas Durkec, who had been the previous July elected Curator of Ichthyology in room of 
 Mr. W. 0. Ayres, was rechosen for this position. 
 
 At a ineetino- of the Council in Novemljer of this A'ear, Dr. Storer, as a Sub-committee of 
 the Boston Society for Medical Improvement, chosen to aid Dr. C. E. Brown-Sequard in his 
 arrangements for delivering a course of lectures on Physiology, submitted a proposition 
 that tlie Society be advised to allow the use of the library room for such lectures. He 
 spoke of the high scientific character of Dr. Brown-Seqnard and hoped that favoraljle action 
 might be taken upon the proposition. Dr. Storer mentioned tliat the lectures would be il- 
 lustrated by vivisections, and that these being very repugnant to his feelings he could not 
 witness them, but yet on account of the addition to human knowledge which miglit result, 
 he should favor the proposed action of the Council. Strong opposition was manifested by 
 a number of the members of the Council, particularly Dr. Kneeland, Mr. Bouve, Mr. Dill- 
 away and Dr. Abbot. The subject was finally disposed of by a vote declining to lay the 
 matter before the Society, on the ground that there was a restriction in the deed of 
 their estate forbidding the use of their building for anatomical purposes. 
 
 1853. In February of tliis year tlie Society took action in favor of the prosecution of 
 a geological survey of Oregon and Nebraska, by passing strong resolutions and transmit- 
 ting them to Congress, reconmieuding the necessary appropriations. 
 
 At the annual meeting the Curator of Botany reported great improvement in the collec- 
 tion during the year. The previous May only a small proportion of the specimens had 
 been systematically arranged. Large Innulles of plants from France, Italy, the Vo.sges 
 mountains, the Cape of Good Hope, Florida and Kentucky, were in the same condition 
 as when received. These had all been examined and provided with sheets of paper 
 during the year. 
 
 There had also been valu:il)le donations, one from the Historical Society, of a large num- 
 ber of plants procured many years ago by the Hon. Thos. H. Perkins. A package of New 
 England plants collected by the late William Oakes, particularly rich in Wliite Mountain 
 specimens, had been purchased by the Society. The Curator had olatained over a hundred 
 specimens of plants growing in the Botanic Garden, Cambridge, through the kindness of 
 Piof Gray, many of them being new and unpublished species ffom Texas and New Mex- 
 ico. The entire Ilerljarium had been revised and sheets provided for all the plants. The 
 genera had been placed in manilla paper and arranged upon the shelves according to End- 
 licher's Genera Plantarum. The Herbarium contained representatives of 1300 genera and 
 five or six liiousaud species. Tlie Curator remarked that not being able himself to collect 
 specimens away from the immediate neigliborhood, he would be glad to receive the assist- 
 ance of those who could, particularly in obtaining New England species. 
 
 The report of the Curator of Botany was noticeable as showing an immense amount of 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 59 
 
 work done in one year upon the Herbarium ; work, too, that was not only desirable in 
 oi-der to make the collection useful, but aljsohitely necessary to prevent its destruction. 
 It was tlie first of a series of years during which Mr. Charles J. Spragne devoted almost 
 all his leisure afternoons and liolidays to bringing order out of disorder, with the view of 
 making available many thousand species before inaccessible to examination, and of pre- 
 serving the plants and increasing the collection. 
 
 The report of the Treasurer exhil^ited a Ijalance of $1102.09 in his hands, including that 
 belonging to the Courtis fund. 
 
 Upon the election of officers Dr. J. B. 8. Jackson was chosen Curator of Crustacea and 
 Eadiata, hi place of Mr. W. 0. Ayres, and Mr. T. J. Whittemore, Curator of Couchology? 
 in place of Mr. William Stimpson. 
 
 At this meeting a motion was made by Mr. Bouve and adopted, that a committee be ap- 
 pointed to take measures, if decided expedient by them, for the purchase of the collec- 
 tion of Ornithichnites, so called, belonging to the estate of the late Mr. Marsh, of Green- 
 field. 
 
 The committee, consisting of Mr. James M. Barnard, Mr. Fi-ancis Alger, Dr. Brewer and 
 Mr. Bouve, feeling the great importance of securing for the Society the collection soon to 
 be disposed of at auction, obtained by subscription a considerable sum towards its purchase, 
 and detailed two of their number. Mr. Alger and Mr. Bouve, to be present at the sale. 
 They attended and bought a large part of the wdiole for about $1400. Tluis the Society 
 liecame the possessor of several of the large and valuable slabs covered with footprints, 
 which now adorn the entrance hall of the Museum, and of many other specimens contained 
 in the Cabinet. One of these, Prof Hitchcock of Amherst College pronounced the best 
 and largest slab of fossil footprints ever found, or that in his opinion ever would be found. 
 
 'J'he President had prepared an address for the annual meeting, but was prevented by 
 ill health from delivering it. It was, however, subsequently printed and distributed. In 
 it was given an account of the early efforts made in Boston to encourage the study of nat- 
 ural history, which finally cuhuinated in the formation of the Boston Society of Natural 
 llistorv. As there had been no previous annual address since 1850, a statement was ap- 
 pended giving an account of the proceedings of the Society during the three years since 
 that date. 
 
 In November, by invitation. President Hitchcock of Amherst College addressed the 
 Society, giving some of the results of his examinations in the Connecticut Valley. His 
 remarks were replete with interest and instruction, and were followed l)y some on the 
 same subject by Prof Henry D. Rogers. The views presented may be fouud in the pub- 
 lished Proceedings. 
 
 In December of this year, the death of Mr. James E. Teschemacher, long an active and 
 very useful member of tlie Society, was announced, and the Prt'si<leul was recpiested to 
 (h'aw i\\) such i^esolutions in reference to this event, as should l)e judged projier Ijy him. 
 In accordance with this request, he presented at the next succeeding meeting, a notice of 
 his life and writings, much of which is given here as follows : 
 
 " Our Society has experienced a great loss in the death of Mr. Tesclu'niacher. one of its 
 most valuable members, and we must turn aside a moment [\\nn the path of science to 
 })ay a tribute to his memory. Tliis gentleman, who joined our Society in the year 1835. 
 and has since that time been an able associate in our labors, and a large contributor to 
 
GO HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 the advancement of science in our country, has suddenly terminated his mortal career at 
 the age of fiixty-three, from a disease of the heart." 
 
 These remarks were followed by resolutions, one of wliich exjiresses "That a record be 
 made in our transactions of llic liiuh estimation in wiiicli we hold the private qualities 
 and scientific labors of Mr. Teschemacher, as manifested in his excellent papers on bot- 
 any, mineralogy, some departments of geology, and particularly in his able and practical 
 investigations of tiie carboniferous formations. We also regard his productions in tlie 
 composition and ini|)i-ovenient of soils, as a valuable and permanent contribution to the 
 agriculture of tlie country." 
 
 A brief notice of Mr. Teschenuicher was then read, and is here given. 
 
 " James Engelbert Teschemacher, of Hanoverian extraction on the paternal .side, was 
 born in Nottingham, England, on the 11th of June, 1790. At the age of fourteen he 
 commenced his commercial career in a mercantile foreign house of eminence in Loudon, 
 where he evinced application and business talents of a high order; and amid the extensive 
 transactions of mercantile life, in which during a long series of years, he was engaged, 
 his fine comprehensive mind ever remained unshackled by any of the less elevating 
 liabits sometimes contracted in commercial pursuits. At an early period of his life he 
 indjibed a taste for studying out of Nature's beautiful book, thus ac(iuiring that purity 
 and love of truth, so constantly pervading all his thoughts and writings. In the year 
 18.30, Mr. Teschemacher accepted the olfer of a partnership in a house of considerable 
 standing in Havana, and proceeded to Cuba with highly advantageous prospects, but these 
 faded on his approach, and he returned to England. After a short time, he made up his 
 mind to repair to the United States with his fomily, reaching New York Feb. 7, 18.32. 
 He finally settled in Boston, where during the space of twenty-two years he was unre- 
 mitting in his exertions for his family. Of his untiring zeal and devotion to science, we 
 need not speak ; his hours of leisure, it may naturally be inferred, were few. but tho.se 
 few were employed (apparently as a recreation) in the severe branches of study which 
 iVcfiucntl}- form the labor of a life, even with those who make science their occupation. 
 Truly may he be said to have improved the talents committed to his charge." 
 
 To what was said of Mr. Teschemacher at the meeting, may ])e added that he was* 
 engaged dnily in active business through all the years of his connection with the Society, 
 but yet found time to do considerable work lor it while Curator of Botany. In order to 
 .secure time for this, he was accustomed to visit the rooms of the Society, after an early 
 breakfixst, and stay until business requiri'd his presence perhaps an hour later. The pub- 
 lished Proceedings of the Society attest to his interest in the meetings, and the character 
 of the connnunications made by him to the value of his observations, and to the extent of 
 his scientific knowledge. He was an excellent mineralogist, a good botanist, and a 
 very accurate observer in botii lields. One could not very well be a more careful and 
 painstaking investigator. Ibid he been able to devote more time to scientific pursuits, he 
 would undoubtedly have accomplished niuch more than he did in this direction, as he 
 lacked neither ability, industry nor perseverance. 
 
 Besides ])apers to be found in the i)rinted Proceedings of the Society and in its Journal, 
 several addresses by him Avere published. One before the Society at its annual meeting 
 in 1841, one before the Horticultui'al Society, and one before the Harvard Natural Hist- 
 ory Society. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. f;i 
 
 1854. A vote passed by the Society in Mai'ch of this year, shows that the ineinbers 
 Avere ah-eadv indulging the liope of yet better acconmiodations than those of tlie struc- 
 ture so recently purchased and ada})ted for their use. A thousand dolhii's having Ijeen 
 received from the estate of the late lion. Thos. H. Perkins, subscribed by him towards the 
 building now occupied by the Society, but not so appropriated, it was ordered that this 
 sum be invested by the Treasurer as a eomineucement of a fund to be called the Building 
 Fund, and that the income from it be annually added to the principal. 
 
 The Society had an opjiortunity at this time to perform a graceful act in helping tlieir 
 unfortunate brethren of the Portland Society of Natural History, which had lately lost the 
 whole of its valuable collection by fire. A vote was passed, that a complete set of the 
 Journal of the Society be presented to the Portland Society, and another, tliat a series of 
 duplicate shells belonging to this Society, be presented to the Portland Society, whenever 
 they are jjrepared to select and receive them. 
 
 It is sad to know that by a second great fire a few years afterwards, the recip'.ents of 
 these donations again lost their entire collection. 
 
 At the annual meeting the Reports of the Curators Avere quite satisflictory, though the 
 donations through the year Avei'e not numerous. 
 
 The Botanical department had received some additions of value from Prof. Asa Gray, 
 Mr. B. F. Kendall and the Curator. These, with others obtained by exchange, had 
 added about 800 specimens to the collection. 
 
 The department of Oology Avas reported as uoav having about 240 specimens of eggs, 
 belonging to 165 species. 
 
 The department of Geology had been enriched by the splendid collection of the Foot- 
 marks of Animals upon the Red Sandstone of the Connecticut Valley, obtained by 
 purchase, and by the donation to it of a series of Silurian fossils. 
 
 The Curator of Ilerpetology reported that this department now contained aljout 480 
 specimens, of Avhich 50 Avere Chelonians, 227 Serpents, 122 Saurians, and 81 Batracliians. 
 
 The Librarian reported a considerable increase of bound volumes and pamphlets. 
 Among the most valuable AA'orks presented to the Society Avas tlie splendid one by 
 Geoffroy St. Hilaire and Cuvier, entitled '' Ilistoire Naturelle des Mammiferes," three 
 volumes finely bound, from the Hon. Francis C. Gray. 
 
 Upon the election of officers for the ensuing year, Dr. Samuel L. Abbot Avas chosen Cor- 
 responding Secretary in place of Mr. J. Elliot Cabot; Dr. Beuj. S. Shaw, Recording Sec- 
 retary, in place of Dr. Samuel L. Abbot ; Dr. Henry Bryant, Ciu'ator of Ornithology, in 
 place of Dr. Samuel Cabot, Jr.; Dr. Jeflries Wyman, Curator of Ilerpetology, in place of 
 Dr. Horatio R. Storer. 
 
 This year the Society lost one of its most useful and active members, and science one 
 of its most ardent votaries, in the death of Dr. Waldo Irving Burnett. To characterize 
 his a))ility as AA'onderful, and his achievements as extraordinary, is to speak moderately of 
 one Avho in the short life allotted him had manifested such knowledge, and accomplished 
 so much in scientific research. To express all concerning him that his memory deserves, 
 Avould require too much s])ace for this aoIuuu* ; but the reader wlio may desire to learn 
 more than is here presented, Avill find a full and delightful triljute to his Avorth and ser- 
 
62 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF TIIK 
 
 vices, prepared at the request of the Society, l^y Dr. Jeflries Wyman. and published in 
 the fifth voliune of its Proceedings. What follows is ))ut a l)rief abstract of this paper. 
 
 Widdo Irving Burnett was boi-n in Soiithboro', Mass.. July ll^. 1828. He early uiaui- 
 fested a strong love of study, and became so uuich absorbed in tliat ol' insect lift; as to 
 cause a fear on the \ydvt of his father, who was a distinguished ])hysician, that his health 
 would suller, aud lie was therefore subjected to some restraint. The passion for investiga- 
 tion wMs, however, too strong to be more than temporarily checked. I lis mental activity 
 was reiuarkable, enabling him to master all the studies of the academy where he was 
 placed, with ease. In mathenuitics he became so efficient as to lead the teacher to confess 
 that he was no longer able to instruct him. Later he became familiar with the French, 
 Spanish and Gennan languages, and had made progress in the Swedish. 
 
 At sixteen years of age he manifested a strong inclination to learn the nature of things, 
 and became interested in all that claimed to give an explanation of the phenomena wit- 
 nessed about him. He had. young as he was, commenced the study of medicine with his 
 father, accompan^-ing him on professional visits and being present at examinations of bod- 
 ies after death. His father died when he was of the age mentioned, and he afterwards 
 studied with Dr. Joseph Sargent of Worcester, in the Tremont Medical School of Boston, 
 and in the Massachusetts General Hospital. He did not receive a collegiate education. 
 
 In 1849, at the age of twenty-one, he graduated in medicine, and soon after visited 
 Europe, where he spent much of his time in attention to natural history and microscopic 
 observations. There the symptoms of disease manifested themselves, and lie returned to 
 the United States -W'ith the hope thjit the climate of the more southern portion would be 
 beneficial. For several years he was obliged by increasing illness to pass his winters in 
 the South, but wherever he w'as he kept incessantly at work, accomplishing more than it 
 would be possible for many well men to do, in investigation with the microscope ; in wri- 
 ting the results of bis investigations ; and in giving lectures on microscopic anatomy. 
 
 While a medical student he became an active member of our Society, and soon after Cu- 
 rator of Entomology. He also was admitted at the early age of twenty-three to the 
 American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 
 
 His eominunications to difierent scieiitilic Ixxlies and i(uiruals, considering the circum- 
 stances of his waning health and frequent travel, were astonishingly numerous and mani- 
 fested a degree of activity, mental and Ixjdily, tliat few could exert. Many of these com- 
 uiunicatioiis may be found in the Journal and in the Proceedings of the Societv. 
 
 To a speculative and iiuiniring mind like that of Dr. IJuruett's. there would of necessity 
 arise questions of perplexing eliaracter involved in the problem of life, and doubts did 
 arise of a disturbing nature, which however, w"ere alterwards rei)laced by a settled and 
 firm conviction, that if there was much to live for, and no man valued life more, there was 
 still more to die for. He passed away on July 1, shortly before he completed his twenty- 
 sixth year. 
 
 liesolutions, expressive of the great less the Society had sustained b\- his death, and of 
 condolence with his family, were passed by the Society. 
 
 At a meeting of the Council in November, the Cabinet keeper exhibited several cases 
 of insects destroyed \>\ the pests that linally caused the great loss of uearlj- all the valua- 
 ble collection. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 63 
 
 1S50. In the duiiigs of the" amiual meethig t!iis year, we find some evidence to show 
 that the hxck of proper accommodation for specimens was ah'eady felt in the Ijiiilding so 
 iovonsly taken possession of scarcely eight years before. It was not entirely from Avant of 
 sufficient room, but partly from the fact that there was more need of air and sunlight for 
 the best good of the Museum. The Curator of Comparative Anatomy mentioned that the 
 collections in his department had been injured by dampness in the cases. This evil he 
 ascribed to the external circumstances of the building, for which there seemed no remedy 
 so louir as it should be screened from the light and heat of the sun, and from free ventila- 
 tion. 
 
 The Curator of Ornithology reported some donations to his department, the principal of 
 which were 41 specimens from Dr. F. J. Bumstead, 11 from Mr. C. J. F. Binney, 10 from 
 Mr. E. Samuels and 8 from Mr. Thure Kumlein. He mentioned that he had commenced a 
 catalogue of the specimens, but from the limited number of the books of reference feared 
 he would not be able to perfect it. 
 
 The Curator of Oology reported that the collection now contained 209 ascertained spe- 
 cies, 10 of which had been added during the year. 
 
 The Curator of Botany stated that the collection under his charge was in excellent con- 
 dition and that several hundred species of native and foreign plants had been added to the 
 collection during the year, some of the most valual^le of which came from I. A. Lapliam, 
 Esq., of Wisconsin, and from Prof. Gray. 
 
 Several of the Curators made no reports. 
 
 The Librarian gave the wdiole number of books now. possessed by the Society, as about 
 3500. He complained that books were frequently taken away from the librar}' in his 
 absence, sometimes without entering them in the record book, and though these w^ere 
 generally returned, there had jjeen some loss. He did not know w'here to loolv for the 
 property. He also stated that since the erection of the new theatre next to our building, 
 the room had become dark and damp, uncomfortable to those occupying it, and injurious 
 to the books. He thought if there was no prospect of having a new building, the inter- 
 ests of the Society would require Ijetter accommodations for its books, and for those usiug 
 them. Some alterations were subsequently made by placing windows where none were 
 before, which considerably improved the room. 
 
 The Treasurer reported receipts from all sources, $1,950.39; expenditures $l,65li. 18, 
 leaving a cash balance in his hands of |298.21. 
 
 At the election of officers, Dr. Jefiries Wyman was chosen Curator of Comparative An- 
 atomy and Mammals, in place of Dr. Samuel Kneeland, Jr.; Dr. J. P. Reynolds, Curator 
 of Crustacea and Radiata, in place of Dr. J. B. S. Jackson; Dr. J. Nelson Borland, Cura- 
 tor of Herpetology, in place of Dr. Jeffries W3anan; and Dr. H. K. Oliver, Jr., Curator of 
 Entomology, in place of Dr. Waldo I. Burnett, deceased. 
 
 At a meeting of the Council there was a)i appropriation made of $100 for a Card Cata- 
 logue of the books and pamphlets, none having been provided previously. 
 
 In the death of jNIr. James Brown, which occurred in March of this 3^car, the So- 
 ciety lost one of its best friends and patrons, one to whose memory is due some notice 
 of his life and character. He was born in Acton, Mass., in 1800, and when a young man 
 was poor, but highly respected for his industry and fidelity. He began business as a pub- 
 
64 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Usher of books in Cambridge, but not long afterwards became an active partner in the 
 firm of Little & Brown, in Boston, a house which soon became well known all over the 
 country for its publications, and for its high character. The business was very successful, 
 and by it Mr. Brown became possessed of considerable wealth, through which he was 
 enabled to gratify his taste, and to contribute much to the welfare of others. He keenly 
 enjoyed the beautiful in Nature, and became much interested in the study of Ornithology, 
 in which department of natural history he possessed a valual)le librar^^ 
 
 He bequeathed to the Society this liljrary, or the most valuable part of it, and through 
 this bequest it became the owner of tlie works most wanted, which could not otlicrwise 
 perhaps, have been obtained, their cost being probably not less than |2000. Mr. Dil- 
 laway, the libi'arian, made some remarks when announcing this valual)le accession to the 
 library', and of which part are here given. He said, " This is not the first thne we liave 
 been indebted to the liberality of Mr. Brown. On many occasions his purse and his 
 influence have been freely offered in aid of our eflbrts for the promotion of natural sci- 
 ence. In the list of our patrons, numbering eighty of the most liberal and pvd)lic spirited 
 citizens of Boston, his name now stands among the first. As my acquaintance with him 
 has been a long one, commencing at a time when his whole property could not have 
 purchased one of the volumes he has bequeathed to us — when industry, integrity and a 
 generous heart were all his capital, and reaching to a period when he Avas able and willing 
 to give his thousands to the promotion of literary, scientific and charitahle objects, I 
 may be permitted to express a belief tliat Boston has lost a citizen of whom she had good 
 reason to be proud, and our Society a valued friend, whose memory we shall ever hold 
 in honor." 
 
 The Society appointed a committee to prepare resolutions suital)le for the occasion, 
 which were presented and adopted at a subsequent meeting. A vote of thanks w\as also 
 passed to Mrs. Brown, for her generous donation of a portrait of the distinguished Nat- 
 uralist, Thos. Nuttall. 
 
 185G. In February of this year, it was announced that the Society had lost by death, 
 two of its oldest and most highly esteemed members. Dr. Thaddeus W. Harris of Cam- 
 bridge, and the Rev. Zadock Thompson of Burlington, Vt. Their services to the Society 
 and to science generally merit notice in these pages, and this will be given by reporting the 
 action taken at the meetings following the announcement. 
 
 Prof JefTries Wyman, in behalf of a Committee appointed to prepare resolutions 
 expressive of the loss the Society had sustained in the death of their late member, 
 Dr. Thaddeus William Harris of Cambridge, offered the following, which were unanimously 
 adopted : — 
 
 "■Resolved, That the members of the Boston Society of Natural History have learned 
 with deep regret, the death of their late associate, Dr. Thaddeus William Harris. That 
 in his death, the Society has lost one of its earliest and most respected members, science 
 a faithful aud zealous stuilent as well as a conscientious observer, the results of whose 
 labors have eminently contributed to the extension of the knowledge of natural history ; 
 and have reflected dignity and honor upon American science. 
 
 '•liesofced, That the members of this Society sympathize with his family in the loss they 
 have sustained in his death." 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 65 
 
 Prof. Wyman in presenting the resolutions, referred to Dr. Harris's wide reputiition as 
 a naturalist at home and abroad, and to his scientific lal)ors. He spoke of his researches 
 as cliielly conlined to entomology, though he had an extensive knowledge of other 
 departments of natural history, especially botany. As an entomologist he ranked 
 among those, comparatively few in number, who with a strong knowledge of classification, 
 combined the faculty of correctly observing and accurately recording the habits of 
 iiisects. His very valuable report to the Legislature of Massachusetts on Insects injuri- 
 ous to Vegetation, is an admiral)le testimonial of his industry and patience, his powers of 
 observation, and his happy manner of portraying the subject of his thoughts. At the 
 time of his death he was engaged in an investigation of the origin of some of the culti- 
 vated plants, and their subsequent distribution by human agency over the world. 
 
 In relation to the Rev. Zadock Thompson, Prof Wm. B. Rogers addressed the meeting,- 
 speaking of him as a thorough and persevering worker in geology, and as possessing a 
 large amount of accurate practical knowledge on the subject. 
 
 Dr. Samuel Kneeland read a sketch of Mr. Thompson's life, of which the following is 
 an aljstract. He Avas born in Bridgewater, Vt., in 179G, and at an earl\' period showed a 
 strong propensity for observing facts in natural science, and for mathematical a^^plications. 
 He graduated at the University of Vermont in 1823, and afterwards was occasionally 
 occupied as a teacher. His chief labors were those of independent investigations into the 
 resources of his native state. He wrote the History of Vermont, and there!)}' became 
 extensively and honorably known. In 18-33 he was appointed State Naturalist, making it 
 liis duty to study its physical geography, geology, mineralogy, botany and zoology. 
 On this work he entered Avith zeal, and had fiir advanced towards its completion, wheu 
 his labors were closed by death. 
 
 Mr. Thompson delivered the annual address before the Boston Society of Natural 
 History, in June, 1850, on tlie Geology of Vermont. He made several communications 
 to the Society, and througli his instrumentality many specimens were added to the Cab- 
 inet. 
 
 In view of these facts it seemed proper that the Society should take special notice of 
 liis deatli. Dr. Kneeland, therefore after his remarks, moved the following resolution, 
 which was unanimously adopted : 
 
 " Resolved : That in the death of the Rev. Zadock Thompson, the Boston So(uety of 
 Natural History has lost a valued friend, a distinguislied member, and a sincere and truth- 
 ful co-worker in the various departments of natural science." 
 
 It is certainly not a little singular that the next event to be dwelt upon here is the 
 death of the venerable President of the Society, which occurred on tlie 4ih of May. 
 Upon the 5th, a special meeting of the Society was called to take measures appropriate to 
 the occasion, and a committee was appointed to prepare resolutions. It was also voted to 
 attend the funeral of the late President, and to meet at the rooms of tlie Society lor that 
 ])urpose, on the morning of the 7th inst. 
 
 At tlie anni;al meeting, May 7th, Dr. Chas. T. Jackson, ^'ice-President, in the Chair, 
 Dr. D. H. Storer, on behalf of the committee appointed to prepare a series of i-esolutious 
 expressive of the deep sense of regret which the Society experienced in its recent bereave- 
 ment, read the following report, which together with the resolutions, was adopted. 
 
66 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Mr. President and Gentlemen : — We are again called upon to mourn ; we meet here to 
 sympathize in our connnon sorrow. Science has lost a true friend ; her votaries, we 
 would reverently bow to the stroke, while we deeply feel and gratefully acknowledge the 
 goodness which so long averted the blow. Ho, who for the nine years has presided over 
 this institution with paternal solicitude — who has performed every duty devolving upon 
 him with the greatest cheerfulness, with unsurpassed iidelity — who with the entliusiasm of 
 youth, Avould not allow the most inclement night of the last most in('lement season to 
 prevent liis atleiidance at your meetings — but who was ever here to encourage you by his 
 presence to increased exertion — has accomplished his work. He has left us forever. 
 
 lie needs no fulsome eidogy. Ilis claims upon the respectful and lasting remembrance 
 of his professional brethren have already, elsewhere, been most eloquently portrayed. 
 The debt we owe his memory can never be repaid ; but, as naturalists, that debt we 
 should recognize. 
 
 Upon the death of Dr. Amos Binney, our much loved President. Dr. Warren was se- 
 lected to succeed him. From the day of his appointment his interest never flagged, 
 but increased with his advancing ^^ears. 
 
 Ilis first great desire was to see our valuable collection disjjlaycd in a more safe and 
 commodious building — to accomplish wiiich his efforts were indefatigable. A large por- 
 tion of the means required to purchase our present acconunodations, was procured di- 
 rectly by him, and Init for the influence he was enabled to exert in his social relations, 
 we could hardly have succeeded in our attempt. 
 
 Dr. Warren's hibors were ])rincipally directed to the great object of exciting and keep- 
 ing alive a taste for natural history, by constantly presenting its wonders to such minds 
 as he thought susceptible of being thus inlluenccd. 
 
 He delighted to gather around him those whose tastes Avere congenial — to enjoy with 
 such the beauties of his country seat — to extend its hosjiitalities. How many of us have 
 been made the happier by his yearly festival ! 
 
 He has, however, done more than this. Three years since he prepared an address, 
 which was published, presenting a history of the Society fnnn its foundation. He became 
 exceedingly interested in ]ialaeontology — he exerted himself to assist in procuring the 
 maffuificeut slabs, containinic tlie ornilhiclniites from the Connecticut River, which orna- 
 ment our vestibule. He also nuide a most valuable private collection of these footprints, 
 and two years ago described some of the most striking of them in a small volume, with 
 the title, " Remarks on some Fossil Impressions in the Sandstone Rocks of Connecticut 
 River." At a great expen.se lie purchased tlie most perfect skeleton of the Mastodon 
 gifjanteus now known to exist; and his elaborate work upon that subject will ever re- 
 main a monument to his zeal, his industry, his muuiflcence. 
 
 Just previous to his decease, he had prejiared a paper on the animal of the Ai-gonauta, 
 all the available species of which genus he liad collected, described and figured. This 
 memoir he had completed, the last page of uuumscript having been corrected l)y him 
 within a week of his death. 
 
 This was his last labor — his d^'ing legacy to science. Let us cherish his memory ; and 
 upon this occasion, upon this altar, renew our devotion. 
 
'^'/// ( ,//; 
 
 / /■' / /'/^ 
 
 rno,-f:s.,o,, 0f-A,,jTOAn-4i.-D smc.fj^j- i.r ju,r.-.„a> r-v/i/7,v-/rr /7v. .., ;«,; rr. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 67 
 
 In compliance witli the duty devolving np(jn us, we would present the following reso- 
 lutions : 
 
 Resolved, That in the sudden bereavement which has befallen our Society, we would 
 not suppress the grief so deeply felt. For the long-continued, unwearied interest mani- 
 fested by our late President in our prosperity ; for the readiness, the liberality with which 
 he seconded every effort for our advancement ; for the uniform coiirtcsy Avith which he 
 presided over our assemblages, and the kind-heartedness often evinced there ; for his 
 anxious desire to see around liini a band of Ijrothers engaged in the same ennobling piu*- 
 suits, actuated by the same spirit, aiming at the same end, we shall ever with gratitude 
 remember him. 
 
 Resolved, That some member of the Society be appointed to prepare a biographical 
 sketch of our late President, to be pi'esented to the Society at a futiu'e meeting. 
 
 Resolved, That our deep sympathy be extended to his afilicted family. 
 
 Prof. Jeffries Wyman was chosen in conformity with the recommendation of the com- 
 mittee, to prepare a biographical memoir of the late President. The Society then ad- 
 journed, out of respect to the memory of the deceased. 
 
 Dr. Wyman, in accordance with the wishes of the Society, prepared a very full 
 biographical memoir of Dr. Warren, which was read by him at the meeting of Dec. 17, 
 and which may be found in the published Proceedings, Volume VI. A list of Dr. Warren's 
 scientific writings is appended. 
 
 At the adjourned annual meeting held May 21st, the Curator of Ornithology called at- 
 tention to a magnificent donation of birds from the Government Museum of Natural His- 
 tory, at Victoria. Among them were one hundred species or more, not previously in the 
 Museum. Other valualjle donations had also been received from Dr. Samuel Kneeland, 
 Jr., Mr. Geo. S. Shaw of Cambridge, and Mr. E. Samuels. 
 
 The Botanical department had received from Prof. Asa Gray several hundred South 
 European plants. 
 
 The Geological Cabinet had been the recipient of a fine series of Eocene shells from 
 the Paris basin, presented by Geo. B. Emerson, Esq. 
 
 The Curator of Comparative Anatomy mentioned several valuable donations from 
 Dr. J. V. C. Smith, Geo. B. Emerson, Esq., and Dr. S. Kneeland, Jr. He called attention 
 to the fact that specimens under his charge were injured from year to 3"ear, in consequence 
 of the increased dampness and other unsuitable conditions of the building. 
 
 The Librarian reported that a card catalogue had Ijeen prepared for the use of the 
 Library. 
 
 The officers for the ensuing year were then elected, with the exception of the President. 
 
 Dr. John Bacon was chosen Curator of Mineralogy, in place of Mr. Francis Alger ; 
 Dr. Samuel Kneeland, Jr., Curator of Ichthyology, in place of Dr. Silas Durkee ; and 
 Dr. Silas Durkee, Curator of Entomology, in place of Dr. II. K. Oliver, Jr. 
 
 A Committee consisting of Dr. A. A. Gould, Prof. Jeffries Wyman, Dr. Samuel Cabot, 
 Dr. N. B. Shurtleff, and Mr. C. J. Sprague were appointed to nominate a candidate for the 
 office of President. This committee at the next meeting were further instructed to report 
 the names of two or more persons as candidates. 
 
 At a meeting held on the 18th of June, tlie Committee on nomination made a report 
 which is not given in the records. 
 
68 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 The Sociot}' proceeded to vote, and upon collecting the ballots it was found that Pi'of. 
 Jeirries Wyinan was unanimously elected President. With his usual modesty he hesitated 
 to accept the position tendered, doubting his ability to serve the Society satisfactorily as 
 President. Tbi'^ U'd to an emphatic expression of feeling on the part of the members in 
 favor of his accepting the office. He still liesitated, and finally begged the Society to give 
 him time for consideration, -which was granted. 
 
 At the next meeting, July 2d, Prof. Wyman annouuced his acceptance of the office of 
 President, and entered upon its duties. 
 
 The first and the only excursion that the Society ever made as such, took place this year. 
 A committee was appointed to consider the subject of summer excursions, of which 
 Mr. Bouve was chairman, in behalf of the connuittee he reported in favor of the plan, 
 and proposed that the first one should be made to Ilingham and the neighboring country. 
 It was voted to asscmlde on l)oard the Ilingham Steamboat at 9 A. M., on Wednesday, 
 July 23d, and it was midcrstood that the Committee would make arrangements for proper 
 conveyances at Hingham when the company should arrive. 
 
 Accordingly the Society met on board the boat at the time appointed. The day 
 ■was beautiful and everything conspired to make it an agreeable and instructive one 
 to the members. Upon landing at Ilingham they were conveyed to Nantasket Beach 
 in carriages, stopping ou the way to examine a colony of night herons in the Avoods, and 
 many trunks of submerged trees buried in salt water peat, which had become exposed by 
 excavations. This gave rise to much conversation upon the breaking away of the barrier 
 which had formerly kept the ocean back from tliis tra(!t of land, and the consequent des- 
 truction of the forest. The next interesting locality was the site of an Indian cemetery 
 near Nastasket Beach. Here the President, Avho had previously with his brother and Mr. 
 Francis Boyd, had an opportunity of examining some of the graves, gave an account of 
 what had been found there, whicli was (|uito interesting. Mr. Boyd, who resided neai", 
 invited the members to his house, where he showed them such relics as were in his pos- 
 session from the cemeterv, and also regaled them with a generous entertainment. After 
 riding on the beach, the carriages were sent round to the Cohasset shore, and the mem- 
 bers, wandering along the margin of llie sea and climlnng over the rocks, collected such 
 specimens of shells, fish and marine plants as they met with, listening meanwhile to the 
 remarks of such as were conversant with the objects found. Dr. David F. Weinland par- 
 ticularly called attention to the ovaries of the whiting, in which were eggs in process of 
 embryonic development. 
 
 Upon again resuming seats in the carriages, a pleasant drive along the ridge road fol- 
 lowed, with a stop to view the great trap dyke which there protrudes through the gnmite 
 rock. Here remarks were made upon the dyke and the enclosing rock, by Dr. Jackson, 
 Mr. Alger and Mr. Bouve. 
 
 After a further very interesting drive, the company arrived at the house of Mr. Bouv^ 
 at about 3 P. M., where they examined his mineralogical cabinet, listening to some expla- 
 nations respecting the specimens, made by Dr. C. T. Jackson and himself. 
 
 Dinner followed ; this having been partaken of with much hilarity, the members sep- 
 arated, some going into the woods to collect specimens, while the larger portion assem- 
 bled under a grove neai- the house to listen to some scientific remarks upon what had been 
 seen during the morning, and other matters. This proved to be a very interesting gath- 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 09 
 
 erhiiii;. Prol'. W^nian gave an account ol" the horse shoe (Limuhis), and the wnj' in wliich 
 it casts its sheU. Mr. Francis Alger spoke upon the great Beryl formation in Grafton, 
 N. II., and Dr. Jackson, upon the geology of the hill where the Beryls are found. 
 Dr. Jackson then gave an account of trap dykes, as illustrated by what h;ul been seen 
 by them in the course of the excursion on the coast. Dr. Weinland gave an account of 
 the reproduction of parasitic animals, and Mr. Charles J. Sprague exhibited and talked 
 upon a parasitic fungus growing upon the body of a beetle. 
 
 Informal, but interesting and instructive conversation followed. The members then 
 passed votes of thanks to those who had been instrumental in enabling them to pass the 
 day so agreeably, and proceeded to take cars for Boston from the station only a few hun- 
 dred feet distant. 
 
 Of course it has not been possible to make any reference to the many valualde papers 
 lirought forward and read at the meetings of the Society. To have mentioned even 
 briefly the most important of them would have required that volumes should have been 
 devoted to this historical sketch, where only pages are given. Moreover these may all 
 be found in the Journal, or the printed Proceedings of the Society. When, however, an 
 important discovery is mentioned as having been made in our immediate neighborhood, 
 it seems well not to omit notice of it. 
 
 Of this character certainly was the discovery of Trilobites in the slates of Braintree, 
 scarcely a dozen miles from Boston. This was announced by Prof Wm. B. Rogers, in 
 AuLiUst of this year, and specimens were exhibited. This afforded the first satisfactory 
 evidence yet presented of the geological age of the stratified rocks of eastern Massachu- 
 setts. 
 
 A letter was received in November from Mrs. M. A. Binney, tendering a 2)ortion of the 
 library of the late Dr. Amos Binney for deposit with the books of the Society, upon cer- 
 tain conditions not objectionable. It was voted to receive them, and present the thanks 
 of the Society to Mrs. Binney for the kind interest manifested by her in making the pro- 
 posal. The number of works thus deposited were 353, and the number of volumes, includ- 
 ing pamphlets, 1145. This accession to the librarj- was of very great service to the mem- 
 bers, the works deposited being many of them of great value for investigation, and not 
 otherwise to be had by them. 
 
 1857. Early this year the Society lost from among its corresponding members no less 
 than three, distinguished for their scientific attainments, viz.: Prof J. W. Bailej^, of West 
 Point; William C. Redfield of New York, and Pi'of Michael Tuomey of Alabama. Beso- 
 lutions expressive of the great loss that science had sustained by their death, were passed 
 by the Society, introduced by remarks concerning their lives and labors. From Prof 
 Bailey a bequest was received of great value, consisting of his microscopic collection, and 
 of a collection of Algae, with a great deal of material for microscopic research. Also a 
 great many works upon microscopy, botany and histology. These embraced Eln\>n- 
 berg's Mikrogeologie, Lindley and Iliittou's Fossil Flora, and others of -great value. 
 The bequest was upon the condition that the collection should be kept in cases by them- 
 selves, and that the sons of Prof Baih'y should have such access to them for study or 
 examination, as might be consistent with tJie rules of the Society. 
 
 At the annual meeting, the reports of the Treasurer, Librarian and Curators were pre- 
 sented, and the substance of them is here briefly gi\ en. 
 
70 HISTORICAL SKETCH OI<^ THE 
 
 The Report of the Treasurer was very unsatisfactory, showino; an amount due hiin of 
 $1726, hxrgoly arising from the flict that collections from nu-nibers of the annual 
 assessments had not In'on made, as they should have been. The Trustees of the Courtis 
 fund held about $A00, which would lessen the indebtedness to |1326, and it was thought 
 that .$'.100 mightdje realiz.ed from mendjers who owed much more than this, but some of 
 whom had not been called upon for several years. This would still leave an amount due 
 the Treasurer of |4;36. The Auditing Committee expressed the opinion that much money 
 was lost to the Society by lack of ])romptness and want of system in collecting, and 
 strongly advised that all the mcmljers should be annually called upon during some one 
 month, for their assessments. They suggested too the im])ortauce of the utmost econ- 
 omy in expenditure, considering the unsatisfactory fniancial position of the So('iety. 
 
 The Librarian's report was more exhilarating, stating as it did, that not less than 1500 
 volumes had been added to the collection during the year. Of these over 1(100 had been 
 deposited by the widow of the late Ur. Amos Rinney, in accordance with what she 
 believed to be his wish, viz.: for the use of members of the Society and others, who may 
 resort to its library for scientific investigations, and to be subject to the same regulations 
 as arc the books of the Society. This collection is very rich in scientific Avorks, and 
 there is scarcely a department of science not represented. 
 
 The Library had also received, as before mentioned, tlu'ough the bequest of the late 
 Prof J. W. Bailey, in addition to his valuable microscopical collection, a very valuable 
 library of microscopic and botanical works, numbering in all eighty-four volumes, and 
 one hundred and fifty pamphlets. 
 
 The whole numl)er of books in possession of the Society including those deposited, was 
 stated as follows : 
 
 BclonQ;ing to the Society, not including tlie bequest of Prof. Bailey, 
 
 Bequest of Prof. Bailey, 
 
 Deposited by "A Reimblicau Institution," 
 
 Deposited by Mrs. Binney, 
 
 Tot.al, 48G3 i'^O 
 
 The Curator of Mineralogy reported his department as indebted to Dr. S. Kneeland, Jr., 
 Mr. N. H. Bishop, Mr. Wm. Haley, and Rev. S. Adams for specimens I'eceived from them 
 during the year. 
 
 The Curator of Geology reported the additions to the collection under his charge 
 as few and of little value, comp;ired with those received in previous years. 
 
 The Curator, of Entomology, in referring to the destruction in past years of specimens 
 in the collection, stated that there yet remained many uuiujured, and entitled to care and 
 attention. These had been subjected to a heat of about 200 degrees, and the drawers 
 contiiiniug them had had a constant supply of camphor. 
 
 Specimens of value had been received from Mr. Samuels, collected by him in Califor- 
 nia, and one beautiful Neuropterous insect was presented by Mr. Solomon Adams, of Lu- 
 nenburg, found in Winter street, Boston. 
 
 The Curator of llerpetologv reported the collection under his charge as in good order, 
 and that some valuable additions had been made to it, principally through the serv- 
 ices of Mr. Samuels in California. From him between two and three hundred speci- 
 
 md Vols. 
 
 Pamphlets and Paris. 
 
 3,000 
 
 300 
 
 84 
 
 150 
 
 767 
 
 
 1012 
 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 71 
 
 mens had been received, many of which were new to our Caliinet. To Mr. Kennicott, 
 one of our Corresponding Members in Illinois, the Society was also indebted for a consid- 
 eraljle nmnber of valuable specimens. 
 
 The Cnrator of Oology reported that the collection of eggs had received many ad- 
 ditions dnring the year from Mr. E. Samnels, obtained in California. 
 
 No report from the Curator of Ornithology was made. Two specimens of South Anu'r- 
 ican birds had been presented to the collection by Mr. N. H. Bishop. 
 
 The Cui-ator of Crustacea and Radiata reported that his department was indebted to 
 Mr. Thos. Tallant of Concord, for some corals from California ; Capt. Geo. E. Tyler for 
 one large specimen ; Capt. J. P. Couthouy for corals from the wreck of a Spanish vessel 
 sunk off the Island of Magdalena ; Capt. N. E. Atwood for Corals and a starfish ; and to 
 Dr. J. T. Parkinson for a crustacean from' St. Simon's Island, Georgia. 
 
 The Curator of Ichthyology reported the collection of his department as in fair con- 
 dition, and that the Society was indebted to Dr. A. G. Hamlin of Bangor, Dr. S. Knee- 
 land, Jr., Mrs. Geo. S. Hillard, Dr. S. Durkee, Picv. J. P. Kobiuson, Dr. D. H. Storer, and 
 to himself, for specimens received during the year. 
 
 The Curator of Conchology reported the following donations : A collection of land and 
 fresh water shells from Dr. James Lewis of Mohawk, N. Y. A box of land and fresh 
 water shells from R. Kennicott, Illinois, some marine shells from Capt. N. E. Atwood, 
 and a small collection of shells fromi John Jas. Dixwell. 
 
 The Curator of Botany reported that but little damage had been done to the herba- 
 rium during the year, and that the plants wei'e generally in good condition. 
 
 At the election of oflicers for the year, Capt. N. E. Atwood w^as chosen Curator of Ich- 
 thj^ology in place of Dr. Samuel Knecland Jr. ; Theodore Lyman, Curator of Crustacea 
 and Radiata in place of Dr. John P. Reynolds, and John Green, Curator of Comparative 
 Anatomy in place of Dr. Jeffries Wyman, elected President the previous June. 
 
 The reception of the splendid bequest of Prof. Bailey seemed to inspire some of the 
 members with a desire for microscopic research, and in June a Section for the special 
 purpose was formed, called the Section of Microscopy. This, all members of the So- 
 ciety interested in the object, were invited to join. It was provided that a Curator of the 
 department should be chosen yearly at the annual meeting, whose duty it should be to 
 take charge of all specimens belonging to it, and to preside at its meetings. It was also 
 further provided that at the first regular meeting of the Society each month, the presid- 
 ing officer shall call for microscopical papers, remai'ks or exhibitions, and that these shall 
 be in order during the continuance of the meeting, excepting that no business matter 
 properly belonging to the annual meeting of the Society shall be superseded. The pro- 
 ceedings of this department were lo be jiublished in llie Jourual and Proceedino's of the 
 Society, subject to the decision of the Publishing Comnnttee. 
 
 At the first meeting in June, Dr. Silas Durkee was elected Curator of the new ilepart-' 
 ment of Microscopy. 
 
 Mr. Charles J. Sprague announceil the douatiDU liy Dr. Beujainiu D. Greene, the 
 first President of the Societ}-, of his hirge and sahiabk' Ilerhariiun. This was stated to 
 be particularly rich in specimens collected by the various e.\i)loring expeditions, both of 
 Europe and this country. 
 
 In September of this year, the de})artment of Crustacea and Radiata was divided. 
 
72 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Mr. Theodore Lvman who had been its Curator, becoming Curator of Eadiata ; and 
 Dr. H. K. Storer, Curator of Crustacea. 
 
 1858. April. The President stated tliat a considerable sum of money had Ijeen sub- 
 scribed for the purchase and stocking of an Aquarium, and that it would be advisable to 
 appoint a Committee to attend to the matter. Accordingly Dr. Samuel Kneeland, Jr., 
 Mr. L. B. Stone, and Mr. Theodore Lyman were chosen for this purpose. 
 
 From the record of the annual meeting in May, the following is presented : 
 
 The Report of the Auditing Committee upon the finances, exhibited a balance due the 
 Treasurer of $2074.2-5. To meet this there were availal)le assets consisting of uncol- 
 lected bills in the hands of the Collector, and a sum in the Treasurer's hands belonging to 
 'the Building fund, $1306.00, leaving the Society in debt |7G8.25, and this providing that 
 all the uncollected debts should be paid in full. 
 
 The Librarian reported that since the last annual meeting thei^e had been added to the 
 Library, seventy-four bound volumes, and one hundred and five pamphlets or parts of 
 volumes, exclusive of those deposited l)y "A Republican Institution," of which there had 
 been forty-three bound volumes. To Dr. Benjamin D. Greene the Society was indebted 
 for some of the most valuable woi'ks that had been presented. The Librarian in pre- 
 senting his report took occasion to remark upon the small sum used for the purchase 
 of books, stating it to be far short of what the reasonable wants of the Curators required. 
 He strongly recommended that one-third of the income of the Courtis fund should be, as 
 formerly, appropriated strictly for the increase of the library. 
 
 The Curator of Mineralogy, reported that his department had received donations during 
 the year from Dr. Chas. T. Jackson, Dr. Samuel Kneeland, Jr., Dr. Henry Bryant, 
 Mr. Thos. J. Whittemore, Mr. R. H. Eddy and Mr. S. M. Major. Those from Dr. Knee- 
 land were numerous, comprising an extensive series of minerals from the Lake Superior 
 region. That of Mr. Eddy consisted of a considerable supply of native borate of lime 
 from South America, valuable for exchanges, etc. 
 
 The Curator of Geology reported that there had been but few additions to the collec- 
 tion under his charge dux'ing the year. The large collection belonging to the State, illus- 
 trative of its geology, and which had been for man}' j-ears under the charge of the Society, 
 had been removed to the State House. This enabled him to place in sight all the 
 specimens in the department of sufficient interest for exhibition, a considerable number 
 having been previously kept in drawers for want of room in the cases. 
 
 The Curator of Botany' reported that extensive additions had l^een made to the Her- 
 barium during the year. By the donations of Dr. Benj. D. Greene, and the bequest of 
 the late Prof. Bailey, the number of specimens had been increased ten-fold. Dr. Greene's 
 collection had been incorporated with our own, and the two united form one of the rich- 
 est, most extensive and most valuable herbariums in the country. The bequest of 
 Prof. Bailey had made our collection of x\lgae the most complete of any. The Curator 
 expressed his intention to give particular attention to the plants received, to take meas- 
 ures for their preservation by Y>oisoning every specimen, and to arrange them according 
 to their genera and species. When this work was completed, he proposed to make a de- 
 tailed report on the whole herbarium of the Society. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 73 
 
 The Curator of Conchology reported that but few additions had been made to the col- 
 lection of shells. He complained of want of case-room to arrange species now ready for 
 exhiljition. 
 
 The Curator of Hei'petology reported the condition of the collection good, and stated 
 that the most important additions to it had been some specimens from Lake Superior, pre- 
 sented by Dr. S. Knceland, Jr. 
 
 The Curator of Kadiata reported that the collection had been increa.sed during the 
 year by donations from Dr. A. A. Gould, Prof. Agassiz and Capt. N. E. Atwood. He 
 remarked that when he took charge of it the previous year, he found it in a state of con- 
 fusion and disorder, but that now it was properly arranged, and the specimens mostly 
 lal)elled. The collection embraced al)out one hundred species of Polypi, representing 
 thirty-nine genera, and about eighty-nine species of Echinodermata, representing about 
 forty genera. Besides these there were a few Medusae in alcohol. 
 
 The Report upon the Entomological department was brief, being limited to a statement 
 of the means used to prevent injury to the specimens, by baking, and the free use of 
 camphor. 
 
 The Curator of the Microscopical section dwelt at some length upon the great value of 
 the collection, and stated that from the duplicate material belonging to it, specimens had 
 been furnished to a large number of scientific persons in diflerent parts of the country, 
 Avho had applied for them. 
 
 No reports were made by the Curators of the departments of Ichthyology and Crus- 
 tacea, by reason of absence from the city. 
 
 At the choice of officers, the only changes made were in the election of Amos Binney 
 as Treasurer in the place of Dr. Nathaniel B. Shurtleif, Alexander E. R. Agassiz, Curator 
 of Entomology, in place of Dr. Silas Durkee, who had been made Curator of the departs 
 ment of Microscopy, and Dr. Samuel Kneeland, Jr., Curator of Ichthyology instead of 
 Capt. N. E. Atwood. 
 
 In July the death of Dr. James Deane of Greenfield, a Corresponding Member, 
 was announced. He had manifested great interest in the Society, and to him it was 
 indebted for much advice and assistance in procuring the magnificent slabs with impres- 
 sions of the foot marks of animals, which have since found place in the entrance hall of 
 the Museum. A full sketch of the life and labors of Dr. Deane, read at a meeting of the 
 Society, July 7, 1858, by the writer of these pages, may be found in the sixth volume ol 
 the Proceedings. 
 
 For the first time the Society took a recess in the summer. The members voted 
 July 7 to have no meeting until the first Wednesday in September. 
 
 In September the death of another of the Corresponding Members was announced, that 
 of Dr. Francis W. Cragin, of Surinam. lie well merits notice here, as having been for 
 many years one of the Society's generous benefactors, from whom were received large 
 numbers of donations, of great zoological and anatomical interest. 
 
 It will be borne in mind that as early as 1855, complaint was made that owing to want 
 of sunlight and proper ventilation, the collection of the department of Comparative Anat- 
 omy was suffering injury from the dampness of the cases in which the spccimeus 
 
74 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 were contained. The trouble was increasing, and subsequent!}^ the Curators of several of 
 the departments reported injurv from the same cause to the collections under their charge. 
 The erection in 18-33 of the Boston Theatre, a large building adjoining the Museum, 
 which cut off its light and air, had produced a change, rendering the latter far less suit- 
 able for the requirements of the Society than when it was first occupied. Moreover, 
 with the ever increasing collections of the several departments it had become too small 
 for the proper exhibition of its cabinet. 
 
 As early as 1857, Mr. Jas. M. Barnard had suggested that in view of the necessities of 
 the Society, and of the opportunit}- of purchasing at a low price a good site for a new 
 building, some action should be taken to secure land for the purpose. Ihe unsatisfactory 
 condition of Inisiness affairs at that period, however, precluded any action. 
 
 1859. Early this year Mr. Wm. E. Baker of Boston presented a plan for the accom- 
 modation of the several institutions of art and science of the city in a large building, 
 which he called the Conservatory of Art and Science, to be erected on the new land then 
 being formed by the State on the Back Bay. There was certainly much in the project to 
 commend it to the serious attention of the institutions referred to, but it did not meet 
 with full approval. The zeal and public spirit manifested by Mr. Baker deserved the grat- 
 itude of all interested. The presentation of the plan proposed had the good effect to call 
 attention to the necessity of some action in favor of securing early a grant of land from 
 the State for the Society, and accordingly a committee was appointed, consisting of 
 Dr. Cabot, Prof Rogers, and Messrs. Barnard, Bouve and Whittemore, to act in connection 
 with committees of other institutions in petitioning the Legislature for sufficient territory 
 to meet the requirements of all. This was done, but the lateness of the season prevented 
 action during the session. 
 
 The annual meeting was held on May 4. 
 
 The Report of the Treasurer, Mr. Amos Binney, was very gratifying. An arrangement 
 had been made with the former Treasurer, by which the amount shown by tlie accounts 
 as due to him was liquidated without full payment in money. The income of the Society 
 had been from all sources $1986, ani the expenditures, $949.04, leaving in the Treasurer's 
 hands, $1036.96. Deducting from this amount a small debt, $89.70, and there was shown 
 as available assets, $947.26. Besides this cash balance, the Society held ten shares of 
 stock in the Bank of North America, at the market price, $1035. 
 
 The Librarian reported that there had been seventy-five volumes, and one hundred and 
 twenty-six pamphlets and parts of volumes added during the year, of which thirty-seven 
 had been deposited by " A Republican Listitution ; " six hundred and eighty-nine volumes 
 had been borrowed from the library. 
 
 The Curator of Mineralogy reported that only few donations had been made to the col- 
 lection during the year. These were chiefly from Dr. C. T. Jackson and Dr. Samuel 
 Kneeland, Jr. He stated that valuable accessions might be expected when the Society 
 could provide adequate accommodations for their arrangement and exliibition. 
 
 The Curator of Geology reported the condition of the collection good, but that there 
 had been few specimens presented to it. A series of thirty-six Acrtebrae, twenty- 
 six fragments of i*ibs and other bones of the Zeuglodon from the eocene deposits of Ala- 
 bama, had been deposited by Mr. C. S. Hale of Burlington, N. J. These, and many other 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 75 
 
 fossils from the same locality in the jwssession of that gentleman, wouhl undouljtedly 
 become the property of the Society, it being his expressed intention to provide that this 
 should be the case. 
 
 The Curator of Entomology reported upon the great accession to the department in Dr. 
 Thaddeus W. Harris's collection of insects. The native specimens in this, he mentioned, 
 had a peculiar value, for they included many typical species described by himself, 
 Sav, and other naturalists, and because of the completeness of the collection. It was 
 stated to contain 4838 specimens of 2241 species of Coleoptera, 181 specimens of 76 
 species of Orthoptera, G20 specimens of about 300 species of Hemiptera, 2G7 specimens 
 of 146 species of Neuroptera, 112G specimens of 602 species of Hymenoptera, 1931 speci- 
 mens of 900 species of Lepidoptera, 796 specimens of 395 species of Diptera. In all 9758 
 specimens of 4GG0 species, besides c^uite a number not yet classified. The general collec- 
 tion was stated to be in good condition. 
 
 The Curator of Comparative Anatomy, Dr. J. C. White, reported that the department 
 contained at this time the following specmiens : crania 257, skeletons 88, membra disjecta 
 172, wet preparations 123, skins 43, dried preparations 10. Total 693. Many of these 
 were packed away and could not be put upon exhiljition for want of room. The additions 
 during the year had been few, but were valuable. Donations had been made b_y Drs. 
 Kneeland, J. Mason Warren, E. S. Holden, J. C. Warren, Mr. C. B. Fessenden and Mr. J. 
 C. Reinhardt. Dr. White stated that upon taking charge of the department he found 
 the specimens almost without exception covered more or less with fungoid growths, the 
 mycelium of which penetrates and destroys the organic parts of the bones. The ligamen- 
 tous skeletons had also been injured by the ravages of Derinestes. The growth of these 
 fungi, of which three species had been detected by him, was caused by the dampness and 
 want of light and ventilation, imavoidable in the building. Dr. White hoped tliat lie had 
 prevented further injury by carefully brushing the specimens and thoroughly washing 
 them with an acid solution of corrosive sublimate, strychnia and cann)hor. He had also 
 taken the precaution to place in each compartment dishes of chloride of calcium to absorb 
 the dampness. 
 
 The Curator of Microscopy reported that such had been the drafts upon the crude 
 material belonging to the collection received from Dr. Bailey that he thought the time had 
 arrived when the kindness of the Society must be limited so far as relateil to donations 
 from it. What remained he thousjht would be wanted l)y the active meml)ers of the 
 Society in coming years for studj^. He advised, thei'clbre, that there should be no further 
 disposal of it, except when required for special and important microscopic researches. 
 
 Of the other departments nothing was stated impoi-tant to present here. 
 
 The changes made in the officers at the election were as follows: Samuel H. Scudder 
 was chosen Curator of Entomology in place of Alexander E. R. Agassiz ; F. W. Putnam 
 was chosen Curator of Ichthyology in place of Dr. Samuel Kneeland, Jr.; Alljcrt Ordway 
 was chos;n Curator of Crustacea in place of Dr. H. R. Storer. 
 
 In November, a plan having been proposed for a large Ijinldiug to acconunodate both the 
 Horticultural Society and the Society of Natural History, a petition was presented to the 
 legislature asking the grant of one of the scpiares of land on the Back Bay for its ei'cc- 
 tion, and another for the use of the contemplated Institute of Technology. Great efforts 
 
76 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 were made by Prof. Eogers, Messrs. Emerson, Ross, Waterston and Binney in behalf of 
 the project through addresses before the Committees of l)oth branches of the Legislature. 
 Considerable opposition however on the part of many Senators prevented favorable action 
 at that time, though it did not cause defeat. The petition was finally referred to the next 
 General Court. 
 
 1860. To awaken interest in the work of the Society, and to justify its claims in the minds 
 of the public, it was thought best to have an address delivered at the time of the annual 
 meeting in May, and Prof. Kogers was invited to prepare one for the occasion. It was 
 read before a very large audience at the new" hall of the Mechanic's Charitable Associa- 
 tion in Bedford Street. The record states that he " delivered a most eloquent and pertinent 
 address on the progress of natural science for the last thirty years, dating from 1830, the 
 year in wliich the Society was organized. A large, highly intelligent and enthusiastic 
 audience honored the occasion with their presence, and the Society had great reason to be 
 proud of this successful and brilliant revival of their annual address." 
 
 The Reports of the Treasurer, Librarian, and Curators at the annual meeting, furnish 
 information which is presented as follows : 
 
 The Treasurer exhibited an account showing receipts for the year, including the balance 
 on hand at its commencement, and also the proceeds of sales of bank stock held by the 
 Society to be $3551). 13 ; and expenditures, including an amount paid to Dr. N. B. Shurt- 
 leiF, the former Treasurer, in settlement, |3,399.48, showing a balance of $159.65 on hand 
 in cash, and no debt. The Society having disposed of its bank stock, held at this 
 time no other property available for its future requirements. 
 
 The Librarian reported the accession to the lil^rary of 540 volumes and pamphlets 
 during the year ; about 300 voliunes of these were very valuable works on entomology, 
 from the library of the late Dr. Thaddeus W. Harris, which Avere purchased by J. P. Gush- 
 ing, Esq., of Watertown, and generously presented by him to the Society. 
 
 There was nothing in tlie reports of the Curators of Mineralogy, Geolog}', Herpetology, 
 Oology or Microscopy, calling for notice here, and none was made upon Ornithology. 
 
 The Curator of Entomology mentioned but few additions, but stated that much work 
 had been done by him towards checking the further ravages of destructive insects. 
 
 The Curator of Radiata stated that the department had been indebted to Drs. Bryant 
 and Winslow for several additions to it. 
 
 The Curator of Ichthyology reported an accession of about 200 specimens. The donors 
 had been Dr. Henry Bryant, who presented a very valuable collection from the Bahamas, 
 Dr. C. F. Winslow, a valuable collection from the Island of Maui, and the Museum of Com- 
 parative Zoology. 
 
 The Curator of Comparative Anatomy, Dr. James C. White, reported as might have been 
 expected, considering his indefatigable laljor upon the collection of his department, that 
 this was now in good condition and systematically arranged. He stated that the means 
 adopted hy him mentioned in the report of the previous year, to tree tlie specimens from 
 the ravages of insects, had been completely successful, and that even the growth of the 
 destructive fungi had been prevented by the applications made. Every specimen too. had 
 been numbered, and had had attached to it a label giving its name, locality and donor. 
 A new catalogue had also been prepared for the whole collection. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATUKAL HISTORY. 77 
 
 During the \ e;ir 21 o specLiiieus had been added tu the cabinet, many of which were tjuite 
 valuable. Of these mav be mentioned alaru:o collection of mammalian skulls and skeletons 
 presented by Dr. Samuel Kueeland, Jr.; and tlie lower jaws of an inunense sperm whale 
 from F. W. Choate, Es(|. 
 
 The Curator of Concliology reported that little or no progress had been nuide in his 
 department for want of room to arrange specimens. The collection was stated to com- 
 prise aliout 4(11)0 species. It had had donations as follows : I'rom Di'. Aug. A. Could, 37 
 species from Cumana and Hayti, new to the (!al)inet ; from Dr. .1. L' wLs, a collection of 
 shells from tluj Mohawk valley and neighboring lakes; from Dr. Simon Shurtlell', 23 
 species, many of which were new to the cabinet; and from Dr. C. F. Winslow, specimens 
 from the Hawaiian Islands. 
 
 The Curator of Crustacea reported that the cabinet of his department was generally in 
 good condition, but that many of the dried specimens had suffered from the ravages of 
 insects. He had arranged; labelled and catalogued about half the collection, and hoped soon 
 to finish the work upon it. He complained seriously of the lack of room to properly dis- 
 play the specimens, and also that a considerable number were comparatively worthless 
 because their localities were unknown. Tlie donations had been numerous. Dr. Henry 
 Brvant had presented a laru'C collection irom the Bahamas ; Prof. Agassiz also a larcre col- 
 lection from the Hawaiian Islands, and tlie Essex Institute many specimens from our coast. 
 In all, there had been added during the year 366 specimens, comprising 78 species and 
 55 genera. 
 
 The Curator of Botany reported that the Herbarium was in good condition. A series of 
 valuable S\viss plants collected by Mr. Godet, and another of soutiiern plants collected by 
 Prof Gibbes in the Carolinas were presented by himself 
 
 At the election of olficers the following changes took place : Dr. Augustus A. Gould was 
 elected second Vice-Piesident in room of Dr. D. Humphreys Storer, resigned ; Dr. B. 
 Jov Jeffries, Curator of Microscoiiv, in room of Dr. Silas Durkee, resi'nied ; Mr. A. T. 
 Lyman, Curator of Conchology, in room of jMr. Thomas J. Whittemore, resigned ; and Dr. 
 Samuel A. Gi'een, Curator of Herpetology, in room of Dr. .1. N. Borland, resigned. 
 
 Votes of thanks were passed to the retiring ollicers for tlieir long and ellicient services. 
 Those of one of them call for particular nu'ution. 
 
 Dr. D. Humpiiukys Stokki;. 
 
 Whatever reason there may be generally for hesitating in writing freelv of the services 
 of the living and yet active members of the ccmraunily. there arc none that should pre- 
 vent full expression here of such as were rendered to the Society by Dr. D. Ilumpln-eys 
 Storer during the Hrst thirty years of its existence. Those for the Museum were invalua- 
 ble, and it is due to hiiu to make such mention of them while treating of the period of his 
 labors, as will in soiiu' degree serve to do what the \isible result of his own work as exhib- 
 ited in the magnilicent collection made by liiiu ol' the Fishes of Massachusetts would 
 have dune nnicli better, had this not been destroyed. This collection, obtained through 
 arduous effort. \m\ u|) by his own hands and presented by him to the Society, was allowed 
 to go to ruin, ihrough causes, perhaps unavoidable at the time, but not therefore the less to 
 be deplored. It was made by Dr. Storer when preparing his valuable report on the Fishes 
 
78 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 of Massachusetts, published by order ol' the Ley-ishiture of the State in 1839, and at the 
 same time in tlie Boston Journal of Natural History. It embraced, as has been 
 before stated, ninety out of the one hundred and twenty then known species of the 
 coast, a large number of which were type specimens, and from which the descriptions 
 of the species were drawn. When engaged in collecting and in seeking information con- 
 cerning them, he visited the nuirket daily and examined all that were to be seen thei'e. 
 He made the acquaintance of those engaged in selling lish and through them with the 
 fishermen themselves, often going to their boats and interesting them in his work, so that 
 many were led to aid him by bringing for his use every species that came jnto their pos- 
 session. His ever genial manner served to make him very popular among them, and he 
 thus became a welcome visitor whom they were ready to serve with alacrity. On obtain- 
 ing any specimens wanted he conveyed them home, or to the rooms of the Society, where 
 they were studied for description and prepared for preservation. For the greater part of 
 two seasons, that is, during the spring, summer and autumn months, when the temperature 
 of the weather would allow of work in unheated rooms, he, in comnanv with Dr. Auo'ustus 
 A. Gould, might be found busily engaged on specimens of their respective departments, 
 from five o'clock in the early morning until their breakfast time. Mr. Teschemacher, who 
 had the care of the herbarium at this period, generally joined them previous to their depar- 
 ture, having breakfasted before leaving home. He worked until his business engagements 
 called him away, perhaps an hour later. These glimpses of the doings of some of the ear- 
 lier workers are not unworthy of contemplation by those who occupy their places and 
 who would do justice to their memory. Dr. Slorer's labor on fishes and reptiles was 
 often of a very disagreeable character, the sj^ccimens received requiring transfer and 
 preparation, being often in a condition far from pleasant to work upon. Alas, that a great 
 part of this labor should have resulted, so far as the Museum is concerned, in scarcely more 
 than the valuable lesson it, with other experience, has taught; that the voluntary work of 
 Curators cannat be relied upon alone, to preserve collections that are subject to ruin with- 
 out constant supervision and care. In subsequent yeai's nearly all the work of Dr. Stor- 
 er's hands was allowed to perish. The Society will not have done its duty until it has 
 replaced all the species ol)tained liy him of the fishes of Massachusetts waters, every one 
 being labelled as a substitute for the original presented by him. It is pleasant to know 
 that this is recognized as a duty, and as one likely to be acconijdished. 
 
 Mention has been made of aid afibrded Dr. Storer by fishermen, at the time he was 
 engaged in collecting specimens. To two of these he was ver}' much indebted, not 
 only for many of the species described by him, but for a great deal of information con- 
 cerning them. He would feel it an injustice not to have their names recorded with 
 his, in any description given of the work done by him. These men were Capt. Blanch- 
 ard of Lynn and Capt. N. E. Atwood of Provincetown. The latter, particularly, furnished 
 many species that could not otherwise have been procured, and which were of invaluable 
 service. 
 
 Indirectly Dr. Storer did much for the Society in introducing to it Capt. Atwood. lie 
 became a Corresponding Member and ever after manifested great interest in its proceed- 
 ings. Wheu in the city, he has attended the meetings, and often addressed them, giving 
 always a vast deal of information concerning fishes, their habits and the methods adopted 
 for their capture, not po^sessed by any other man. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 79 
 
 Dr. Storer's services whilst an active member of the Society were by no means limited 
 to his labors for the Museum ; on the contrary, few, if any, were more earnest in devotion 
 to its general welfore. Was there money wanted for any special purpose, what he could 
 spare was freely given. Was an appeal to be made for help from others, he was never 
 backward in taking steps towards rendering it effective. 
 
 The part he took in the meetings was a prominent one, and the communications made 
 by him were often of great value. No one can look over the records of the Society with- 
 out recognizing the importance of the work performed by him in building up the institu- 
 tion he loved so well. There was one trait manifested by him when an active member 
 that will not be forgotten whilst yet members who were associated with him live, and that 
 was a disposition to encourage young and deserving members to take part in the pro- 
 ceedings. 
 
 Dr. Storer, though not strictly speaking one of the oi'iginal memljors of the Society, 
 may well be considered such, as he became an associate with them immediately after its 
 ibrmation, and in September of tlie same year was elected Recording Secretary, which 
 office he held until May, 1836. He was a Curator before there were special departments 
 of the Museum from 1836 to 1838, afterwards of the department of Reptiles and Fishes 
 from 1838 to 1843. Elected Vice-President in 1843, he remained in this position until 
 1860, when he resigned. He thus held office for the long period of thirty years, with 
 honor to himself and with great advantage to the Society. 
 
 Of Dr. Storer's life and work otherwise than as connected with the Society the following 
 is presented : 
 
 Dr. Storer was born in Portland, Maine, Marcli 2Gth, 1804. He was educated at Bowdoin 
 College ; graduated there in 1822 and had the degree of LL.D. conferred upon him by 
 that institution in 1876. His scientific tastes led him to associate himself, as has been 
 mentioned, with the Boston Society of Natural History soon after its formation, but the 
 particular attention he subsequently gave to ichthyology was entirely the result of fortui- 
 tous circumstances. When Dr. Hitclicock was authorized to re-survey the State in 1837, 
 he expressed a strong desire that there should also be made a more full examination of its 
 Natural History. A committee of the Legislature therefore met the one on the part of 
 the Society in conference, the result of which was that George B. Euierson, President of 
 the Boston Society of Natural History, Chester Dewey, Professor of Botany in the Berk- 
 shire Medical Institution, Ebenezer Emmons, M. D., Professor of Natural History in 
 Williams College, Rev. William B. 0. Peabody of Springfield, T. W. Harris, M. D., Lilirarian 
 of Harvard University, D. Humphreys Storer, M. D., and A. A. Gould, M. D., of Boston, 
 Curators in the Boston Society of Natural History, were commissioned to take charge of 
 the Botanical and Zoological survey. These gentlemen met and agreed among themselves 
 as to the part they should respectively take in the w'ork. Prof. Emmons undertook to 
 report upon the Mammals, Dr. Storer upon the Fishes and Reptiles, Mr. Peabody upon the 
 Birds, Dr. Harris upon the Insects, Dr. Gould upon the Mollusks, etc. 
 
 The division was unquestionably a wise one, but it required of Dr. Storer a scientific 
 report within a year on a subject of which neither he nor any one else in the community 
 knew anything beyond what was known to the fish dealer and the cook. Laughingly he 
 lias since remarked that he could scarcely at the time have told a flounder from any other 
 
so HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 flat fish. This was not all. There was not in New England an ichthyologist with whom 
 he could consult, and scarcely a hook that would aid him in his investigations. Sufficiently 
 discouraging all this, but Dr. Storer did not despair. If he knew but little of ichthyolog;y, 
 he had a scientific mind, sharply observant, quickly perceptive and nicely discriminating. 
 Moreover he was indefatigable in performing whatever he undertook, never relaxing in his 
 work until it was done and well done. 
 
 The Commissioners came to an understanding tjiat they all should endeavor as far as 
 possible to extend the boundaries of knowledge in each department, and not confine 
 themselves to merely jjresenting catalogues of species. It was soon perceived that the 
 work expected of them could not possibly be done within the allotted time, and leave was 
 asked and obtained to defer the reports until a later j^eriod. 
 
 Before another year, however, had elapsed, several were ready, and we can only wonder, 
 in looking over the volumes produced, that so much could have been accomplished within 
 so limited a period. The result of Dr. Storer's labor was what Dr. DeKay described as a 
 "masterly report" on the Fishes of Massachusetts. This was published by an order of the 
 Legislature in A;igust, 1839, and also appeared in the Boston Journal of Natural History 
 at the same time. Previous to this, Dr. Storer had presented some papers before the So- 
 ciety on fishes, which had also appeared in the Jom-ual. In April, 1845, he counuunicated 
 to the meeting of the American naturalists at New Haven, a very valuable paper called 
 "A Synopsis of the Fishes of North America." This was published in the Memoirs of the 
 American Academy. Subsequently there appeared in the same Memoirs what Dr. Storer 
 termed his final report on the fishes of Massachusetts, the species being all illustrated by 
 fine engravings, and this was also puldished in a separate volume. 
 
 The third decade of the existence of the Society having now passed, some mention will 
 be made of what has not been referred to during' the period. 
 
 The Journal of the Society had been published from time to time, but not quite with 
 the regularity that distinguished its earlier issues. Volume VI and part of Volume VII had 
 appeared with many articles of great value. The Proceedings appeared more frequently. 
 A part of Volume III, and Volumes IV, V, and VI, and a considerable portion of Volume 
 VII had been printed and circulated. The scientific character of both series had been well 
 sustained, and had helped much to extend the reputation of the Society abroad. 
 
 The aver-age attendance on the meetings each year may be seen l)y the following table : 
 
 20 
 26 
 
 ■28 
 30 
 ;!0 
 
 Those who took a prominent part at the meeetings of the Society during the first five 
 years of the ten, by presenting communications, participating in the discussions, or other- 
 wise, were Dr. Charles T. Jackson, Count Desor, Dr. Wyman, Dr. Burnett, Dr. Gould, Dr. 
 Durkee, Mr. W. 0. Ayres, Dr. Cabot, Mr. William Stimpson, Dr. J. C. Warren, Dr. Samuel 
 Kneeland, Jr., Dr. A. A. Hayes, Prof William B. Rogers, Mr. Teschemacher, Dr. Thomas 
 M. Brewer, Dr. D. 11. Storer, Dr. H. R. Storer, Mr. Charles J. Sprague, Mr. Wells, Prof 
 Henry D. Rogers, Dr. J. Mason Warren aud Mr. Thomas T. Bouve. 
 
 For the 
 
 year 
 
 ending May 
 
 1851 
 
 23 
 
 F 
 
 or 
 
 the 
 
 year 
 
 endiii 
 
 iii- May 185G 
 
 
 
 
 
 1852 
 1853 
 
 IG 
 14 
 
 
 
 (( 
 (( 
 
 
 
 1857 
 1858 
 
 u 
 
 
 
 it 
 
 1854 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 (( 
 
 
 
 1859 
 
 (( 
 
 
 
 u 
 
 1855 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 (( 
 
 
 
 1800 
 
'^^ 0Si^-.^ 
 
 './wS 
 
 ■ 'B- 
 
 
 lopnUuiillilillslU-L; 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 81 
 
 Those who were prominently active during the last five years of the ten were Dr. C. T. 
 Jackson, Prof. William B. Rogers, Dr. A. A. Hayes, Mr. Charles J. Sprague, Dr. Thomas 
 M. Brewer, Dr. Samuel Kneeland, Jr., Dr. Jeffries Wyman, Professor Agassiz, Dr. Gould, 
 Dr. J. C. White, Dr. Henry Bryant, Dr. Samuel L. Abbot, Dr. J. N. Borland, Mr. J. Whit- 
 temore, Dr. Silas Durkee, Dr. John Bacon, Jr., Mr. Charles Stodder, Mr. Theodore Lyman, 
 Dr. B. J. Jeffries, Dr. C. F. Winslow, Mr. Samuel H. Scudder, Dr. Samuel Cabot, Dr. D. 
 H. Storer, Dr. Charles Pickering, Mr. John Green, Dr. D. F. Weinland, Capt. N. E. At- 
 wood, Mr. Nathaniel H. Bishop, Dr. J. B. S. Jackson, Prof H. D. Rogers, Mr. J. M. Bar- 
 nard, Prof Theophilus Parsons and Mr. Thomas T. Bouve. 
 
 The financial condition of the Society at the close of the decade differed but little from 
 that at the connnencement. There had been during the ten years, periods of considerable 
 indebtedness, Ijut the economical course of the government had prevented its increase, and 
 at the annual meeting, as stated in the Treasurer's report, there was a small balance in the 
 Treasury. 
 
 The Library had increased from about 3500 volumes reported as in the possession of the 
 Society in ISoO, to nearly 5003, including 1012 deposited by Mrs. Binney, and 767 depos- 
 ited by " A Republican Institution". Besides these there were 681 pamphlets, or parts of 
 volumes. 
 
 The number of Resident Members of the Society at this time were about 206, exclusive 
 of Life Members, of whom there were 18. 
 
 The Standing Committees of the Council, through which much of the important business 
 of the Society was transacted, had faithfully attended to the duties assigned them. 
 
 The members of each during the decade were as follows : 
 
 On the Library : Drs. A. A. Gould, S. Kneeland, Jr., Henry Bryant, and D. Himi- 
 phrcys Storer, and Messrs. C. K. Dillaway and Charles J. Sprague. 
 
 On Finance : Dr. N. B. Shurtleff", Messrs. J. J. Dixwell, Thos. Bulfinch, P. T. Jackson, 
 Amos Binney, C. C. Sheafe, J.as. M. Barnard, Thos. T. Bouve, and George B. Emerson. 
 
 On the Library : Drs. A. A. Gould, D. Humphreys Storer, S. Kneeland, Jr., John Bacon, 
 S. Cabot, Jr., Henry Br^'ant, and Messrs. C. K. Dillaway and Chas. J. Sprague. 
 
 On Pulilications : Drs. D. Humphreys Storer, JeftVies Wyman, Samuel Kneeland, Jr., 
 Samuel L. Abbot, Samuel Cabot, Jr., Benj. S. Shaw, and Mr. C. K. Dillaway. 
 
 Decade IV. May, 1860-Mat, 1870. 
 
 Soon after the annual meeting, Mr. Arthur T. Lj-man, who had been elected Curator of 
 Concholoffv, resigned, and in June Mr. Nathan Farrand was elected his successor. 
 
 In October of this year the Society was notified that the late Jonathan Phillips had 
 made to it the magnificent bequest of $10,000. It will be remembered that in the latter 
 part of 1849, when the Society was suffering from debt, this gentleman manifested his 
 interest in its welfare hy a timely donation of $2,000, which relieved it from all liability. 
 
 The exertions of the members of the Society towards accomplishing the objects in 
 view, viz., that of securing land from the State on which to build, and help from the 
 public to enable the Society to erect a structure suitable for its wants, were constant. In 
 December a Committee was appointed by the Council, consisting of Prof Rogers, Dr. A. 
 
82 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 A. Gould and Mr. Amos Biniiey, to prepare a pamphlet setting forth the claims and wants 
 of the Society. This was published and distributed among the members of both houses of 
 the Legislature. 
 
 In December also it was voted by the Council that a course of lectures be given during 
 the winter by members of the Society, free to the public, and Profs. Rogers and Wyman, 
 with Dr. Gould, were appointed to prepare a plan of such a course, with fidl powers to 
 make all the necessary arrangements. 
 
 1861. The most important event of the year to the Society, and one of the most 
 important in its history, was the munificent donation by Dr. William J. Walker of his 
 estate in Bulfinch Street. 
 
 As this act was the first of a series of great donations on the part of Dr. Walker to the 
 Society, it may be well to state what is known that led to such manifestation of interest 
 in its welfare. For some time previous to the event mentioned Dr. Walker had boarded 
 in the same house at Cambridge with the President of the Society, Prof. W^-man, and an 
 intimacy had arisen between them which led the former to regard with attention whatever 
 the latter was jaarticularly engaged in. Noticing among the documents brought home and 
 laid upon the table of their common sitting room by Prof. Wyman, some of the publica- 
 tions of the Society, Dr. Walker became interested in their perusal and finally in the work 
 of the Society itself. This led to many conversations between them respecting the aims 
 and objects in view, which resulted in the donation mentioned, and eventually in Dr. 
 Walker becoming the great benefactor of the Society. 
 
 In announcing the j^leasing event Prof Wyman made the following remarks, which 
 are worth_y of mention here : 
 
 "I have great pleasure in stating that since our last meeting. Dr. William J. Walker 
 has presented, and by the necessary legal process has conveyed to this Society, the estate 
 recently occupied by him in this city. The property has been placed in the hands of 
 trustees, to be devoted, under wise and liberal conditions, in sucli a manner as they may 
 deem most expedient, for the promotion of our Ijest interests and of the study of natural 
 history. This is tiie largest gift that we have received from a single individual. Under 
 any circumstances it would be munificent. Now it is both munificent and timely. It is all 
 the more gratifying inasmuch as it was wholly unsolicited. It naturally follows, from the 
 emotions which this beneficence calls forth, that we should rejoice at being the recipients 
 of such a gift, and, in accepting it, should express our gratitude and sense of deep obliga- 
 tion. But we must not rest here ; there are other considerations to which we must allow 
 a place at this time. 
 
 " Standing before a community identified with the study of natural history and the dif- 
 fusion of a knowledge of it, Ave have been liberally endowed in this and other ways. I 
 believe that with our very inadequate means, we have done niueh to justify our benefiic- 
 tors and the public in their encouragement of us. But every liencfaction has imposed, 
 and every new one will impose, additional and more exacting obligations. Societies are 
 often charged, and it is to be feared too often justly, as less faithful to their trust than 
 individuals. We n.ust have care that such a charge may not apply to us. In accepting 
 the gift now offered us, we bind ourselves, though tacitly yet firmly, to fulfil all the obli- 
 gations which belong to it, implied no less than direct. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 83 
 
 "We have recently set forth our chiims upon the community for patronage. It should be 
 remembered that the public, though it does not formally set forth its claims upon us, has 
 them, and with a deeper interest in the study of nature than has been known before, 
 judges us with a severer scrutiny and by a higher standard than at any previous period. 
 So long as we make our collections useful and our studies conducive to the public good, 
 and thus show ourselves faithful to our trusts, we are justified in the belief that we may 
 confidently expect to receive hereafter, as we have received already, every necessary sup- 
 jjort and encouragement." 
 
 Professors W. B. Rogers and Agassiz congratulated the Society upon the addition to 
 their means at such an opportune moment, and Dr. Augustus A. Gould offered the fol- 
 lowing resolutions, which were unanimously adopted : 
 
 " Resolved, That the Society accepts with gratitude the donation of Dr. Wm. J. Walker 
 on the terms stipulated. 
 
 " Resolved, That the accession of so munificent a sum to our funds at a moment when 
 further expansion witli our actual resources must have been very limited, greatly encourages 
 us to new and more efficient exertion. 
 
 " Resolved, That it shall be our diligent care that the avails from the donation shall be 
 applied prudently and practically towards the cultivation and diffusion of useful knowl- 
 edge ; specially aiming to modify the direction of our endeavors, as the spirit of the age 
 may from time to time indicate." 
 
 The conditions upon which this donation was made have always been sacredly regarded 
 by the Society. 
 
 During the session of the Legislature in the winter of 1860-61, strenuous efforts were 
 made by several members of the Society, and of the Institute of Technology, to obtain 
 the grant of land wanted for the use of each, particularly by Prof Wm. B. Rogers and 
 Mr. M. D. Ross, which were finally successful, the grant of one square, so called, having 
 been made on certain conditions which seemed objectionable at first, but which turned out 
 to be of no detriment. Of this "square" one third was to be for the use of the Boston 
 Society of Natural History, the other two-thirds for the Mass. Institute of Technology. 
 
 In March, it having been intimated that possibly the city might be willing to buy the 
 building of the Society in Mason Street, for the enlargement of the Normal School House 
 near to it, a committee consisting of Mr. Bouve, Mr. Binney, the Treasurer, and 
 Dr. Kneeland was appointed to confer with the City Government on the subject. 
 
 In April, the Treasurer with such other members as saw fit to join him, were 
 appointed a committee to solicit subscriptions for a building fmid, and in the same month 
 a Building Committee Avas appointed consisting of President Wyman, Mr. Binnej^, Pro- 
 fessor Rogers, Dr. Jeftries and Mr. Bouve, to consider and propose a course of pro- 
 ceedings in relation to the new hall, accompanied by such general plan of grounds and 
 buildings as they might deem expedient, and to report from tune to time to the Soci- 
 ety, making no engagements without further authority. 
 
 The reports of the Curators at the annual meeting in May present but little of 
 interest. Generally, complaint was made of want of room for the proper display of speci- 
 mens, and the expectation expressed that when this lack should be supplied there would 
 be a much greater disposition manifested to make donations. The Curator of Geology 
 
84 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 reported that liis department was better circumstanced than the others so fiiras the collec- 
 tion belonging to the Society was concerned, inasmuch as by the removal of that belong- 
 ing to the State, ample space was now afforded for the reception of specimens and their 
 display. 
 
 The Conchological department had received between four hundred and five hundi-ed 
 specimens, many of them species new to the collection, the donors being the Smithsonian 
 Institution, Mr. E. R. Mayo, Dr. A. A. Gould and Mr. H. Davis. 
 
 The Mineralogical department had received but few donations, liut two of these were 
 quite valuable, one being a large mass of amethystine quartz from Salto, Uruguay, the 
 other a large geode of the same trom Uruguay, both the gift of R. B. Forbes, Esq. 
 
 The Curator of Comparative Anatomy reported that by the precautionary measures 
 adopted, the collection had been kept in good order, and that donations of considerable 
 value had lieen received, piincipall}' from Dr. Henry Bi'vant and Mr. Du Chaillu. 
 
 The Treasurer's report was exhilarating. He congratulated the Society upon a state of 
 financial prosperity unprecedented in its history. It had received during the year the leg- 
 acy of the late Jonathan Phillips of ^10,000, a donation of an estate from Dr. Wm. J. 
 Walker valued at f 30,000 and the grant of land from the State for the erection of 
 a new structure. 
 
 The Liln-arian reported the number of volumes now in the Liln-ary as exceeding 5000. 
 
 At the election of officers the only change made was in substituting Dr. Francis H. Brown 
 Curator of Herpetology for Dr. Samuel A. Green, who had tendered his resignation. 
 
 A special meeting of the Society Avas called in July to consider upon accepting the offer 
 of $28,000 which has been made on the part of the city for the building of the Society in 
 Mason street. It was voted to accept that price, and a committee consisting of Pi'ofessor 
 Rogers and Mr. Bouve was appointed to complete the sale. This was subsequently done 
 and the Society received the amount mentioned. 
 
 In August Mr. Amos Binney resigned the position of Treasurer of the Society through 
 a letter to the President, in order that he might accept a commission in the military ser- 
 vice of the United States. Mr. Thomas T. Bouve was unanimously elected Treasurer in 
 his place. 
 
 After the sale of the building in Mason Street had been consummated, it was determined 
 on the part of the Society to temporarily occupy the Bulfinch estate for the storage of its 
 collection and for meetings, until a new museum should be erected for its use. Accord- 
 ingly the house was prepared for the reception of the collection and for the accommoda- 
 tion of the meetings, the parlors on the lower story being fitted up for the latter jjurpose, 
 and occupied at the same time as a literary. All this being accomplished, the Society in 
 August left the home it had occu])ied for thirteen years, and where its growth had been 
 such as to render more extensive apartments necessary for its expanding wants. 
 
 Not without kindly thoughts of many pleasing and instructive hours passed in the cosy 
 meeting room of the Society, was the old building left for new quarters. Hera, with the 
 library arranged in the cases around and a large table serviceable for multifarious purposes, 
 might have been seen almost every afternoon several of the Curators at work upon speci- 
 mens or investigating their character ; here too, for several of the later years might have 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 85 
 
 been heard at the meetings as able scientific discussions as any hall ever echoed to, for it 
 was here that Agassiz, William B. Rogers and Henry D. Rogers made their power felt in 
 warm though most friendly conflict of opinion, exciting the intense interest of all who 
 had the good fortune to be present. 
 
 Dr. Kneeland made a proposal to. the Society to occupy with his flimily some rooms in the 
 Bulfinch St. house, and thereby ensure the greater safety of the buildings and contents, on 
 certain conditions. These were acceded to and Dr. Kneeland and family subsequently 
 occupied the premises. 
 
 The Building Committee promptly and industriously devoted themselves to the work 
 put into their hands. They studied the wants and requirements of the Society, conferred 
 among themselves as they met from time to time, as to the interior arrangements suitable 
 for the accommodation of the several departments, and subsequently consulted with archi- 
 tects respecting the exterior, and the cost of building. In the meantime one of their num- 
 ber, Mr. Amos Binney, having entered the Army, Dr. Jas. C. White was substituted in his 
 place, and the committee subsequently now consisted of the President, Dr. Jeffries Wy- 
 man, Prof Wm. B. Rogers, Dr. Jas. C. White, Dr. B. Joy Jeffries, and Mr. Thomas T. 
 Bouve. They frequently met for consultation at the house of Professor Rogers, where 
 they examined plans submitted to them and then discussed their merits. After two 
 or three months of close attention to the subject, and after considering fully several 
 plans brought before them, they finally reported to the Society in November, as their 
 choice after mature and long deliberation, one offered by Mr. Jonathan Preston. Dr. White 
 explained the details of the plan and presented estimates of the cost, showing that a hand- 
 some building could be ei'ected, and such portions finished as would serve the immediate 
 wants of the Cabinet and Library for about $62,000. The Report was quite satisfactory 
 and the Society voted that the plan be accepted "as at once graceful and ample in its pro- 
 portions and well adapted for all the purposes which the Society has in view." 
 
 The Building Committee was requested to have detailed specifications prepared, in order 
 to obtain positive estimates of the cost of finishing such portion of the building as 
 was referred to in the report, and it was empowered to make arrangements for the con- 
 struction, if such estimate should show that the cost would not exceed the available fund 
 increased by further contributions. 
 
 The Society also voted that the Building Committee be authorized to take such steps as 
 they judged proper to raise an additional amount towards paying for the new structure, 
 and also to add to the committee Geo. B. Emerson, Esq., and Rev. R. C. Waterston. 
 
 In November of this year, a fire occurred in Boston, by which a menagerie of wild 
 animals Avas destroyed, the poor beasts being suffocated in their cages. The skins Avere 
 greatly damaged by fire and water, but the bodies were generally not much injured. 
 Through the exertions of Dr. White, the Curator of Comparative Anatomy, he obtained 
 for his department the animals, and they were dissected, part of them at the Medical 
 College, and the rest at the private dissecting room of the President at Cambridge. 
 Dr. White in making a report of the matter, stated " that the Society may. consider itself 
 fortunate in having secured so valuable an acquisition to its already extensive osteological 
 collection. Such an opportunity will probably never occur again. It raises this depart- 
 ment of the Cabinet far above any in the country in importance, and will enable us to 
 
86 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 grace our new halls Avitli an almost perfect collection of skeletons of the large cats of the 
 old and the new worlds." 
 
 The spechnens obtained were, one fine male lion from Delagoe Bay, Africa ; a very large 
 lioness, mate of above ; lioness from Cape of Good Hope, presented to Prof. Wyman ; one 
 male jaguar; female of same, presented to Prof. Agassiz; young Bengal tiger, female; 
 hunting leopard, female, from Asia ; young leopard, male, from Asia ; cougar, male, from 
 South America ; ocelot, female, from Central America ; civet cat, female, Asia ; spotted 
 or laughing hyena, male. Cape of Good Hope ; jackal, Cape of Good Hope, presented to 
 Prof. Wyman ; young black bear ; two raccoons, male and female ; llama, female, from 
 South America ; American opossum ; peccary, female, Brazil ; three monkeys, one baboon, 
 domestic goat, skull of gnu ; eagle and vax'ious other birds. 
 
 1862. In January of this year, the Boston Marine Society presented to the Society a 
 valuable collection of objects in natural history, and of specimens of the workmanship of 
 different East India and Pacific nations, such as models of canoes and junks, war clubs 
 and insignia of office, cutting weapons, bows and arrows, quivers and paddles, native 
 cloth and tanned skins, etc., etc. 
 
 The presentation of so many objects of art, led the Council to recommend the establish- 
 ment of a department of Ethnology, and in accordance with this suggestion, the Society 
 formed such a department and elected Dr. Charles Pickering its Curator. 
 
 In March of this year. Dr. Kneeland entered the Medical Corps of the Army, and at 
 his request a vote was passed that his fiimily be allowed still to occupy rooms in the build- 
 ing as a residence. Dr. Kneeland was the third officer of the Society that the war had 
 called into active service. 
 
 The Building Committee, now having in charge not only the construction of the pro- 
 posed new edifice, but the raising of additional means to meet the cost, omitted no effort 
 to accomplish the objects in view. They exhibited publicly the plan of the structure, 
 with detailed specifications prepared by Mr. Preston, and invited jjroposals from mechanics 
 for the execution of the work. No less than sixty-four were presented and considered, but 
 not until subscriptions had been received sufficient to cover the entire estimated cost, was 
 any contract made involving expenditure. To obtain subscribers they took most efficient 
 measures. They met together, they discussed plans, they consulted with others interested, 
 they decided what persons should he appealed to, and finally distril)uted among themselves 
 the names of such as each one would undertake to solicit, so that there might be no con- 
 flicting action. On account of the very great service rendered by Mr. M. D. Ro.ss, for the 
 Society at this time, it is proper to state that though not upon the committee he offered 
 his valuable aid in furtherance of its objects, met with them, gave good advice, and finally 
 took an active part in appealing to such parties for money as he thought he could best 
 inlluence. To aid the committee in their work they issued a circular prepared by Drs. Jef- 
 fries aud White giving the reasons for the appeal made to the public, accompanied by lith- 
 ographic views of the exterior of the proposed building, as well as some representation 
 of the plan for its interior arrangement. While thus engaged in preliminary movements 
 towards personal appeals, what was their joy and how great their encoui'agemeut, to have 
 the announcement made to them, as was done by President Wyman, that a gentleman, 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 87 
 
 whose name was to remain foi* awhile unknown, had ofl'ered towards the Building Fund, 
 the munificent sum of |20,000, provided a like sum should be secured by subscription 
 from other parties ! This enabled the Committee to head the subscription papers quite 
 effectively, and no doubt had great influence in securing signatures to them. The success 
 which followed soon justified active measures for the construction, and contracts for the 
 execution of the work, and for delivery of material, such as stone, bricks, &c., immediately 
 followed. 
 
 In May it was found that |20,000 had been subscribed, and Professor Wyman was 
 requested to communicate the fact to the gentleman who had made the offer alluded to. 
 At a subsequent meeting of the committee Professor Wyman mentioned that he was 
 none other than Dr. Wm. J. Walker, to whom the Society was indebted for the house it 
 occuj^ied, and stated that he was ready to pay over the $20,000 at once. 
 
 At the meeting of the Society, June 4, the President announced the reception of the 
 |20,000 from Dr. Walker, and besides other appropriate action the following resolutions 
 were passed : 
 
 " Resolved : That the Society hereby tender to Dr. Walker their most grateful acknowl- 
 edgement for the renewed and munificent proof of his interest in their prosperity, and for 
 the occasion and the incentive which it had afforded to other friends of the Society to con- 
 tribute an equal aggregate amount. 
 
 " Resolved : That in view of this and the j)revious benefactions, by which Dr. Walker 
 has marked his appreciation of our scientific labors and aspirations, we feel that to his 
 liberality, chiefly, we are indebted for the enlarged opportunities of usefulness now so 
 brightly opening before us, and that, in offering him the homage of our grateful hearts, we 
 have no need to assvu-e him of the enduring honor which will associate his name with the 
 future successes and the whole history of the Society." 
 
 While yet engaged in getting subscriptions, the committee kept busily at work upon 
 matters pertaining to the building, and as soon as it became clear that means enough would 
 be secured to meet the cost, they made contracts for the principal part of the work, includ- 
 ing the filling in of the land. 
 
 From the estimates made of the probable cost of the building completed, it appeared that 
 not less than $87,000 would be required exclusive of cases, but that by leaving unfinished 
 certain portions not needed for early occupancy, about $80,000 would suffice. 
 
 It was therefore voted not to exceed $80,000 ujion the building, exclusive of cases and 
 furniture. 
 
 It has been thought well to give somewhat in detail the action of the Building Com- 
 mittee in the preliminary steps taken to erect the grand structure since occupied by the 
 Society, and in obtaining the necessary means to accomplish its completion. To do any- 
 thing like justice to the devoted service of a most faitliful and industrious committee would 
 require a much fuller record of their doings than can be given here. The result of their 
 endeavors to erect a building satisfactory to the Society will be stated further on. Notice 
 must now be taken of other matters of interest concerning the Society that transpired dur- 
 ing the year. 
 
 The Reports of the Treasurer, Librarian and Curators were presented as usual at the 
 annual meeting, and were, considering circumstances, satisfactory. The department of 
 Comparative Anatomy had been enriched by the addition before mentioned of a valuable 
 
88 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 collection of the skeletons of animals suflbcatecl at the fire in Portland Street, by the osteo. 
 logical collection of the late Dr. Lane, by a series of crania from Dr. Henry Bryant, and 
 by a skull and nearly a perfect skeleton of a gorilla presented by Dr. Otis of the Navy. 
 
 The department of Geology had also been enriched by the addition of specimens show- 
 ing tracks of animals, pnrchased from Mr. Field of Greenfield. 
 
 The Curator of Ethnology, the department of which had been recently formed, acknowl- 
 edged the reception of the varions objects of art and mannflicture presented to the Society 
 by the Boston Marine Society, as before mentioned. 
 
 At the election of officers, Mr. S. H. Scudder was chosen Recording Secretary in place 
 of Dr. Samuel Kneeland, Avho had entered the service of the United States as surgeon in 
 the army. 
 
 The office of Curator of Crustacea, made vacant by the resignation of M.-. Albert Ord- 
 way, who had also entered the army of the United States, was not filled. 
 
 This year, so full of events gratifying to the members and cheering to their hopes for 
 the future, did not j^ass without one that caused sadness in the hearts of all, but more pav- 
 ticularly to such as had been associated in the work of the Society in its eai'lier years. 
 Reference is here made to the death of Dr. Benjamin D. Greene, which took jilace on the 
 14th of October, and which was announced to the Society on the 15th. 
 
 Dr. Bexjamin D. Greene. 
 
 AVhen the good and the wise participate in the formation and in the work of an institu- 
 tion, they leave an impress upon its character not to be effaced, whilst the memorj' of their 
 deeds is j'et fresh in the minds of those who succeed them ; and as what they were, and 
 what they accomplished is not only a delight to contemplate but an inspiration to endeavor, 
 it becomes a sacred duty to extend and perpetuate a knowledge of their worth and labors. 
 It was the good fortune of the Society to have associated among its members at the period 
 of its origin and in its suljsefpient history, some of the noblest and purest minded men 
 that the conmumity has produced. This is not expressed without due consideration, and 
 will not be questioned when the names of Dr. B. D. Greene, Rev. F. W. P. Greenwood, 
 Dr. John Ware, Dr. J. B. S. Jackson and Dr. Jeffries Wvman are recalled to mind as active 
 workers, to say nothing of many others whose attainments and deeds justly earned for 
 them the esteem and reu:ard of all who knew them. 
 
 Among those mentioned, none enjoyed the respect and love of contemporaries more 
 than the honored First President of the Society, Dr. Benjamin D. Greene, and a knowledge 
 of his virtues is only necessary to cause his memory to be revered by all who come after, 
 as long as the Society shall exist. It is to impart tliis knowledge that the following account 
 of him is given. 
 
 Dr. Greene was born in Domarara, in IT'Jo, during a temporary sojourn of his parents 
 there. In 1812 he graduated at Harvard College in the same class with Charles G. Loring, 
 Peleg Sprague, Henry Ware and others who became well known to pul)lic f une in later 
 days. After leaving Cambridge he studied law at Litchfield, Conn., where was then a well- 
 known law school, and was later admitted a member of the Boston bar. His subsequent 
 career cannot be better given than by quoting the words of a near and dear friend and 
 
_::1r.SN< 
 
 
 Ot^ i^c/ 
 
 A-ejz^^^u^ 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 89 
 
 connection, Mrs. Robert C. Waterston, sister of Mrs. Greene, embodied in a letter respecting 
 him. They Avere as follows: "Dr. Greene's studies at Litchfield were rather to acquire a 
 general knowledge of law than from an intention to pursue it as a profession, and his tastes 
 for natural history, especially botany, led him to turn his attention to medicine. To pur- 
 sue this study he went abroad and was a student in London, but more especially in Edin- 
 burgh, where he passed several years. Here he formed the acquaintance of men who 
 were afterwards widely known in their dilTerent departments. Among them was William 
 J. Hooker, afterwards Sir William Hooker, with whom a friendship arose which continued 
 through life. The intimacy was renewed on Mr. Greene's various visits to England and 
 Scotland ; and always maintained by correspondence and the interchange of botanical 
 books and information, as well as by mutual expressions of lasting affection. 
 
 " Mr. Greene's botanical studies greatly interested him both in Europe and America. 
 Forgetful of time and even of hunger, he would go out in the country in the morning and 
 not return until night, coming back laden with botanical boxes filled with specimens, and 
 then spend half the night in laying each in its separate papers with the careful and tender 
 touch peculiar to his hand. 
 
 " Thus besides acquiring two professions, he gained a reputation as a botanist in the front 
 rank of that department of natural history. Added to these attainments he had com- 
 mand of several modern languages. He knew much and said little. Constitutionally 
 reserved and silent, it was impossible for him to impart what he had acquired. 
 
 " Once only I heard him express a regret that fluency of speech or writing had been 
 denied to him. Few knew how richly his mind was stored on almost every subject. 
 His taste for the fine arts made him a just judge of both music and painting. Of pictures 
 he had a great love and knowledge. Plis ample fortune was the means, not only of adorn- 
 ing his own house with works of the old masters, and those of a more modern school, but 
 also of encouraging and aiding many struggUng workers in various departments of ' man's 
 endless toil and endeavor,' who but for him had been ' desolate and oppressed.' His 
 library was well chosen and filled, and there he loved to abide — and when at last he 
 passed on to wider regions of knowledge, the works on natural history as well as liis 
 Herbarium were at his request transferred to the Boston Society of Natural History. 
 Mr. Greene's life was one quite aside from the hurry and self-assertion of American careers. 
 He possessed many qualities, which, had he practised the profession of medicine, would 
 have made him an able and certainly a beloved physician. His was the magnetic touch 
 of a born healer, and the strength and tenderness of his presence m the sick room was 
 of itself a restorative power. I knew well that character whose 'still waters ran deep.' 
 His low voice was seldom raised excejit to reljuke wrong, but the flash of his wrath was 
 all the more startling, because it so seldom fell from the calm and quiet sky of his serene 
 days. After he left us in 1862, I arranged at my sister's request a simple monument to 
 be placed over his resting place at Mount Auburn. An ivy plant climbs over the tablet 
 and half hides a cross on its summit, typifying that sincere faith and reverence which lay 
 in his soul, seldom outwardly revealed. To please a wish of my o-wn heart there was cut 
 on- the marble the grass which was named for Mr. Greene, by Thos. Nuttall, when he dis- 
 covered it on the Western plains, the Greenia Arkansia." To this beautiful and just tribute 
 of one who knew more of Dr. Greene in his domestic life, than any other who has written 
 
90 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 of him, it may seem unnecessary to add anything toncliing his private character and its 
 influence. Yet the subject is too interesting not to dwell upon, especially as there are 
 words of Dr. Asa Gray, not in print, concerning Dr. Greene, which should not be omitted 
 here. In referring to a brief notice written by himself of Dr. Greene, published in the 
 Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in which remarks were 
 made upon his well known generosity in placing the results of his observations and his 
 collections in the hands of those who could make tlio best use of them for the advance- 
 ment of science, he says that the notice given " does not make enough of the lilierality, 
 the winsomeness and the very quiet generosity of Mr. Greene, Avhich made itself felt in a 
 most spontaneous, unobtrusive way, as if it were something in the atmosphere, a delicate, 
 grateful, subtle aroma, rather than anything consciously put forth." Most fitting words 
 these will be judged by all who had the pleasure of personal intercourse with the suljject 
 of them. 
 
 Of Dr. Greene as a botanist it may be said that he stood deservedly high in the estima- 
 tion of those who knew him best in this relation. He collected extensively the plants 
 of our country, and studied them carefully, so that his knowledge of them was 
 thorough. Dr. Gray, in writing of him, states that after he ceased to collect, from failing 
 health, he still showed a real interest in his plants and from time to time " verbally gave 
 me critical remarks such as would only be made by a keen and accurate observer." 
 Of Dr. Greene's botanical work less can be said than might be expected concerning the 
 knowledge he possessed on the suljject, and his desire that others should profit by his ac- 
 quirements. No doubt this was largely due to that want of fluency in expressing what he 
 knew either in writing or by speech, to which he himself feelingly alluded. Dr. Gray, who 
 knew more discriminately what he accomplished in his favorite pursuit, said that his retir- 
 ing, contemplative, unambitious disposition rendered him averse to the toils, and wholly 
 indifferent to the fame of authorship ; that his services to science were in his helpfulness to 
 others, by making botanical collections, and by forming a library of botanical works; the 
 plants and the books being always at the disposal of those who needed them for scientific 
 research. 
 
 The action of the Society upon the death of Dr. Gi'eene is presented as follows : 
 On the 15th day of October, as before mentioned, the Rev. Mr. Waterston announced to 
 the Society the death of the First President of tlie Society, Dr. B. D. Greene. He spoke of 
 the high personal character and the attainments of the deceased, and of the great interest 
 he had ever felt in the welfare of the Society. Remarks were also made by the President, 
 Jeffries Wyman, and by Professor Agassiz and Dr. Pickering, expressive of their great 
 respect for his memory. Upon motion made by Mr. Waterston, a committee was appointed 
 to take such action as seemed proper in view of the sad event, consisting of Dr. Gould, 
 Professor Rogers, Professor Agassiz and Mr. Waterston. 
 
 At the next meeting of the Society, held Nov. 5th, Dr. Gould made a brief address, giv- 
 ing an account of Dr. Greene's participation in the formation of the Society and in the pro- 
 ceedings of its early days, after Avhich Professor Rogers followed, dwelling more at length 
 upon some points of interest in the life and character of the deceased. " It is not often," he 
 said, " that the possessor of a liberal fortune is found giving his heart and time to the labor 
 of scientific studies which, however ennobling and replete with the finest of enjoyments, 
 have as we know, nothing in sympathy with the luxurious ease and brilliant excitements of 
 what is called societv." 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 91 
 
 "Such tastes and labors as marked the life of our late colleague are the exception, and 
 we are therefore especially called on to honor the memory of him who furnished so beauti- 
 ful an example. But qualities still more rare characterized the pursuits and convei'sation 
 of Dr. Greene. No one could fliil to reuiark his singular freedom from the ambitious 
 impulses which, whilst they stimulate the labors of men of science, so often dim their aspi- 
 rations for what is true and beneficent. With him the love of knowledge was a sufficient 
 incentive and adequate reward. Delighted to store his mind with the beautiful truths 
 gathered from the ample sources around him, and ever ready to help others devoting them- 
 selves to kindred branches of inquiry, and indeed to any scientific pursuits, his singular 
 modesty shrank from the least public exhibition of his various knowledge, and in the eyes 
 of those who knew his solid and diversified culture, gave to his social character its most 
 peculiar and winning charm." Professor Rogers closed b}^ offering the following resolutions : 
 
 " Resolved, That while it is the duty of the Society to hold in grateful recollection all who 
 at any time have participated in the labors or helped to enlarge its means of scientific use- 
 fulness, it is under especial obligations to honor the memory of the founders and early 
 patrons of the Society, whose earnest zeal gave the first strong impulse to the pursuit of 
 natural history in the community, and whose liberal contributions and fostering cai'e laid 
 the foundation for those labors which have won for the Society an honorable place in the 
 history of scientific investigatioia. 
 
 " Resolved, That the Society, while deeply regretting the loss which it has sustained in 
 the death of its late associate. Dr. Benj. D Greene, has a sad pleasure in placing on record 
 an expression of its grateful and enduring reverence for his memory as one of the most 
 zealous of its founders and its first acting President, and as one of the most liberal of the 
 patrons and co-workers of the Society. 
 
 " Resolved, That in expressing our sense of the great value of the services of our late asso- 
 ciate in this Society, and of his work as a cultivator and promoter of natural science, we 
 would dwell with affectionate interest on the gentle graces of character for which he was 
 remarkable, and especially on the shrinking modesty and reserve which veiled so beauti- 
 fully the knowledge and culture they were unable to conceal." 
 
 Nov. 19th, 18G2, by vote of the Society, the names of all persons who had contributed 
 one hundred dollars or upwards towards the erection of the new Ijuilding, were entered in 
 the records as Patrons. 
 
 1863. In April of this year there arrived from London casts from the bones of the 
 Megatherium in possession of the British Museum, presented by Joshua Bates, Esq. These 
 were subsequently movmted by Mr. George Sceva, under the direction of Dr. James C. 
 White. The huge animal form thus reconstructed has since been one of the most striking 
 features of our main hall. 
 
 At the annual meeting in May it was announced that the Society had been the recipient 
 of a bequest of $9,000 from our late associate and first President, Dr. Benjamin D. 
 Greene. 
 
 The Treasurer's Report showed receipts of ^72, -307.70, and expenditures $61, 221. .31, 
 leaving in his hands $11,283.45. Of the receipts $46,267 had been paid in especially for 
 building purposes, and of the expenditures $58,685.75 had been paid towards the new 
 buildins:. 
 
92 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 The Report of the Librarian mentions the munificent bequest of the library of Dr. 
 Greene, comprising 1,500 volumes or parts, many of which were costly illustrated works, 
 mostly upon botany. This was the largest addition ever made to the Library at any 
 one time. 
 
 The Curators had but little to report except that the collections were safely housed, 
 awaiting accommodations for exhibition in the new building. 
 
 At the election of officers for the ensuing year, Mr. William T. Brigham was chosen 
 Curator of Mineralogy in jDlace of Dr. John Bacon, and Mr. Thomas T. Bouve was chosen 
 Curator of Geology and Paleontology instead of Curator of Geology alone, which office he 
 had previously held, the two being combined in one department. 
 
 The Building Committee had continued to act vigorously in the business of construction 
 and finish. Already the structure was approaching completion, and questions concerning 
 ornamentation, railing for balconies, tiling, heating ap)paratus, library and other cases, had 
 recently occupied their attention. 
 
 Li October the announcement was made of the sudden death of Dr. George Hayward, 
 one of the members of the LiuuDean Society, and subsequently one of the founders and orig- 
 inal members of the Boston Society of Natural History. He was Fii-st Vice-President frcm 
 May, 1830 to May, 18-32. 
 
 October 21st Mr. Alpheus Hyatt was elected Curator of Conch ology. 
 
 On the 4th of November, the President of the Society reported on behalf of the Build- 
 ing Committee that the new building was nearly ready for occupancy and that the Library 
 room was quite so. It was therefore voted — That the Library be moved forthwith and 
 that the next meeting of the Society bo held at the new building, if gas is previously 
 introduced into it. It was also voted — That the Curators be authorized to remove their 
 collections as soon as convenient. In accordance with the vote, and gas having been in 
 the meantime carried into the library room, the Society on the 18th of November for the 
 first time, met in their new and caj^acious building, 79 members being present. The 
 library had already, since the previous meeting, been removed to the room, and now oc- 
 cupied the shelves of the cases. 
 
 In November of this year, another of the founders of the Society passed away, 
 Mr. Francis Alger. 
 
 At the meeting held Dec. 2d, Mr. T. T. Bouve remarked that before proceeding to busi- 
 ness it seemed meet that the members of tlie Society should express their appreciation of 
 the loss it had sustained in the death of their friend and associate, Mr. Francis Alser. 
 
 " Public spirited, he always felt a strong interest in all institutions designed for the wel- 
 fiire of the people, and often gave of his means for their endoAvment. Especially was he 
 interested in the promulgation of knowledge relating to his favorite branch of science, 
 that of mineralogy. To further this he was always ready to give specimens, inviting 
 ihose interested in the study to select from his duplicates." 
 
 " But a feAv days since he suggested to me his intention to send some very large speci- 
 mens of ber^'l and other minci'als to adorn our grounds, and such Avas his interest in the 
 Society that 1 cannot but think his large collection Avould have come into our possession 
 at an early day, if his sudden departure had not prevented the fruition of his Avishes." 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 93 
 
 At the request of the Society, Dr. Chas. T. Jackson prepared a notice of Mr. Alger for 
 the Proceedings, a considerable portion of Avhich -will be presented here. 
 
 •' Our late associate, Francis Alger, son of Cyrus Alger, was born in Bridgewater, in this 
 State, March 8th, 1807. In youth he was not studious, and had only a common school edu- 
 cation. His taste for study commenced in 1824, when his attention was first drawn to 
 the science of mineralogy. To his love for that science he attributed his after progress in 
 general learning and scientific attainments. One branch of natural history leads to 
 another, and Mr. Alger soon found himself engaged in the study of shells and plants, first 
 the fossils and then their analogues in the living world. His library shows how exten- 
 sively he studied in the various branches of natural history ; l)ut it was to his first love, 
 mineralogy, that he devoted his chief attention." 
 
 Having occasion to accompany his father on an excursion for business purposes to Nova 
 Scotia, Mr. Alger collected minerals from near Digby Neck, and in the trap rocks of Gran- 
 ville, a list of which he published in the Boston Journal of Philosophy and Arts, upon his 
 return home. He also published a brief description of Nova Scotia minerals in the Amer- 
 ican Journal of Arts and Sciences. 
 
 In 1827, Mr. Alger and Dr. Chas. T. Jackson made a full exj^loration of Nova Scotia, 
 and collected a large number of minerals, the species of which they described by a joint 
 essay in the 14th and 15tli volumes of the American Journal of Science, extra copies 
 being freely distriliuted gratuitously to scientific men. 
 
 In 1829, Mr. Alger and Dr. Jackson again visited Nova Scotia, and making many new 
 discoveries, prepared a revised memoir for the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 
 
 Dr. Jackson in his notice went on to say, referring to their work together : 
 
 " In the second joint excursion a schooner was chartered for the voyage, and served as 
 a home along the wild coasts of Nova Scotia. Though Mr. Alger was always very sea 
 sick when in the rough waters of the Bay of Fundy, he bore the aflliction with great 
 patience, and when on shore worked with the most enthusiastic zeal in exploring for min- 
 erals. It was a great pleasure to witness his joy when a new crystal oven in the trap 
 rocks, or brilliantly studded agate ball was broken open, disclosing to view the ' flowers of 
 the mineral kingdom.' He fairly danced with delight, and thouglit no labor too severe, 
 when such rewards were to be won. His part in the Memoir was fairly borne, the work 
 of writing the descriptions being carefully and equally divided. Soon after its publica- 
 tion, Mr. Alger was elected a Fellow of the American Academy, and took an active inter- 
 est in the meetings, occasionally communicating some of his scientific observations. 
 
 . . " Having become interested in the iron and zinc mines of Sussex Co., New Jersey, 
 he made that locality, before well known to the scientific world, still more famous for its 
 rare and unique minerals, and spread them broadcast over the mineralogical world. He 
 often made excursions into the state of New Hampshire, and purchased some of the inter- 
 esting mines more for the sake of obtaining specimens of the minerals they produced 
 than from any hope of pecuniary gain. He would never sell any mine without reserving 
 the right to all the fine specimens of crystals that should be got out in mining. Finding 
 that he could not extract and bring home to his cabinet a large beryl of five tons weight 
 which exists in Grafton, N. H., he purchased the hill, had the crystal uncovered of rock, 
 and considered it as in his cabinet and one of his specimens. 
 
94 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 " His zeal, instead of cooling off, seemed constantly to be intlamed. and I never knew the 
 time when his eyes would not spai-kle at the sight of a new or beautiful mineral. 
 In New York he met a young man who had a guard-chain made up of tine crystals of 
 gold, every one of them far better than could be found in the cabinets of Europe. He at 
 once l)OUght the chain at a liigh price, and had the crystals carefully removed and added 
 to his cabinet." 
 
 In 1S49 Mr. Alger received the honorary degree of A. M. from Harvard University. 
 
 Of Mr. Alger's personal character we know that he was a kind hearted man, a firm friend 
 and worthy Christian. He was always disposed to apologize for the short-comings and 
 faults of others, and he never spoke a hard word except of those whom he considered irre- 
 claimably vicious, and such men he loathed and did not like even to name. Francis Alger's 
 career in this world is now ended. He died in the field of his public duty. He wns en- 
 gaged in the city of Washington in perfecting shrapnel to be employed in restoring the 
 union of our divided States. Exposure to cold and wet weather, with fatigue and neg- 
 lect of proper personal care of himself, lirought on a sudden attack of congestion of the 
 lungs which terminated in typhoid pneumonia, of which he died on the 27th of November, 
 in the fifty-sixth year of his age. 
 
 Mr. Alger's scientific writings were mostly essays upon minerals pulilished in the Ameri- 
 can Journal of Science and Arts, in the Proceedings of the American Association for the 
 Advancement of Science, and in the Journal and Proceedings of the Boston Society of 
 Natural History. His most important work was what he modestly entitled "Alger's 
 Phillips's Mineralogy." It was an edition of Phillips's Mineralogy increased by Mr. Alger's 
 additions more than one half, the result of his laljor for many years. 
 
 The Society passed the following resolutions: 
 
 " Hcsolved, That the Boston Society of Natural History has learned, with profound sor- 
 row, the death of their \iiUi associate and friend, Francis Alger, one of the founders of the 
 Society and for years an efficient Curator in the department of Mineralogy. 
 
 " Resolved, That this Society recognizes in Mr. Alger a true lover of science, an active 
 and earnest collaborator, animated with a kindly spirit, calculated to win the friendship of 
 all who knew him, and to excite an interest in the branches of science to which he was 
 devoted." 
 
 On December 2d, Mr. A. S. Packard, Jr., was elected Curator of Crustacea. 
 
 1864. The new year opened auspiciously for the Society, and 3'et there were sufficient 
 reasons for anxiety concerning the future. Dazzled b_v the success which had followed their 
 endeavors to secure for themselves a structure adequate to the requirements of a great 
 institution, they but imperfectly realized the enormous expenses that necessarily attend 
 such woi-k as that to which they were now pledged. There was imminent danger that the 
 income derivable from all sources at command would fall fixr short of the amount required 
 to accomplish what was now expected of tliem. The following extracts from the records of 
 the first meeting of the Society held January 16th, will show what reasons the members 
 had for new joy and congratulation : 
 
 '• Mr. T. T. Bouve arose to speak of the financial condition of the Society and its enlarged 
 needs in the new building, showing that the capital which had hitherto barely supported 
 the Society, would now be manifestly insufficient for its maintenance. He then read a 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 95 
 
 letter recently received from Dr. William J. Walker, to whom the Society was already so 
 largely indebted, wherein he promised to give ^20,000 more on condition that others would 
 subscribe a like amount, the whole to be funded and used by the Society as a working cap- 
 ital. In conclusion Mr. Bouve urged very strongly that every member should give his 
 direct personal effort toward the raising of the sum re^^uisite to secure so generous a 
 donation." 
 
 Rev. Mr. Waterston thought '' the time auspicious for the endeavor, since the Society, 
 Avithin the means given for the object, has erected a handsome and spacious edifice, an orna- 
 ment to the city, and most suitable for its wants. We have done all we proposed to do in 
 the outset and have not overburdened ourselves with debt by overstepping the limits of 
 the fund set apart for this special purpose, and now in order to secure a w'orking capital 
 which shall forever place in security our valuable collections, enable us to make a proper 
 exhibition of these to the puljlic, and put us upon a proper basis as an active, progressive 
 Society, we call upon the public to subscribe for this object, |20,000; failing to secure 
 which, we have barely enough to maintain the building in proper repair, leaving out of 
 consideration our necessities for the proper exhibition and ultimate security of our cabinet, 
 and for the publication of our Proceedings and Memoirs." 
 
 Others spoke earnestly upon the matter, urging prompt action, and finally a Committee 
 of Subscription was appointed, consisting of Prof. Jeffries Wyman, Dr. A. A. Gould, Dr. C. 
 T. Jackson, Prof William B. Rogers, Rev. R. C. Waterston, Dr. Samuel Cabot, F. W. Lin- 
 coln, Dr. Henry Bryant, Dr. Charles Ware, Dr. D. Humjihreys Storer, George B. Emerson, 
 Thomas T. Bouve, Dr. S. L. Abbot, M. D. Ross, R. C. Greenleaf, J. D. Philbrick, Edward 
 Pickering, N. L. Hooper, Lemuel Shaw, C. J. Sprague, Charles C. Sheafe, J. D. Kidder, 
 Thomas Gaffield, M. S. Scudder, and Dr. J. C. White. 
 
 This committee issued a circular setting forth the need of a working fund to cai'ry on 
 efficiently the objects of the Society, and mentioning the munificent offer of Dr. William J. 
 Walker to give ^20,000 towards this, if a like sum should be obtained by subscription. 
 
 To facilitate obtaining signatures for .f 100, an alteration was made in the By-laws by 
 which the payment of this sum would be requisite to constitute any one a life memlier, 
 and it was understood that all parties subscribing that amount towards the working fund 
 should be made life members. 
 
 Li April, Mr. Bouve announced the death of Dr. Edward Hitchcock of Amherst, an 
 honorary member, and subsequently made a short address upon his character, ending with 
 a presentation of the following resolution: 
 
 " Resolved, That the members of the Boston Society of Natural History recognize in the 
 death of their late distinguished associate, Dr. Edward Hitchcock, the loss to themselves, 
 and to the public, of a man of comprehensive ability, of untiring devotion to the cause of 
 science, and of great private worth." 
 
 A few days previous to the annual meeting of this year, died one who had been the first 
 of the Second Vice-Presidents of the Society at the time of its foundation, Dr. John Ware. 
 
 He was the son of the Rev. Heniy Ware, for thirty-five years Professor of Theology at 
 Harvard University, and was born at Hingham, Mass., Dec. 19th, 1795. He graduated at 
 Harvard in 1813, and received the degree of M. D. in 1816. Li 1817 he removed to Bos- 
 ton, where by steady devotion to his profes.sion, he gradually built up an extensive practice. 
 
96 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE , 
 
 In 1832 he was aiopointed adjunct Professor of tlie Theory and Practice of Medicine iu 
 Harvard Universitv, and succeeded Dr. James Jackson in 1836, holding the chair until 
 1858. He was President of the Mass. Medical Society from 1848 to 1852. 
 
 Dr. Ware Avas one of a family distinguished for the talents of its members. His father 
 and several brothers were eminent as preachers and theological writers ; one, William, was 
 the author of the widely known classical novels of " Zenobia " and " Aurelian ;" and 
 Henry possessed a fine poetical talent. More than one of the brothers achieved great 
 success in the practice of medicine. 
 
 Dr. Ware's contributions to the litei'ature of his profession were numerous and very able; 
 and some of them exercised a great influence, especially the essays on delirium tremens 
 and on croup. He was a most careful observer, a mature thinker, and very thorough as a 
 teacher. His great liljcrality and candor were as marked as his ability ; and his gentle and 
 lovable nature rounded off a character which was appreciated as it deserved to be, Ijy all 
 who had the good fortune to be cared for professionally by him, or to enjoy his friendly 
 intercourse. As a physician, he was wholly devoted and faithful, as he was in all other 
 relations of life. 
 
 Dr. Ware died in Boston on the 29th of April, 1864, in the seventieth year of his age. 
 
 At the annual meeting in May, the Treasurer, before presenting his report, announced 
 the agreeable intelligence that the subscriptions to the working fund had reached the re- 
 quired sum of .$20,000, and that consequently the $40,000 was secured. 
 
 His report stated that the receipts for the year amounted to $24,955.90, which added to 
 the balance of last year, made $36,239.35; the exj^enditures had been $32,121.16, leaving 
 a cash balance of $4,118.19. 
 
 Of the $24,955.90 received, $7,700 were from subscriptions already paid on the working 
 fund. Of the $32,121.16 paid $27,778.07 had been on the new building. 
 
 The Librarian, Mr. Chas. K. Dillaway, after serving the Society for the long period of 
 thirty-one years, having been elected in 1833, in tendering his thirty-first and final ]-eport, 
 resigned the position so long and faithfully held, much to the regret of the members, to 
 whom he was ■ endeared by long and intimate association. The record of the meeting 
 states that in presenting the report, Mr. Dillaway gave an interesting account of the pro- 
 gress of the Society in every department during his connection with it. The Library, he 
 said, at the time of his first annual report contained about 200 volumes; now we have over 
 6000 of great value. In 1833 we had published nothing and had no exchanges ; now our 
 Journal and Proceedings go to every kindred Society in America and Europe. Since the 
 last annual meeting there had been received from donations 915 volumes and 559 pam- 
 phlets and parts of volumes, including the munificent bequest of the late Dr. Greene ; 
 from exchanges 40 volumes and 197 parts of volumes, making with some from other sources 
 an addition of 970 volumes and 778 parts of volumes. Since our removal to this building 
 every book has been numbered, labelled, catalogued and placed upon the shelves, for a 
 great part of which labor the Society was imder obligations to Mr. Samuel H. Scudder. 
 
 The warm thanks of the Society were voted to Mr. Dillaway for his long and efficient 
 services, and he was requested by unanimous vote to make use of the rooms of the Society 
 for jarivate instruction as heretofore. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 97 
 
 The Curators having now placed their collections in the new building were enabled 
 generally to report upon their magnitude and condition. It will be well to present here, 
 now that the Society starts upon a new era of activity, the substance of what was stated 
 respecting tlie cabinet. 
 
 The Curator of Ornithology reported the collection of birds, notwithstanding the time it 
 was stored in Bulfinch Street, to be in as good order as when it was taken from the old 
 building in Mason Street ; that several largje additions had been made to it since enterino- 
 the new building, principally by the Smithsonian Institution and by himself; and that the 
 whole number of mounted birds is now more than twenty-five hundred. 
 
 The Curator of Comjiarative Anatomy reported that the collection of his department 
 had all been removed in good condition, and that the skeletons and parts of skeletons had 
 been arranged in the places allotted to them ; that the skins not in the hands of the taxi- 
 dermist, for want of money, were in the cellar exposed to injury from insects. The collec- 
 tion was briefly described as follows : 
 
 Mammals: skeletons, mounted 73, unmounted 25; parts of skeletons, 107; skulls, 279; 
 teeth, 93. 
 
 Birds : skeletons, 25 ; parts of skeletons, 56 ; skulls, 87. 
 
 Reptiles : skeletons, 13 ; parts of skeletons, 8 ; skulls. 21. 
 
 Fish : skeletons, ; parts of skeletons, 57 ; skulls, 21. 
 
 Alcoholic specimens, 100 ; horns, 50; miscellaneous, 25; skins not estimated. 
 
 During the past year the large collection of mammalian skeletons which came into the 
 possession of the Society at the burning of the Menagerie in 1861, had been mounted in a 
 very correct and beautiful manner by Mr. George Sceva. 
 
 Several valuable donations had been received, the prin>'ipal donors Ijeing Dr. Henry 
 Bryant, Mr. George Sceva, Mr. C. J. Sprague, Dr. Borland, Mr. W. H. Dall, Dr. B. Joy 
 Jeffries and Mr. J. M. Barnard. 
 
 The Curator of Herpetology reported that there were in the collection representatives of 
 500 species. During the winter and spring much work was done in arranging them and in 
 placing a certain number of each species in fresh bottles and clean alcohol. Some speci- 
 mens had become worthless and were thrown away. The reptiles of Massachusetts were 
 tolerably well represented, but many common species were lacking which the Curator hoped 
 to obtain before the next annual meeting. 
 
 The Curator of Ichthyology reported that the fishes had not been materially injured by 
 their storage in Bulfinch Street. He stated, however, that when they were carried there 
 from Mason Street the poor specimens thrown away left a deficiency in Massachusetts fishes 
 which he expected might be supplied during -the season. This is the first indication given 
 of the fate of the magnificent collection of Massachusetts fishes, largely tj'pe specimens, 
 collected by Dr. D. Humphreys Storer, and presented by him to the Society. The want of 
 jars and alcohol was strongly urged to the attention of the Society. 
 
 Tile collection was stated to consist of 280 species, 800 specimens from North America; 
 80 species, 250 specimens from the West Indies and Bermuda ; 45 species, 62 specimens 
 ±rom the fresh waters of South America; 8 species, 9 specimens from Africa; 14 species, 
 16 specimens from Europe; 115 species, 197 specimens from the Hawaiian Islands; 60 
 species, 236 specimens of duplicates for exchange; 25- species, -200 specimens dry, from 
 various localities. In all 027 species, and 1770 specimens. 
 
98 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 The Curator of Crustacea reported that the collection had been removed without serious 
 injury. The additions during the year were a few native forms, presented by Mr. W. H. 
 Dall of Medford. The collection contains 122 species of alcoholic specimens, 198 species 
 of dry specimens. 
 
 The Curator of Oology reported that the original collections of the Society liad been 
 increased ])y the local collections of Mr. Thoreau of Concord and Mr. W. H. Ilenck of 
 Dedham. The number of specimens belonging to the department was not reported. 
 
 The Curator of Conchology reported considerable donations of shells from Dr. Gould, 
 Dr. Gundlach of Cuba, and Mr. J. M. Barnard, together about 500 species, but made no 
 mention of the number in the cabinet. 
 
 The Curator of Botany reported an immense amount of Avork done by him in arranging 
 the plants of the collection in the most scientific manner, and in thoroughly protecting 
 them Ijy means of p(jison from the attacks of insects. There were many packages still 
 rmarranged, but which liad been carefully examined. A collection of dried plants had 
 been connnenccd. and the Curator had incorporated his own private specimens with those 
 of the Society. The number of seed vessels and fruits he reported as 230. 
 
 The Curator of Mineralogy reported the safe removal of specimens in his department, 
 and their favoral)le arrangement for exhibition. He mentions the donation by Dr. Charles 
 T. Jackson of a portion of his private collection which had been for a long time stored in 
 the ajiartments of the Society. 
 
 The Curator of Microscopy reported the safe deposit of the collection of this depart- 
 ment, embracinj'' tlie magnificent o-ift of Prof. Bailev, in the room allotted to it. 
 
 The Curator of Ethnology made a full report upon the collection of this department. It 
 emljraced stone implements of the aboriginal inhabitants of New England, collected by 
 the late Mr. Thoreau ; hat, bows, models of paddles and canoes of the Chinnook or mari- 
 time tribes ai'ound Puget Sound ; hat, dress, models of canoes, and other articles 
 from Russian America ; pottery from Central America or Peru ; sharks' teeth swords, 
 war implements of the Kingsmill Coral Islands; articles from the Hawaiian Islands, some 
 of them now unknown on those islands ; stone adzes from the Herve}^ Islands ; war club 
 from the Samoan Islands ; articles from New Zealand ; clubs, female dress and bark cloth 
 from the Feejee Islands ; implements from various other localities; Hindoo idol, African 
 krisses, Egyptian relics, Roman lamp. &c. 
 
 The office of Cabinet Keeper was abolished at this time and that of Custodian created. 
 The duties of this officer were defined as follows : 
 
 , The Custodian was to be a pei'son of acknowledged scientific attainments. He was to 
 have general charge of the building and its contents, have free access to the collections at 
 all times, and act in concert with the Curators, to whom he should boar the relation of 
 advisor and assistant. In case of absence or neglect of Curators, he was to act in their 
 stead and perform their duties. He Avas required to prepare and read at the annual meet- 
 ing a report of the state of the museum, compiled from the special reports of the Curators. 
 He was to keep a Donation Book and record the names of donors, and perform such other 
 duties as might be prescribed by the Council, and mutually agreed upon. 
 
 At the election of officers which followed the reports of the Curators, S. H. Scudder was 
 chosen Recording Secretary, Librarian and Custodian, and A. E. Verrill Curator of Radiata 
 in place of Tlicodoi'e Lyman who had engaged in the service of the United States. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 99 
 
 It was voted by the Council at a meeting held on May 4th that the new building should 
 be known as the " Museum of the Boston Society of Natural History." 
 
 On May 27th the Council directed that the Museum be open to the public on Wednes- 
 days and Saturdays, and that it also be open to the members and patrons, or to such as 
 have tickets, on Thursdays. 
 
 The Committee of Arrangements for the dedication of the Museum announced that 
 those only would be admitted to the ceremonies who presented tickets, which had been 
 distributed to all the members and patrons. 
 
 Dedication of the Museum. 
 
 This notable event in the history of the Society took place on the afternoon of June 
 3d, the ceremonies being in tlie main hall of the Museum. At about 4 o'clock the Presi- 
 dent invited the Rev. Dr. Hill of Harvard University, to offer prayer. 
 
 After this service the President made some remarks appropriate to the occasion, expres- 
 sive of gratitude felt for the liberality of the Commonwealth and the munificence of indi- 
 viduals, which had resulted in placing the Society in the high position it now occupied. 
 He then introduced Prof. Wm. B. Rogers, who gave a brief history of the movements made 
 by the Society, which had resulted in its possession of the beautiful edifice to which the 
 audience were now welcomed. He alluded to the fact that even whilst the flames of civil 
 war were lighting ujj the country, the legislature of the State made the grant of land the 
 Society asked for, adding that for this gift it was as much indebted to Governor Andrew 
 as to any other man. 
 
 Prof. Rogers then spoke of the progress of the Society and of the means it would now 
 afford the student in scientific pursuits. He regarded the interest shown in the Society 
 during these years of war as evidence of the desire of the community for truth, ending by 
 gratefully referring to those who were struggling through conflict for peace, without which 
 many of the blessings we enjoy would vanish like smoke. 
 
 His Honor the Mayor, F. W. Lincoln, Jr., next addressed the assembly, and in the 
 name of the citizens of Boston bade the members God speed in all their honorable eflbrts. 
 
 Rev. Dr. Waterston followed, giving a very interesting address upon the importance of 
 such an institution as that of the Boston Society of Natural History. Its objects, like those 
 of the Public Liljrary and the Institute of Technology, were important for the higher educa- 
 tion of the community. All citizens might take an interest in it with great advantage to 
 themselves, for it furnishes the means of enlai'ging their sphere of knowledge. He thought 
 its success should be viewed with reverent gratitude, since all who participated in its ben- 
 efits would find an increased enjoyment. 
 
 Lieutenant Lutke of the Russian Navy, aide-de-camp of the Grand Duke Constantino, 
 who had been invited to be present, made a few remarks expressive of his high gratifica- 
 tion in being able to participate in the ceremonies of the dedication. 
 
 After further remarks by Professor Rogers upon the taste displayed by the architect in 
 the construction of the building, and the conscientious devotion constantly manifested by 
 him while erecting it, the audience was invited by the President to remain and examine 
 the collections. 
 
100 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 The account thus s;lven of an exceedhiiilv mterestinn;; occasion is lai'ojelv derived from 
 the newspapers of the day, the records of the Society being meagre. 
 
 In June of this year the Society lost one of the most ^^romising of its younger mem- 
 bers, Carleton Atwood Shurtleff. He was particularly interested in entomology, and had 
 recently prepared a paper upon the general plan of venation in the orders of insects, which 
 was presented and read by Mr. S. H. Scudder at a meeting in September, accompanied by 
 some remarks upon the scientific character and attainments of the deceased. The collec- 
 tion of insects and plants made bj' Mr. Shurtleff, and his scientific papers, were sent to the 
 Society l^y the bereaved family, with the expressed wish tliat they should Ije regarded as a 
 bequest from him who had manifested such an interest in its welfare. 
 
 The collection consisted of a considerable number of native plants, over a hundred bot- 
 tles of alcoholic specimens, mostly insects, quite a large number of dried chrysalids of 
 insects, and a caljinet of dried insects containing about six thousand specimens beautifully 
 prepared, mostly from the vicinity, but including several hundred from China and Japan. 
 
 At a special meeting on the 12th of August, it was announced that the twenty thou- 
 sand dollars offered by Dr. Walker, towards a working fund for the Society, on condition 
 that other individuals should subscribe a like amount, was secured, as one hundred and 
 thirty-five persons had subscribed twenty thousand, seven hundred and five dollars. 
 
 The income receivable from the amount given by Dr. Walker was subjected by him to 
 certain conditions which are shown by the following extract from the agreement with him. 
 " The said aggregate sum of money (forty thousand seven hundred and five dollars), shall 
 be invested and kept invested in some productive real estate, or if such cannot be con- 
 veniently obtained, in mortgages, bonds, stocks, or other personal pro2:)erty,' and shall form 
 a permanent fund, the principal of which shall not be infringed upon under any circum- 
 stances, but if through unavoidable casualties, or otherwise, any portion of said aggregate 
 fund should be lost, the whole income of tlie remainder of said aggregate fund shall be 
 retained and added to said fund until said loss is fully luade up ; all investments and 
 changes of investments of said funds, are to be subject to the approval of the supervisors 
 hereinafter named ; all deeds, certificates and evidences relating to said aggregate fund, are 
 to be kept distinct from those of all other investments of said Society ; and the accounts of 
 the principal thereof shall be kej^t separate from all other accounts of the Society. 
 
 "John A. Andrew and Samuel K. AVilliams of said Boston, County of Suffolk, Jeffries 
 Wyman of Cambridge, of the County of Middlesex, Thomas T. Bouve of the said Boston, 
 and George A. Kettell of Charlestown, of said County of Middlesex, shall be the super- 
 visors of the funds of the trust hereby erected ; and during tlieir lives, the approval in 
 wi'iting of the major part of them, or of the major part of the survivors of them, or of 
 their successors in the trust, shall be requisite to the validity of any sale or investment of 
 the trust property. 
 
 " From one half of the income of the said aggregate fund representing the gift of the 
 said William J. Wallvcr, there shall be annually offered two prizes for the best memoirs, 
 and in the English language, on subjects projiosed by a committee appointed by the 
 Council of said Society, as follows : 
 
 " Firs/, for the best memoir presented, a, prize of sixty dollars may be awarded. If, 
 however, the memoir l)e one of nuu-ked merit, the amount awarded may be increased to 
 one hundred dollars, at tlie discretion of the committee. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 101 
 
 " Second, for the next best memoir, a prize not exceeding fifty dollars may be awarded 
 at the discretion of the committee ; bnt neither of the aboVe prizes shall be awarded 
 unless the memoirs presented shall be deemed of adequate merit. 
 
 " Third, Grand Honorary Prize. The sum of two hundred dollars shall be set aside each 
 year from the income of the trust fund representing the donation of the said William J. 
 Walker, and shall with the accumulations therefrom, form a prize fund ; when said prize 
 fund amounts to the sum of two thousand dollars, the Council of the Society may award 
 and pay therefrom the sum of five hundred dollars for such scientific investigation, or dis- 
 covery in natural history, as they may think deserving thereof; provided such investiga- 
 tion or discovery shall have first been made known and published in the United States of 
 America, and shall have been at the time of said award, made known and published at 
 least one year ; if in consequence of the extraordinary merit of any such investigation or 
 discovery, the Council of the Society shall see fit, they may award therefor the sum of 
 one thousand dollars. 
 
 " After the said prizes shall have been thus awarded, the residue of said fund shall be 
 retained, and a certain portion of the income of the trust fund, not exceeding two hundred 
 dollars, shall be annually apj^ropriated by a vote of the Council of the Society, to the for- 
 mation of a new prize fund of one thousand dollars, and when, and as often as said prize 
 fund amounts to said sum, the Council of said Society may again award a prize therefrom 
 in the manner above stated ; provided, however, that the said prize shall not be awarded 
 oftener than once in five years ; and also, as said ])\\ze is to be awarded for merit solely, 
 if no sufficiently meritorious investigation or discovery is brought to the notice of the 
 Council, they may withhold said prize at their discretion, until an investigation or discov- 
 ery of sufficient merit shall be published and made known. 
 
 " After the above appropriations have been set aside from the annual increase of said 
 trust fund, given by the said William J. Walker, the residue of said income is to be applied 
 as follows : 
 
 " First, to pay for procuring the necessary means for the preservation and exhibition of 
 the specimens belonging to the cabinet of said Society, such as the purchase of alcohol 
 and other antiseptics, jars, bottles, barrels, and the materials for the proper mounting, 
 labelling and displaying of the specimens, but not to expenses in the nature of salaries or 
 wages, or for labor, or instruction, or for cases or other furniture, nor for the purchase of 
 specimens, but may be economically applied to the necessary repairs of the building in 
 which the collections of the Society are preserved, and for gaslights and fuel. 
 
 " Second, should the whole income of the fund not be required for the above named pur- 
 poses, the balance thereof may be reserved and used for such purposes in future years, or 
 added to the principal of the fund at the discretion of the Society." 
 
 In November, the Curator of Entomology reported the collection of insects of the Society 
 in a dangerous condition, requii'ing prompt and close attention which lie could not give ; 
 another evidence that without parties paid to constantly look after the collections, and ad- 
 equate means to provide all possible protection for the specimens, it was worse than useless 
 to make them. 
 
 In this case a paper was cii-culated for subscriptions among the officers of the Society 
 that enough money might be realized to hire an assistant. 
 
102 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 It will be remembered that a Section of Microscopy was founded in 1857, and that for 
 sometime afterwards it showed signs of activity, which were manifested less and less until 
 all mention of its existence ceased to l^e made in the records. In December of this vear, in 
 response to an invitation from the Curator of Microscopy, sixteen gentlemen interested in 
 the revival of the Section, met and appointed a committee of reorganization. This com- 
 mittee reported a series of rules for the government of the Section a fortnight later, which 
 were adopted. Among them there was one providing that the meetings should talce jalace 
 on the second Wednesday of every month in the room of the department. 
 
 1865. At a meeting held on the 15th of February the Rev. Mr. Waterston addressed 
 the meeting upon some of the educational instrumentalities which he thought within reach 
 of the Society, ending with a motion : 
 
 "That a committee of three be appointed to consider tlie sul)iect of courses of lectures 
 to the public school teachei'sof this vicinity with lull powers to act." 
 
 This motion was strongly seconded by Mr. John Cummings, and upon his suggestion a 
 vote was passed that the committee be nominated by the chair. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Waterston, Dr. Augustus A. Gould and Dr. James C. White were made this 
 committee. 
 
 I'lie action thus taken Ijy the Society is well worthy especial notice for sevei'al reasons, 
 ne is that it clearly shows to whom is due the first conception of a plan to impart 
 instruction to the teachers of the public schools. To the Rev. Mr. Waterston unquestion- 
 ably belongs that honor. Another is that it indicates the early interest felt in such teach- 
 ing by the gentleman who seconded witli much earnestness the original motion. Many 
 years afterwards several courses of lectures to the teachers of the piil^lic schools were 
 given under the auspices of the Society, the whole expenses of which were generously 
 borne by the gentleman alluded to. Mr. John Cummings. 
 
 Still another reason why this action merits attention is the surprising fact that there is 
 not to l)e found in the sul)sequent records of the Society, or of the Council, one word im- 
 plying that anything grew out of the proposition and motion of Mr. Waterston. It is hard 
 to believe that this can be said relative to one of the most commendable acts the Society 
 ever engaged in, and yet it is strictly true. Fortunately for the presentation of what 
 followed, the Report of the Superintendent of Piiljlic Schools enaljles the writer to do that 
 justice to the Society which its own records fail to do. 
 
 John D. Philbrick was then the Superintendent, and his report of September, 1865, to 
 the Board of School Committee, embraces the following paragraphs : 
 
 " During the past 3^ear, an event worthy of record, and highly gratifying to the friends 
 of education, may be found in the fact that one of the most important and well endowed 
 scientific institutions in this community, made arrangements for a series of lectures on dif- 
 ferent branches of natural history, which were prepared expressly for the teachers of the 
 public schools of Boston. 
 
 " The large hall belonging to the Society of Natural History was thronged with earnest 
 listeners. The lectures were amply illustrated by specimens and diagrams, and at the 
 close of each lecture the rich and extensive cabinets of the Society were generously 
 thrown open for the inspection of all present. At the introductory meeting, the teachers 
 were addressed by His Excellency Governor Andrew, His Honor the Mayor, President 
 Hill of Harvard University, George B. Emerson, LL.D.. and other eminent friends of 
 education. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 103 
 
 " Tlie lectures which followed in successive weeks were by Professor Wjnnan, President of 
 the (Society of Natural History, Professor Rogers, of the Institute of Technology, Dr. Augus- 
 tus A. Gould, Rev. R. C. Waterston, D.D., and Pi'ofessor Gray of Harvard University. They 
 embraced branches of natural history of the deepest interest, and when it is remembered 
 that here were assembled some six hundred teachers, having daily under their care more 
 than twenty-seven thousand children, it may readily be believed thnt a fresh impulse must 
 have been given, which could not fail to be beneficial and widely felt. Wholly aside from 
 the valuable knowledge thus imparted and acquired, the memorable fact not to be over- 
 looked or forgotten, is this, that one of the ablest bodies of scientific men in our commu- 
 nity thus publicly extended the most courteous hospitalities to the teachers of the public 
 schools, inviting them to meet, through successive weeks, at the sjDacious hall, arranging 
 gratuitous lectures upon various branches of natural history, by men especially qualified 
 to give valuable information, and to awaken interest among the teachers for whose particu- 
 lar advantage they were given." 
 
 At the close of the last lecture, the teachers unanimously passed resolutions expressive of 
 their recognition of the generous action of the Society, thanking the lecturers warmly, and 
 especially the Rev. R. C. Waterston, for the interest he had manifested in the success of the 
 intellectual entertainments to which they had been invited. 
 
 On the 5th day of April, 1865, the President announced the death of Dr. William J. 
 Walker, which event took place at Newport, R. I., on the 2d inst. He remarked upon the 
 great interest Dr. Walker had shown in our welfare, and offered the following resolution, 
 which was passed unanimously : 
 
 " BesoJved, That the Boston Society of Natural History recognize in the death of Dr. 
 William Johnson Walker the loss of their greatest benefactor, and in view of his munifi- 
 cent gifts to this Society and his beneficent aid to the cause of education and science, we 
 would ever hold his name in honorable and grateful remembrance." 
 
 A motion was made at this meeting significant of the anxious feelings that pervaded the 
 public mind at this important crisis in our country's experience. The rebel army under 
 Lee had just been forced from Richmond and was being pursued by General Grant with 
 all the forces at his disposal. Everybody was in hourly expectation of decisive news, and 
 too much excited to calmly consider ordinary matters. 
 
 Dr. Augustus A. Gould therefore moved : " That in view of the absorbing interests of the 
 hour in national aifairs, the Society adjourn, and hold an informal meeting for the expres- 
 sion of sentiment." 
 
 This motion was passed, and the Society as such adjourned. An informal meeting then 
 followed, and. brief addresses were made on the subject that agitated all minds, by Drs. 
 Wyman, Gould and Jeffries, Prof Chadbourne, and Messrs. Ross and Bouve. 
 
 Of the great benefiictor of the Society, concerning whom action was taken by it as 
 mentioned above, the following notice is presented : 
 
 Dr. William Johnson Walker. 
 
 Dr. William Johnson Walker was born March 15th, 1789, at Charlestown, Mass. His 
 father. Major Timothy Walker, was a prominent citizen of the town, and came originally 
 from Burlington, Mass., where he, as well as his wife, was born. 
 
104 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Dr. Walker was the second son in a large family of children. He was educated in the 
 public schools of Charlestown, prepared for college at Phillips Academy, and graduated at 
 Harvard in the class of 1810. He studied medicine with Dr. (afterwai'd Governor) John 
 Brooks at Medford, giving particular attention to the branches of physiology and anatomy. 
 While yet a student, he won the prize of the Boylston Medical Committee at Harvard Col- 
 lege for an essay on Hydrocephalus, in 1813. 
 
 Graduating the same j^ear at the Massachusetts Medical College, he sailed for France 
 and entered the Paris hosj)itals, where he found unusual opportunities for study and prac- 
 tice on account of the scarcity of French students, caused by the rigid conscriptions of 
 Napoleon. He had the advantage of being under the instruction of many of the ablest 
 French surgeons of the time, and subsequently was a pupil of Sir Astley Cooper in Lon- 
 don, where he spent six months in the hospitals. Then, returning home, he entered upon 
 the practice of his profession in Charlestown, and soon established his reputation as a very 
 able practitioner. He was appointed physician to the Massachusetts State Prison and con- 
 sulting surgeon to the Massachusetts General Hospital. He practised in Charlestown about 
 thirty years, but finally withdrew from his profession, and moved to Boston. This course 
 was looked upon by his niuuerous patients with the greatest disappointment and sorrow, as 
 he had devoted himself to them with the utmost faithfulness and kindness, and was univer- 
 sally beloved by all whom he had occasion to care for professionally, more especially by 
 those who were poor and helpless. 
 
 Although probably while he practised, he had no superior in surgery, yet he was among 
 his contemporaries quite unpopular as a man, owing to his marked peculiarities. But with 
 all this, he' was very kind toward young physicians, and was much consulted by them. 
 He had an extensive experience as a medical instructor, and was very successful. His 
 well known accurate knowledge of anatomy and careful investigation into the natural 
 history of disease, caused him to be widely looked up to, and his pupils were numei'ous. 
 
 Upon removing to Boston, he interested himself in financial and business matters, e.spec- 
 ially in manufactures and railroads, and from his great shrewdness in investments, rather 
 than in speculations, rapidly amassed a large fortune, which he no sooner obtained than he 
 set himself to expend in the most enlightened and generous manner. He gave away during 
 his lifetime very great sums to various of the educational institutions of his native State 
 and at his death left still larger amounts for such noble purposes. He was a most raunifi- 
 cent friend to the Society of Natural History. The amounts of money which he gave out- 
 right and willed to the Society are elsewhese summed up in detail, and it is only necessary 
 here to say that without his magnificent generosity, the Society would have been to-day 
 in far different circumstances from those in which it finds itself; owing as it does in great 
 measure to him the l^uilding in which is its home. It can never forget its great obliga- 
 tions to him, and will hold his memory in grateful remembrance. 
 
 Dr. Walker died in Newport, R. I., whither he had removed the latter part of his life, 
 on the ;^d of April, 18G5. He had married in 1817, Eliza Hurd, daughter of Joseph Hurd 
 of Charlestown. By her he had eight children, five of whom, with the widow, survived 
 him. 
 
 On the 15th day of April a special meeting of the- Council was held for the purpose of 
 heariu"; a statement from the executors of the will of the late Dr. Wiliiaui J. Walker rela- 
 
^Jic,.^ym/k^ 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 105 
 
 ative to the provisions of that instrument, and to take such action as might be necessary 
 to see that the purposes of Dr. Walker were cai'riecl into effect. 
 
 The Treasurer, Mr. Bouve, who was also one of the executors, read a statement of some 
 of the provisions of the will, and gave some account of the property, by which it ap- 
 peared that the whole amount probably exceeded |1,250,000. Of this, |10,000 was be- 
 queathed to the Redwood Library, $26,500 in vai"ious sums to friends, and there were an- 
 nuities to be paid out of the estate amounting to ,f 1,280 during the lives of certain indi- 
 viduals mentioned. To his family was left |200,000, and to the Boston Society of Natural 
 History, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Amherst College and Tufts College, 
 the remainder of his estate in equal proportions. 
 
 It was also provided that if his children, to whom the $200,000 was left, die childless, 
 then this amount also should be divided lietwcen the residuary legatees. 
 
 It was also stated by Mr. Bouve that Mr. Wheeler, one of the executors, and a friend of 
 the heirs, had asked in their behalf that the four residuary legatees would consent to the 
 further payment to them of ,$-300,000 from the estate without conditions. He gave reasons 
 why he thought this request had better be promptly complied with, and wished action 
 taken upon the proposition whether the Society, as one of the four residuary legatees, 
 would consent to such payment. If this were done, and the others concurred in it, each 
 would soon receive from |175,000 to $180,000, with a fair prospect that this Avould at some 
 time be increased to $200,000, whereas if it were not done, the whole smn might l^e lost 
 in litigation, or much lessened after years of strife, of which there was imminent danger. 
 
 Following this statement by Mr. Bouve, a motion was made that he be authorized to 
 act for the Society with full powers. Upon his suggestion, however, that it would be bet- 
 ter to have parties selected for the purpose who were not also executors of the will. Dr. 
 Gould and Prof. Rogers were appointed, and authorized by an unanimous vote to make 
 such settlement on behalf of the Society with the executors and the heirs-at-law of the 
 late Dr. William J. Walker, as they should see proper. 
 
 The annual meeting of the Society was held on May 3d. The report of the retiring 
 Treasurer, Mr. Bouve, who declined re-election, was in substance as follows : 
 
 That as Treasurer of the general account of the Society, he had on hand at the be- 
 ginning of the ye.ir, $4,118.19 
 
 And that he had received since, including amount borrowed of the Courtis fund and 
 
 return of amounts loaned, 11.5,43'2.32 
 
 $119,550.51 
 And that he had paid on account of new building and furniture . . $12,527.12 
 
 Journal and Proceedings, 129.04 
 
 General expenses, 3,014.38 
 
 Cabinet, 838.32 
 
 Library, 71.89 
 
 Temporary loans, G2,0 10.00 
 
 Investments of Walker fund, 41,105.00 
 
 Interest, 251.81 
 
 $119,947.50 
 
 Showing a balance due him of $397.05 
 
106 IILSTOIIICAL t- KETCH OF THE 
 
 As Treasurer of the Courtis Fund lie reported that it consisted of an amount due from 
 
 the Society itself, borrowed $8,339.71 
 
 and a mortgage note of 3,000.00 
 
 As Treasurer of the Bulfineli Street Estate lie rejiorted recei}its .■uuounting to . . §1.073.00 
 And expenditures of 341.39 
 
 Showing a balance on hand of $731.61 
 
 As Treasurer of the Walker fund, he reported receipts amounting to $1,"22G.97 
 
 And expenditures of 1,080.02 
 
 Sliowing a balance of $110.95 
 
 The balances in liis hands belonging to the Bulfinch Estate and Walker fiind amount- 
 ed to $878.50 
 
 Balance due him on general ajipropriations, 397.05 
 
 Actual balance in his hands of all the accounts rendered, $481.51 
 
 Ho presented estimates of tlie value of the pro]ierty belonging to the Society at different times for pur- 
 poses of comparison; in Jlay, 180-2, the value was $85,001.49; in May, 186.3, $133,497.80; in May, 1804, 
 $14t2,512.47; at the present time, $167,881.51. 
 
 These estimates included the buildings and furniture, but not the library or the cabinet. 
 
 In retiring, the Treasurer said he would not undertake to estimate the value of our prop- 
 erty, in the estate of our late henefactor, Dr. Win. J. Walker. It was sufficient for him to 
 know that in resigning the office of Treasurer, he left to his successor the pleasing task of 
 showing on the next anniversary, means of usefulness beyond Avhat the most sanguine 
 expectations could have looked for. 
 
 ( )n behalf of the Building Committee, Mr. Bouv^ announced that the full cost of the new 
 building, including commissions for architectural services, but not including the cases, had 
 been $94, .393. 80, and that the cases had cost $10,003.36, making the total amount 
 expended $104,397.16, a result with which the Society had reason to be gratified, consider- 
 ing that such a structure with the cases would have cost much more if the construction had 
 been delayed, by reason of the greatly enhanced prices of material and labor. With thi^ 
 report presented as a final one, the committee asked the Society to accept the building and 
 discharge them from further duty, Avhich Avas done with warm thanks. 
 
 By the Custodian's report it appeared that much work had been done in the several 
 de2')artments towards perfecting the arrangement of the specimens and adopting means for 
 the safety of such as were perislial)le. Not without great regret, however, did the members 
 learn of the extent of the injury done to the collections by the ravages of insects, and of the 
 absolute unfitness of the cases througliout the l)uilding for the preservation of tlie speci- 
 mens from dust and destructive vermin. Already had it become apparent that there yet 
 would have to be a large outlay in substituting other cases before the treasures of the 
 cabinet could be regarded as secure. It had not been recognized when those now in use 
 were constructed, that they .should be made practically air tight in order to render them 
 suitable for what they were designed. 
 
 The Library now contained 11,191 volumes and pamphlets. The additions through the 
 year had been 1319, or between 11 and 12 per cent. The greater part of the increase 
 was stated to have come from exchange with kindred institutions. 
 
 s 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL IIISTOIIY. 107 
 
 The Botanical department had had during the year an accession of aljout 1800 New- 
 England plants, the bequest of Mr. C. A. Shurtleff, and over 1200 German plants from 
 Col. Joseph Ilowland. 
 
 The Geological and Palaeontological department had received in exchange a series of 
 casts of large animals from Prof Ward, a collection of fossils from the Andes presented by 
 Dr. Winslow, and a natural cast in Red Sandstone of the bones of one of the animals that 
 probalily made impressions upon the rocks of the Connecticut river. 
 
 The most important and interesting addition to the collection during the year, was the 
 cast of the Megatherium presented by the late Joshua Bates of London, and which had 
 been mounted on a platform in the eastern part of the main hall. This was done by 
 Mr. Sceva with artistic skill, under the superintendence of Dr. James C. White, and it is 
 believed in a posture consonant with what the character and habits of the animal required. 
 The wdiole collection of the department was stated to consist of about 3250 specimens. 
 
 The Mineralogical collection was reported to have undergone a thorough revision 
 during the year. The specimens suitable for exhibition and arranged upon the shelves, 
 numbered about fifteen hundred. 
 
 The department of Comparative Anatomy and Mammals had received an accession of 
 eio-lity-four specimens in all, including seventeen skins of mammals. Skeletons of the 
 white whale, porpoise and dromedary had been set up, and much work done by the Cura- 
 tor, in making sections of skulls representing the various orders of mammalia. The 
 Curator a^-ain called attention to the unsafe condition of the skins in his department. 
 
 The Ethnological department had received from many donors, principally Commodore 
 Charles Stewart, Dr. C. F. Winslow, Mr. E. A. Brigham, Mrs. James Pliillips, and the 
 Smithsonian Institution, articles from Japan, Siam, California, Mexico, and from local- 
 ities in Massachusetts, all of which had been placed in the collection. 
 
 The Ornithological department was represented to be in good condition, but the Cura- 
 tor complained sadly of the unsuitableness and imperfect construction of the cases. 
 
 The Oological collection had been increased by donations from Dr. Henry Br3fant, 
 Dr. A. S. Packard, Jr., John R. Willis, Esq., of Haliflix, and Dr. Chas. T. Jackson, in all 
 numbering forty-five specimens. 
 
 The Conchological department had received a donation from Dr. Henry Bryant, of a 
 collection of shells from Cape St. Lucas, and from Dr. Gundlach of a series of Cuban shells 
 identified by him. 
 
 The Herpetological department was reported as containing about five hundred species, 
 half of which had been identified and arranged for exhibition, the others remained unar- 
 ranged for want of bottles, alcohol, &c. 
 
 The Ichthyological department had received many additions, the donors being Prof. F. 
 Poey of Havana, the Lyceum of Natural History of Williams College, Dr. H. Bryant, the 
 late C. A. Shurtleff; Mr. S. M. Buck, Mr. W. A. Nason, Mr. W. H. Dall, Mr. E. T. Snow, 
 Mr. H. C. Whitten, Dr. C. P. Winslow, Dr. B. S. Shaw, Mr. David Pulsifer, and the Curator, 
 F. W. Putnam. 
 
 The department of the Radiata had received donations from Dr. H. I. Bowditch, Dr. 
 Samuel Kneeland, John B. Willis, Esq., Dr. A. S. Packard, Jr., and the Essex Institute of 
 Salem. The Echiuoderms had been fully catalogued and arranged, with the exception of 
 
108 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 the alcoholic .specimens, which required bottles and fresh spirit before the}^ could be put on 
 exhibition. 
 
 To the collection of Crustacea a large number of .specimens had been added during the 
 year. 
 
 The collection of the Microscopical department remained about as before reported, but 
 few additions haviuQ- been made to it. 
 
 It was sad to learn what indeed had been partially known before, that a large part of 
 the Entomological collection was well nigh ruined by the Anthreni, which, from want of 
 secure cases and continuous care, had been able to attack the specimens and accomplish 
 their destruction. The magnificent collection of Professor Hentz, purchased at considerable 
 cost many ye.ars since through j^rivate subscription, and being then altogether the finest in 
 country, might be said to be entirely destroyed, inasmuch as not one-fiftieth part of the 
 whole remained fit to serve the student for purposes of comparison and identification, 
 much less to place on exhibition. The same could be said of all the old collections pre- 
 sented to the Society by Dr. Gould, Dr. Harris and others. 
 
 How forcibly in this statement is brought to mind the truth often alluded to in these 
 pages, that it is Avorse than useless to form large collections of perishable objects unless the 
 means are at hand to command the accomTnodation and the unremitting care and watchful- 
 ness necessary for their preservation. 
 
 The late collection of Dr. Harris, purchased and presented to the Society by several 
 gentlemen after his death, and that of the late C. A. Shurtleflf, which came to the Society 
 by bequest, were reported to be in fair condition. These were receiving proper attention, 
 and a large number had been put upon exhibition. 
 
 The whole numl)er of specimens of every kind added to the cabinet during the year, 
 the Curator stated to be 21,155, of which half were insects, the bequest of Mr. C. A. 
 Shurtleflf. 
 
 The very efficient Curator of Botany, Mr. Charles J. Sprague, much to the regret of 
 every member of the Society, resigned his office at the annual meeting, after a long ser- 
 vice of twelve years, during which time, he had broiight order out of disorder, .so far as 
 the herbarium of the department was concerned, and accomplished an amount of work in 
 identifying, aiTanging and poisoning the plants, of incalculable value to the Society, and 
 such as few persons in active business could have found time to do. 
 
 The thanks of the Society were unanimously voted to him, and also to the retiring 
 Treasurer for their services in its behalf. 
 
 At the election of officers, Edward Pickering was chosen Treasurer, in place of Thomas 
 T. Bouve ; Thomas T. Bouve Curator of Mineralogy in place of William T. Brigham ; and 
 Horace Mann Curator of Botany in place of Charles J. Sprague. The office of Custodian 
 was left vacant, Mr. Scudder declining to act longer as such. In the August following, 
 Dr. A. S. Packard, Jr., was appointed by the Council Acting Custodian. 
 
 In October of this year. Dr. Henry Bryant announced his intention of presenting to the 
 Society a large collection of birds recently purchased by him when in Europe, and asked 
 that an appropriation of |4,0U0 be made, for the purpose of fitting up two of the rooms in 
 the second story for their reception. This was voted, and a committee consisting of Dr. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 109 
 
 Bryant and Dr. J. C. White, was appointed to attend to the proper constrnction of the 
 cases. 
 
 The collection, which was purchased by Di-. Bryant of Count Lafresnaye de Falaise for 
 the purpose of presentation to the Society, was the largest and most valuable private one 
 in Europe. It contained nearly 9,000 specimens, all finely mounted, and from 4,500 to 
 5,000 species. Of these, 700 to 800 were from North and South America, many heing 
 type specimens described by the Count hmiself, an able ornithologist.. 
 
 October 18th, Dr. Burt G. Wilder was elected Curator of Reptiles in place of Dr. Francis 
 H. Brown, who had resigned at the previous meeting. 
 
 A special meeting of the Society was called to consider the subject of creating the office 
 of Director of the Society, whose duty it should be to administer the affairs of the Museum 
 and Library, with the intention of inviting Dr. Jeffries Wyman to take such office. 
 
 With great unanimity of feeling and action it was voted to invite Dr. Wyman to fill 
 such office, with a salary of |2,500 per annum, clerical assistance in the administration of 
 the Library and such scientific assistance as might be necessary. To the great regret of 
 all the members. Dr. Wyman, after much consideration, declined to acce^Dt the position 
 tendered him. The office designed for him was not therefore created. 
 
 In December, the Treasurer announced the reception by him of the first instalment of 
 the Walker liequest, amounting to ,$100,000 m various stocks, and that it had now become 
 the duty of the Trustees to assume the management of this property. 
 
 1866. From the report of the Acting Custodian, Dr. Packard, made at the annual 
 meeting in May, we learn that there were twenty stated meetings of the Society, and 
 eight of the Microscopical section. These had been well attended, and the communica- 
 tions presented were of an interesting and instructive character. Forty-four Resident 
 and eleven Corresponding Members had been elected. 
 
 The Society had again resumed publication, after having omitted to issue any of its Pro- 
 ceedings for a year, and not having continued its Journal beyond Volume VII, printed 
 in 1863. In resuming publication it was thought best to change the form of the Journal 
 from octavo to quarto, and also to change the title to " Memoirs." It was also decided not 
 to furnish the Proceedings to members free of cost, as hitherto, the state of the Treasury 
 not warranting it. The first part of Volume I of the Memoii's, and nearly one half of 
 Volume X of the Proceedings, including the records of the meetings held in 1864 and 
 1865, were mentioned as having been issued. 
 
 The Treasurer's report for the year showed that there had been an excess of expendi- 
 ture over receipts, not including borrowed money, of $2,890.19. The amount expended, 
 however, included $5,030.61, the cost of fitting up rooms with cases for the Ornitho- 
 logical collection. 
 
 The Librarian reported an accession of 981 volumes, parts of volumes and pamphlets, 
 of which 767 had been received in exchange for our publications. He stated that the 
 Library now contained 7622 volumes, 2097 parts of volumes, and 2462 pamphlets. 
 
 The Curator of Microscopy stated that the collection was in good preservation, though 
 not in such order as it should be. Donations had been received from Dr. S. A. Bemis, 
 Dr. C. F. Winslow, and Messrs. C. G. Bush and J. S. Melvin. 
 
110 IITSTOKICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 The meetings of the Section had been well attended, with advantage to its members and 
 to tlie Society. 
 
 The Curator of Comparative Anatomy reported the addition to his department of 2 
 skeletons, 10 parts of skeletons, 20 skulls, 4 skins of mammals, 5 mammals in spirit, and 
 miscellaneous o ; total 44 specimens. The donors were Drs. C. T. Jackson, A. A. Gould, 
 
 A. S. Packard, Jr., H. Bryant, B. J. Jelfries, S. Kneeland, and Messrs. 11. Mann, C. A. 
 Kirkpatrlck, J. K. Warren, and the Boston Milling and Manufacturing Company. 
 
 The specimens l^elonging to the department were represented to be in good order with 
 the exception of the skins. 
 
 The Curator of Ornithology reported the collection in good order. He stated that the 
 Lafresnaye collection, before mentioned as purchased by him for the Society, arrived safely 
 in the autumn of the previous year, and upon being unpacked had Ijcen found in perfect 
 condition. lie himself had personally superintended the packing while in France. The 
 whole number of specimens I'eceived had been found to be 8,G56. 
 
 The Curator of Ichthyology reported valuable donations to the department from the 
 Smithsonian Institution, of 54 specimens of North American fishes ; from Dr. A. S. Packard, 
 Jr., of 10^ species comprising about 100 specimens Labrador fishes, and from the Curator of 
 about 40 species comprising 1000 specimens from Lake Erie, and about 20 specimens from 
 Dr. B. S. Shaw, Messrs. C. J. Sprague, W. II. Dall, J. S. Lewis, Samuel Hubbard, R. C. Green- 
 leaf and Caleb Cooke. The latter presented a fine specimen of the rare Lcjjfoccphahis 
 (jracllis Storer, one of six collected by him on Nahant beach. 
 
 To the Entomological Cabinet about 600 si:)ecimens had l^een added, the principal donors 
 being Drs. II. Bryant, S. A. Bemis, C. F. Ilildreth, A. A. Gould, C. T. Jackson, S. Kneeland, 
 Jr., C. F. Winslow, Messrs. A. R. Grote, Samuel Hubbard, S. H. Scudder and Prof. J. L. 
 Smith. 
 
 To the collection of Crustacea 440 specimens had been added. Of these, 50 species, 
 comprising about 340 specimens, represented the Crustacean fauna of Labrador, and 25 
 species, comprising 80 specimens, that of Maine. The Worms, now united with the 
 Crustacea in the department, included 55 species, of which 30, comprising 115 speci- 
 mens, were from the coast of Labrador ; and 14, comprising 65 specimens, from Maine, 
 had been obtained by the Curator. 
 
 The donors to the department of Crustacea and Worms, were Drs. A. S. Packard Jr., 
 
 B. S. Shaw, A. A. Gould ; Messrs. E. R. Mayo, Samuel Hubbard, C. Stodder, F. G. San- 
 born, C. C. Sheafe ; and Captain E. Smith. 
 
 The Conchological department had received about 1,500 specimens, many of them of 
 great value, the donors being Dr. A. S. Packard, Jr., Dr. Gundlach, Dr. Henry Bryant, Dr. 
 A. Chapin, Dr. C. T. Jackson and Mr. A. Coolidge. 
 
 The department of the Radiata had received from the Essex Institute 10 species, from 
 Dr. A. S. Packard, Jr., 250 specimens, from N. Appleton 3 species, aud from Yale College 
 in exchange 5U specimens, comprising 34 sjiecies. 
 
 The Curator of Mineralogy reported tlie whole number of specimens on exhibition to 
 be about 2,000. The department had received donations from Drs. C. T. Jackson, 
 Henry Bryant, A. S. Packard, Jr., the Agassiz Natural History Society, Prof Jeffries 
 Wyman, and Messrs. G. P. Huntington and W. II. Dall. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. Ill 
 
 The department of Botany had received very valuable donations of mosses and lichens 
 from the former Curator, C. J. Sprague, Esq., comprising about 500 species. Specimens 
 had also been presented by Drs. C. Pickering, C. F. Wiuslow. A. S. Packard, Jr., S. Knee- 
 land, Jr., and Messrs. Gunning, E. R. Mayo, H. M. Mclntire, William Nelson and S. Wells, 
 Jr. 
 
 The Curator of Herpetology reported 69 additions to the department during the year, 
 the donors being Drs. A. S. Packard, Jr., S. Kneeland, Jr., C. F. Winslow, and Messrs. S. 
 Hinckley, F. Andernach, D. White, and Captain Barber. 
 
 The Ethnological department had received a few donations from Dr. H. Bryant, A. E. L. 
 Dillaway and Horace McMurtrie. 
 
 To the Oiilogical department there had been no additions. 
 
 In June, the sad intelligence of the death of Prof. Henry D. Rogers of Glasgow wa.s 
 received. 
 
 Henry Darwin Rogers was born at Philadelphia, in 1809. He early became interested in 
 scientific pursuits, and while still quite young engaged as State Geologist of Pennsylvania 
 in an extended and very thorough survey of that State. His great work on the geology of 
 Pennsylvania, subsequently published, placed him at once in the front rank of American 
 geologists, and his later Report on the Geology of New Jersey was a valuable contribution 
 to science. 
 
 His eminent attainments led to his being invited, in 1857, to take the chair of Regius 
 Pi'ofessor of Geology and Natural History in the University of Glasgow, Scotland. He 
 accepted this position, which he filled to the time of his death, which took place on his 
 return from a visit to his native land, at his residence, Shawlands, near Glasgow, May 29th, 
 18GG, in the fifty-eighth year of his age. He was a brother of Professor William B. Rog- 
 ers, and for several years was a resident member of the Society ; while so, manifesting 
 much interest in its welfare. Valuable communications were frequently made by hhn, 
 reports of which may be found in the Proceedings. 
 
 In September a special meeting of the Society was called upon the occasion of the death 
 of one of its founders and most eminent members, Dr. Augustus A. Gould. This event 
 was announced by the President, and a committee, consisting of the President, Thomas T. 
 Bouve and S. H. Scudder, was appointed to report a suitable address upon the occasion. 
 A vote was unanimously passed that the Society attend the funeral, and four mem- 
 bers were appointed to act as pall-bearers in connection with those appointed by the Suf- 
 folk District Medical Society. The four were the Pi-esident, Dr. C. T. Jackson, Mr. George 
 B. Emerson, and Mr. C. K. Dillaway. The services were at the Rowe Street Baptist Church, 
 of which he was a member, and were attended by a large concourse of friends. 
 
 At the regular meeting on Sept. 19th, on behalf of the committee appointed at the special 
 meeting the President read the following notice : 
 
 " Dr. Augustus Addison Gould, for many years one of the Vice-Presidents of this Society, 
 died at his home on the morning of the 15th day of September. By this sad and sudden 
 event, the Society loses one of its most honored and respected associates, and science a 
 disinterested and truthful worker. From the be^-inninsc of our existence to the dav on 
 which he died, his hand was never weary in our service. Through many years we have 
 leaned on him for his wise counsel ; his thought and labor more than any other have helped 
 
112 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 us ill our progress, aud it is to his uame aud fame at home aud abroad, that we are very 
 largely iudebted for what we most prize in our own. It is not we alone that suffer from his 
 death. His interests were broad and catholic and embraced whatever was good and excel- 
 lent, and his helping hand was not withdrawn whenever sought, whether in behalf of the 
 interests of science, education or humanitv. The loss to these will be truly great. For all 
 his disinterestedness he was not without liis reward. Tlie profession of which he was so dis- 
 tinguished an oi'nament gladly bestowed upon him its highest gifts, and the community of 
 which he was so worthy a member gave love and honor for his many graces of character 
 and for his work in life so full of christian excellence. With head and hand still busy and 
 wdth a heart still earnest in his chosen work and still warm in all his relations to friends 
 and kindred, it was God's will that he should pass away. The Society would express its 
 gratitude for the example of liis life, and oflers its deepest sympathy to those to whose 
 hearts his death brings so much sorrow." 
 
 Dr. Wyman then stated that a more full notice of the scientific labors of Dr. Gould 
 would be presented by the committee at a later meeting. 
 
 Dr. C. T. Jackson followed with remarks upon Dr. Gould's character and Avork, passing 
 in review the various stages of his scientific career ; and Mr. C. K. Dillaway read an 
 interesting autobiography of him which had been written in 1850, and which he had in his 
 possession as secretary of his college class. 
 
 It was then voted that a cojjy of the notice of the committee be furnished to the press, 
 and that out of respect to the memory of our lamented friend and associate the Society 
 adjourn without the transaction of business or the hearing of scientific papers. 
 
 A consideralile portion of the obituary notice of Dr. Gould, prepared by Dr. Wyman in 
 behalf of the committee and publishei in the Proceedings of the Society, Volume IX, 
 page 188, is here given: 
 
 Augustus Addison Gould was born in New Ipswich, New Hampshire, on the 23d of April, 
 1805. Ilis early life was passed there, and as soon as he was old and strong enough to 
 labor, the larger part of the year was given to his father's farm, and the rest to the common 
 school. At the age of fifteen he took the whole charge of the farm ; nevertheless a part 
 of the year was devoted to study, and some progress was made in the classics. By the 
 careful husbanding of the odds and ends of time and a year's teaching at an academy, he 
 was prepared to enter college, and entered at Cambridge in 1821. With his college life 
 came a struggle, the forerunner of many such by which his strei^th was to be tried. He 
 had already come to know something of the barrier which limited means had put between 
 himself and the tilings he aspired to, and now this assumed larger proportions, such as to 
 most persons would have been disheartening. College duties and exercises demanded his 
 tune, nevertheless his education must be paid for, and he must do largely towards earning 
 the means ; and so by strict economy, by performing various duties for which indigent 
 students received compensation, and also by hard work in vacations and on those days 
 which others gave to relaxation, be says he at length fought his way through, and attained 
 to respectable rank. 
 
 In college he was noted among his classmates for industry, and it was there, too, that his 
 taste for natural history began to show itself He became fiimiliar A\ith the most of our 
 native plants and to the end of life never lost his love for them. After leaving college, he 
 
/LO^lt^ 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 113 
 
 held the office of private tutor in Maryland, and at the same time began the study of 
 medicine. The rest of his pupilage was passed in Boston, and the last year of it at the 
 Massachusetts General Hospital as house student. He was graduated in medicine in 1830, 
 and at once began the practice of his profession, having given good grounds to his friends 
 for expecting future eminence. But his struggles with poverty were not yet ended. Until 
 his profession could yield him a support, he was obliged to go out of it, to earn the neces- 
 saries of life. To this end he undertook burdensome tasks ; one of them, the cataloguing 
 and classification of the fifty thousand pamphlets in the library of the Boston Athena3um, 
 was Herculean, as any one may see who will take the trouble to loolv over the four large 
 folio volumes he wrote out, monuments of his patient industry and handiwork, and for 
 which he got only a pitiful return. 
 
 The study of natural history was nearer to his heart than all other pursuits, and to that 
 he could always turn, and did, whenever he could command a few spare hours or moments 
 to do so. As a matter of course, he became a member of this Society. This was soon 
 after its organization, and to the time he died he labored for us without stint. When his 
 studies began to assume a methodical shape, his first investigations were in the class of 
 insects, of which, at one time, he had a large collection. Among his first published works 
 was a monograph on the Cicindelae of Massachusetts, printed in 1834, and in 1840 he pub- 
 lished an account of the American species of shells belonging to the genus Pupa, in regard 
 to which he found much confusion. These shells are very small, and Mr. Say, who named 
 all the species previously described, gave no figures, and consequently natiu-alists fell into 
 error. "I have received from our best conchologists," Dr. Gould says, "a single species 
 under four of the names that Mr. Say applied to as many different .species." Dr. Gould 
 then points out how, by the use of the microscope, and a careful study of their minuter 
 details, the classification of them might be improved. The paper was illustrated by about 
 thirty figures carefully drawn by himself, with the aid of the microscope. 
 
 In 1841, he read before this Society a. paper entitled " Results of an examination of the 
 species of shells of Massachusetts, and of their geographical distribution." This is the 
 more noteworthy since the geographical distribution of animals had at that time attracted 
 but httle attention, and none amongst us. Now it involves one of the ir^ost important 
 zoological problems. 
 
 Dr. Gould also points out in this paper the influence of shore outlines, and shows from a 
 comparison of species, that Cape Cod, which stretches out into the sea in a curved direc- 
 tion some forty or fifty miles, forms to some species an impassable barrier. Of two 
 hundred and three species, eighty do not ])ass to the south, and thirty have not been found 
 to the north. In the same paper he calls attention to the importance of the flict that cer- 
 tain species appear and disappear suddenly, and of the necessity, in order to construct a 
 correct catalogue of the shells of any region, to extend observations through a series ot 
 years, a consideration by which many naturalists, even of the present day, might profit. 
 
 One of the first results of the joint action of the members of this Society, and of which it 
 has more reason to be proud than any other, was the part taken by some of them in the 
 series of admirable reports on the natural history of the State, presented to the General 
 Court in compliance with a legislative enactment. The report on the Invertebrate Animals, 
 excepting insects, was by Dr. Gould. 
 
114 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 The Molluscs were Dr. Gould's favorite subject for studj', and his attention was chiefly 
 given to them. Up to this time, few if any attempts had been made to give as complete a 
 zoological survey as practicable of any particular region of the United States. As regards 
 the Molluscs, the desci'iptions of Say, Conrad and others, pioneers in conchology, pertained 
 more to the Middle and Western States, than to New England. Their writings were frag- 
 mentary and scattered through the narratives of travels, joiu^nals of science, and even news- 
 papers. It was no small labor, therefore, to become acquainted, merely as a preparation 
 for his task, with the writings of his predecessors. To malvc his report as complete as 
 possible, and to ascertain what changes in tlie classification of Molluscs recent important 
 progress growing out of the study of them would indicate, he opened correspondence for 
 information and exchanges with European naturalists interested in the same branch of 
 study, who obligingly and courteously lent their aid, and out of this correspondence grew 
 up long continued friendships. 
 
 The report fills a volume of nearly four hundred pages, illustrated by more than two 
 hundred figures skillfully di'awn from nature l>y himself. " Every species described," he says, 
 " indeed almost every species mentioned, has passed under my own eye. The descriptions 
 of species previously known, liave been written anew, partly that they be more minute in 
 particulars, and partly with the hope of using language somewhat less technical than is 
 ordinarily employed by scientific men." The number of species described was about two 
 hundred and seventy-five of Molluscs and nearly one hundred of Crustaceans and Eadiates. 
 
 As a contribution to zoological science, this report gave him an honorable name and an 
 eminent position among the naturalists of Europe and America, 
 
 Dr. Gould edited the admirable work entitled "The Terrestrial Air-breathiug Molluscs 
 of the United States," prepared, but left unfinished at the time of his death, by his intimate 
 friend, Dr. Amos Binney, formerly the respected president of this Society, and whose name 
 we hold in grateful remembrance, not only for his contribritions to science, but for the 
 munificent bequest which fills so large a space on the shelves of our library. 
 
 In 1848 he was associated with Prof Agassiz in the preparation of the Principles of 
 Zoology. 
 
 His largest and most important contribution to natural history was the description of the 
 shells of the United States Exploring Expedition. This was prepared under circiunstances 
 somewiiat embarassing. The collection was not made by himself, but by the late Capt. 
 Joseph P. Couthouy, well remembered as one of the most zealous and active members of this 
 Society. Cajit. Couthouy had drawn up full notes on the external characters of the soft 
 parts, habits, geographical description, and other important jioints. Before the voyage 
 was completed he left the expedition, )>ut the notes and collections were sent to Washing, 
 ton. The former were miaccountably lost, and no trace of them was found. The collec- 
 tions, when they came into the hands of the Navy Department, were repacked by incom- 
 jjetent hands, the arrangement of them disturbed, laljels in many cases lost, and the ■whole 
 thrown more or less into confusion. Dr. Gould was called upon to save this wi^eck, but in 
 accepting the task was obliged to submit to various ai'bitrary restrictions, and to leave 
 undone many things he deemed of much importance. 
 
 The Otia Conchologica was the last of his printed volumes, but this was merely a 
 reprint in a condensed Ibnn of the descriptions of species of shells previously published 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 115 
 
 separately in different works. Besides the works already mentioned, there is a long cata- 
 logue of cominunications made to the Boston Society of Natural History,which may be 
 referred to as showing that he did not allow himself to become a mere specialist, but kept 
 his mind awake to the relation of individual forms to higher and more general truths. 
 
 We must not forget that Dr. Gould was a member of the medical profession, and that 
 his time was of necessity chiefly devoted to this, while the scientific lal^ors we have been 
 considering were the yield of sj^are moments made useful. He was an active member of 
 the medical societies of this city and of tha State and held offices of trust in them. The 
 Massachusetts Medical Society conferred on him the honors which it has to bestow upon 
 its fellows. In 1855 he delivered the annual address, which was marked for the soundness 
 of its views and the characteristic clearness and elegance with which they were presented 
 He took for his text the advice of Harvey to the Koyal College of Physicians of London 
 when he founded the annual oration which bears his name, and in which, among other 
 things, he enjoins upon the orator "an exhortation to the members to study and search 
 out the secrets of nature by the way of experiment." Dr. Gould was elected president 
 of the Medical Society, and his term of office ended within a few months of his death. He 
 was for several years one of the physicians of the Massachusetts General Hospital, was an 
 efficient member of the Boston Society for Medical Impi-ovement, where he often com- 
 municated valuable observations, and took an active part in its discussions. He labored 
 much and long in preparing the vital statistics of the State from the official returns. 
 
 At one of the meetings of the National Academy of Sciences, of which he was a mem- 
 bex', he presented an important paper on the distribution of certain diseases, especially 
 consumption, in reference to the hygienic choice of a location for the cure of invalid 
 soldiers. 
 
 As a citizen. Dr. Gould made a principle of going out of the ordinary routine of life to 
 lend a helping hand wherever it was desired, and he could. He served the public in many 
 capacities ; in the religious society of which he was from early life a member, and in the 
 public schools, where he took an active interest in all attempts to improve the ways and 
 means of instruction. He from time to time gave public lectures, and although in this 
 capacity he could not be said to be brilliant or highly accomplished, yet his unostentatious 
 manner and simplicity, his knowledge of liis subject and hearty interest in it, always 
 gained him attentive listeners, who went away instructed. 
 
 In his temperament he was genial, and drew friends around him, retaining the old and 
 attracting the new. He came to the social gathering with joyous face and kindly feelings. 
 His love for natural scenery was genuine and hearty, and whatever personal enjoyment 
 came from this source, it was always enhanced if others partook of it with him. There 
 are too many naturalists who stand in the presence of nature all their days, but see her 
 not. To them the world offers nothing but the forms they would technically describe and 
 arrange in their cabinets. Take away this object and all becomes a waste, for they are 
 neither warmed nor enlivened by the world around them. Not so with our associate ; no 
 one toiled more industriously than he over individual forms and specific descriptions ; but 
 all this aside, every aspect of nature touched him to the innermost. Those who have 
 been intimate with him know how his face would light up while in the presence of the 
 least as well as of the greatest natural objects ! the llower of a day, or the sturdy tree 
 
116 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 that had known its centuries of life, the qviiet or the grander scenes of the world. Plis 
 emotions were not those of an enthusiast, hut rather came of a clear perception and calm 
 contemplation of the things around him, and of his own responsive nature. 
 
 His life, all too poorl_y and inadequately represented in this sketch, was throughout a 
 consistent one, and to the end each day Avas full to the round. He was still endeavoring 
 to improve what had been done before, and looking forward to the accomplishment of new 
 and better ends, when suddenly it was closed. He had been less well than usual; on the 
 afternoon of September 14th, 1866, he manifested the usual symptoms of an attack of 
 Asiatic cholei-a, soon after fell into a state of collapse, and on the following morning just 
 before the dawn, he died. 
 
 The office of Custodian, it will be remembered, was created in May 1864, and Mr. Sam- 
 uel H. Scudder was elected to fill it. He held it one year only, when it became vacant 
 and remained so until October 3d of this year, Dr. Packard performing its duties tempora- 
 rily by appointment of the Council. The great importance of having the constant 
 services of some able person who would at the same time perform the special duties 
 appertaining to this office and also act as Lilirarian and Recording Secretary, led the Com- 
 mittee on nominations to propose Mr. Scudder again to the Society for Custodian, and he 
 was elected. An arrangement was then made by the Council with him, by which it 
 was agreed that he should give his undivided attention to the wants of the Society through- 
 out tlie year, excepting such time as might l)e allowed him for a vacation of from one to 
 two months, and that he should jjerform all duties of Custodian, Librarian and Recording 
 Secretary. The Society to provide permanent assistance in the Library department as 
 heretofore, and also in the special manipulation of specimens which require immediate care 
 for their preservation. 
 
 Before the death of our lamented associate. Dr. Gould, there had been some negotiation 
 with him for the purchase of his caliinet of shells, as he had expressed a willingness to 
 part with it to the Society at a price much less than he would be willing to accept from 
 any other party, as he desired it should finally have a place in the Museum. The only 
 reason why the purchase had not lieen consiunmated was that Dr. Gould first wished to put 
 it in good order, and to properly label all the specimens. This work he did not find leisure 
 to do, and consequently much time of an able conchologist would be required to perform 
 it. It was deemed therefore inexpedient to compete with others who offered more than 
 the Society could afford to pay. This was more to be regretted because of its having been 
 the collection of one so much revered by the members, and laecause it contained many t3'pe 
 specimens of species described by him. A large number of the species were, however, 
 already in our cabinet. 
 
 In November, the Society, upon motion of Dr. J. C. White, passed resolutions expressing 
 appreciation of the value of the gift of Mr. Peabody to Harvard University for the founda- 
 tion of a Museum and Professorship of American Archaeology and Ethnology, and 
 great pleasure in the recognition on his part of the relation of this Society to that impor- 
 tant department of Science in the selection of its President for one of the Trustees of the 
 munificent endowment made by him. 
 
 By the terms of this donation, the President of the Society is, ex-officlo, one of the 
 Trustees. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 117 
 
 At the meeting of Nov. 2cl, Mi-. Thos. T. Bouvt! was elected Vice-President of the Soci- 
 ety, to fill the vacancj' made by the death of Dr. Gould. 
 
 A Section of Entomology was formed at the meeting of Nov. 28th. Members of the Soci- 
 ety only to be members of the section, the President of the Society to be ex-officio President 
 of the section, and the Recording Secretary of the Society Recording Secretary of the 
 section. The meetings to be held on the evening of the 4th Wednesday of each month. 
 1867. In January of this year, Palaentology, which had been comlained with Geology, 
 was raised to a separate department, and Thomas T. Bouve was made its Curator. Wm. 
 T. Brigham was chosen Curator of Geolog}^ 
 
 Early in this year the Society was the recipient of a munificent bequest from Miss Sarah 
 P. Pratt. This lady had long been interested in the study of conchology, and had made a 
 large collection of shells obtained from every quarter of the globe, many of them being of 
 rare species. The whole cabinet, consisting of more than 4000 specimens, was bequeathed 
 to the Society, together with her library and works on conchology, and the sum of |10,000 
 to be held as a fund for the increase and maintenance of the department devoted to that 
 science. 
 
 As with individuals, so with institutions, events often succeed each other of the most 
 diverse character, those of a joj^ful following such as are painful, and the reverse. Not a 
 week had elapsed after the announcement of the bequest alcove-mentioned, when news was 
 received of the death of one of the great benefactors of the Society, Dr. Henry Bryant. 
 At a meeting held on the 20th of February, after some remarks by Mr. Bouve expressive 
 of the feeling that pervaded and saddened all hearts, a committee consisting of Drs. S. L. 
 Abbot and J. C. White, and J. E. Cabot, Esq., was appointed to prepare a notice of the 
 professional and scientific life of the deceased. 
 
 In behalf of this committee. Dr. S. L. Abbot subsequently read before the Society a veiy 
 full and discriminating notice of Dr. Bryant, which appeared in Vol. XI of the published 
 Proceedings, and from which the following brief abstract is given. 
 
 Dr. Henry Bryant was born in Boston, May 12, 1820. He entered Harvard University 
 in 1836, graduated in 1840, then studied medicine in the Tremont Medical School, from 
 which he receive^ the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1843. He afterwards studied in 
 Paris and subsequently joined the French army in Africa as a volunteer surgeon, in which 
 capacity he served during the winter campagn of 1846. He returned home in 1847 and 
 commenced the practice of his jirofession. His health failing him he was oljliged to <i-ive 
 up practice, and he ever after devoted himself to the study of Ornithology, which had always 
 been a favorite pursuit with him. The precarious state of his health compelled him to 
 take a great deal of outdoor exercise, and his active, energetic temperament led him often to 
 the most distant parts of the country for the purpose of collecting specimens of Orni- 
 thology. He had a singular power of endurance, and invalid as he was, a most stoical 
 indifference to considerations of personal comfort on these expeditions, which sometimes 
 lasted for months, many of them being out of the country among the West India Islands. 
 On the outbreak of the civil war, he offered himself as a candidate for the position of 
 assistant surgeon in the regular army, and after a very severe examination was accepted, 
 but subsequently was appointed surgeon of the 20th regiment Massachusetts Volunteers 
 being promoted to be brigade surgeon, in September, 1861. He was afterwards Med- 
 
118 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 ical Director in the army of General Shields, in the Shenandoah Valley. While engaged 
 in this service he was severely hurt by his horse falling upon him, and confined to his bed 
 for a jiortion of the many months during Avhich he suffered from his injuries. Yet 
 although it was even thought for a while that he might have to undergo amputation of his 
 foot, he continued on duty all the time, and in the midst of his sufferings organized the 
 military hospitals at Winchester. In August, 1862, he took charge of the Cliftburn hos- 
 pital near Washington, and in December, 1862, was ordered to assume the care and oj^er- 
 ation of the Lincoln hospital, in Washington, which under his thorough and most excellent 
 administration, was regarded as a model hospital. But close confinement and excessive 
 mental labor broke down his health and strength, and he was eventually compelled in 
 May, 1863, to resign his commission. His fixithful service in his country's cause very 
 nearly cost bun his life, so utterly exhausted had he become by unremitting work. 
 
 After the close of the war he went to Europe twice, and in December, I860, visited 
 Porto Rico. For some weeks he travelled about the island, suffering extremely from ill 
 health all the time, but working at his favorite pursuits unintermittingly, until the 1st of 
 February, when he was taken with what proved to be his last violent attack of illness, 
 Avhile on an expedition in the country, and died the next day. 
 
 Dr. Bryant was no common man. He was peculiar in certain ways, 1nit much of this 
 peculiarity arose undoubtedly from his ill health and bodily suffering. His thorough- 
 ness, intellectual honesty, and faithfulness to duty were marked characteristics through 
 his whole career. He was as true as steel, through and through genuine, and with far 
 more kindliness and wider sympathy than he ever liked to show. Dr. Bryant was elected 
 a member of this Society in November, 1841. He served as Cabinet-keeper for a part of 
 1843, and took charge in 1855 of the Entomological collection for a time. From 1854 to 
 the time of his death, he was Curator of Ornithology. 
 
 He was a most munificent friend to the Museum of the Society, his donations embracing 
 reptiles, fishes, crustaceous insects, minerals and birds. His most valuable gift was the 
 magnificent Lafresnaye collection of birds, which amounted to nearly nine thousand fine 
 specimens. Extensive pecuniary aid was also received from him whenever the purchase 
 of collections was desirable for the museum. 
 
 Dr. Bryant married in 1848, Miss Elizabeth B. Sohier, daughter of W. D. Sohier, Esq., 
 of Boston. 
 
 In March of this year Professor Baird, of the Smithsonian Institution, expressed a strong 
 desire that the Society should cooperate with that institution in extending the system of 
 explorations undertaken by it, in return for which the Society should receive the first 
 choice among the duplicates of objects of natural history. He desired a yearly approj^ria- 
 tion of $500. 
 
 There was a unanimous wish on the part of the Council to act favorablj' upon the propo- 
 sition which resulted in a vote : "That the sum of f 500 be placed at the disposal of the 
 Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution for the pui-pose mentioned, and that the 
 Secretary intimate the desire of the Council to assist further at a future time." 
 
 April. The necessity of refraining from any account of the scientific papers brought 
 before the Society or of the discussions that took pla^e at the meetings, in order to con- 
 fine this sketch within reasonable limits, has often prevented even a reference to much of 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 119 
 
 public interest. There was one subject, however, brought before the meeting of April 
 17th of this year, which is here mentioned, because there is yet quite as much diversity of 
 opinion upon it as at that time, and some readers may be interested to learn where to look 
 for the views of two distingivished members of the Society whose investigations led them 
 to diametrically opposite conclusions. This subject was pivactically what was likely to be 
 the result of the introduction here of the common house-sparrow of Europe. Dr. Charles 
 Pickering ably presented his ideas on the question, maintaining that nothing but evil would 
 follow their increase ; that its habits were of the most destructive character and that it had 
 been the enemy of mankind for five thousand years. Dr. Thomas M. Brewer, on the 
 other hand, at a sul)sequent meeting, defended the bird from the charges preferred against 
 it, claimed that it had already accomplished much good in the destruction of insects, and 
 cited the authority of many authors in proof of its great usefulness. The pa^^ers pre- 
 sented were meagrely reported, but may be found in the eleventh volume of the Pro- 
 ceedings. 
 
 The estalalishment of the Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology at Cam- 
 bridge through the mimificence of George Peabody, Esq., gave rise to the question whether 
 it was worth while for the Society to continue its department of Ethnology. After miich 
 consideration it was judged best to abolish it, and this was accordingly done by a vote of 
 the Council. The collection was afterwai'ds presented to the Peabody Museum of American 
 Archaeology and Ethnology at Cambridge. 
 
 Some of the rooms of the Museum which had remained unfinished were at this time 
 prepared for use by laying the floors and building cases. The lecture room was also 
 finished. 
 
 Just before the annual meeting the Society was the recipient of a bequest from a former 
 patron, Mr. Paschal P. Pope, of f 20,000. This large sum was most gratefully received. 
 Mr. Pope had been a successful merchant and had accumulated a large fortune, the greater 
 portion of which he bequeathed to various public institutions. He had the reputation of 
 being a highly honoral^le man, and died at an advanced age, much respected by all who 
 knew him. 
 
 At the annual meeting. May 1st, the Custodian reported that there were now held every 
 week meetings of the general Society, or of the sections of Entomology and Microscopy. 
 There had been thirty-five meetings of the Society ; forty-four communications on various 
 branches of natural history had been read ; forty-one Resident, seven Corresponding, and 
 four Honorary Members elected. The first number of the Memoirs in quarto had been 
 issued, and the first quarter of Volume XI of the Proceedings completed. The museum 
 had been open one hundred and one days, with an average of three hundred and twelve 
 visitors per diem. 
 
 The Library had increased in size, mainly through the efforts made to effect exchanges 
 for our publications by the Librarian when in Europe. It will pex-haps surprise readers to 
 learn that an amount equivalent to -100,000 octavo pages of the publications of the Society 
 had been sent away during the year. 
 
 The donations to the cabinet had been less numerous than usual. Including the bequest 
 of Miss Pratt, there had been added 20,202 specimens. Among these and worthy of 
 mention, was a valuable collection of volcanic specimens from the Hawaiian Islands, pre 
 sen ted by Mr. Wm. T. Brigham. 
 
120 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 The Treasurer's report sliowed receipts from all sources, of $13,281.23, and expenditures 
 of $11,022.93. 
 
 There had been no essays offered in competition for the annual Walker prize. 
 
 The changes in the officers at the election were in Alpheus Hyatt being chosen Curator 
 of Palaeontology in place of Thomas T. Bouve ; J. Eliot Cabot, Curator of Ornithology, 
 in place of Dr. Henry Bryant, deceased ; and Edward S. Morse, Curator of Conchology, in 
 place of Alpheus Hyatt. 
 
 At a meeting in June of this year, the death of Thomas Bulfiuch, long a member of the 
 Society, and for six years its Recording Secretary, was announced by the Rev. R. C. Water- 
 ston, with appropriate remarks upon his life and character. 
 
 Mr. Bulfinch was deservedly held in great esteem by all the members of the Society. 
 His fiiithful devotion to his duty, his genial manner, his loving and sympathetic nature, 
 all conspired to endear him to them and to make his loss deeply felt, particularly to those 
 Avith whom he was associ<ated in the work of the Society in earlier years. 
 
 On motion of Dr. C. T. Jackson, Mr. Waterston was requested to prepare a fitting trib- 
 ute to the memory of the departed for tlie Proceedings, which he did by an exceedingly 
 interesting sketch of his life and character, and which may be found in Volume XL 
 The following is a brief abstract from this paper. 
 
 Thomas Bulfinch was born July 14th, 1796, at Newton, Mass. He was the second son 
 of Charles Bulfinch, whose reputation as an architect at that day stood among the highest 
 in the pi'ofession. Graduating from Harvard University in 1814, he numbered among his 
 classmates Prescott the historian, the Rev. Dr. Greenwood and the Rev. Dr. Lamson. 
 After leaving college, Mr. Bulfinch was chosen usher in the Latin School. Here he 
 remained fourteen months, when feeling no very strong inclination for either of the profe.s- 
 sions, he entered upon the active duties of a business life. Two years were thus spent in 
 Boston, when he was led to remove to Washington, where his father was engaged as archi- 
 tect in the erection of the Capitol. Here he resided seven years, when in 1825 he returned 
 to Boston, entering into a copartnership with his relative, Mr. Joseph Coolidge. This con- 
 nection continued until 1832, when he was chosen to a responsible position in the Mer- 
 chant's Bank, which he held until his death, a period of thirty years. 
 
 Devoted as he was to the duties devolving upon him as a man of business, he had tastes 
 aside from this, yet more congenial to his nature, which he followed with quiet but persis- 
 tent enthusiasm. Thus it was that he became an active member of the Society and its 
 Recording Secretary. 
 
 His mind balanced for a time between science and literature. There was that in both 
 which awakened his admiration and exerted an attractive power. At length, literature 
 gained the ascendancy, though science always continued to possess a peculiar charm. 
 
 In 1855 he published the Age of Fable, in which he relates the stories of Mythology', 
 Greek and Roman, in a way to render them attractive to the lovers of general literature. 
 This was followed in 1858, by a volume on the Age of Chivalry, or the Legends of King 
 Arthur, presenting in the same s])irit pictures of a later age. In 18G3 he published the 
 Legends of Charlemagne, or the Romance of the Middle Ages. 
 
 There were other works of less importance, all of which were the fruit of care, written 
 in hours rescued from the pressure of active business. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 121 
 
 Mr. Bulfincli devoted much time to social intercourse among a circle of friends who 
 highly appreciated his worth. Modest he was, but not morose, for a more genial and gen- 
 erous nature could not be found. Keenly sensitive to the gentle sympathies of life, he 
 truly lived in Iiis affections, and never was he weary of extending kindness, not only to 
 companions and friends who valued his friendship, but to the needy and tried, young or 
 old, whoever they might be. 
 
 Much more might be said of Mr. Bulfinch, but it is not needed. His excellences were 
 fixmiliar to all. His quiet and respectful maimer, his gentlemanly consideration, his 
 conscientious fidelity, his love of learning, his Christian trust and faith ; these were an 
 indispensable part of himself 
 
 Members of the Society and other visitors to the Library will recall with pleasure, not 
 luunixed with sadness, a very agreealjle young lady of great excellence who at this period 
 and for several years was an assistant in the Library. Her beauty of person, her vivacity, 
 her pleasing address and manners, combined with her intelligence and readiness to meet all 
 the requirements of her position, made her a general favorite. She was the daughter of 
 the Rev. Mr. Blaikie, a Presbyterian clergyman of the city. She left the service of the 
 Society because of her marriage, and soon after died, to the great grief of all who had been 
 associated with her. 
 
 It was quite apparent before the close of this year that farther assistance than what had 
 hitlierto been employed was required in the Museum, if the collections were to be pre- 
 served from ruin. It was therefore voted in Council to employ Mr. F. G. Sanborn as 
 assistant in the Museum from the 1st of January, to act under the direction of the Cus- 
 todian. 
 
 Two courses of lectures were authorized by the Society for the winter of 1867-8. 
 One given by Edward S. Morse, consisting of six on the natural history of the mollusca, 
 or shell fish, on Saturday afternoons, commenced Dec. 7th, and continued weekly. The 
 other by Horace Mann, consisting of eight, on structural botany, commenced March 7th. 
 The lecturers were paid $25 for each lecture, and an admission fee of $1 for the course 
 was charged those who attended. The cost of giving these lectures exceeded the amount 
 received from the sale of tickets, $114.37. 
 
 1868. From the Report of the Custodian, made at the annual meeting in May, we 
 learn how much had been done during the year towards preparing unfinished portions of 
 the building for use. Besides the lecture room, in which for the first time the annual 
 meeting was held, the rear library room had been fmrnished for use and was now occupied, 
 two exhibition rooms fitted up, and new cases built for several of the departments. A 
 printing office had been prepared in the basement, and the Janitor's apartments remod- 
 elled. 
 
 There had been twenty general meetings of the Society, seven of the Section of Micro- 
 scopy, and nine of that of Entomology. The average attendance at the general meet- 
 ings was about forty, and at each of the sections about nine. 
 
 There had been eighty-six communications made, of which fifty-six were at the general 
 meetings of the Society, the others being at meetings of the Sections. One Honorary, 
 two Corresponding, and forty Resident Members had been elected. 
 
122 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Thei'e had been issued of the publications of the Society, the second and third parts of 
 the Memoirs, and the fourth and conckiding part of the first volume was in press. The 
 eleventh volume of the Proceedings had been completed, and a new edition of six signa- 
 tures of the eighth volume printed. 
 
 Great additions to the Museum had been made during the year, the most important 
 being a very fine series of humming birds, embracing over 700 specimens, com- 
 prising about 300 species, from Mrs. Henry Bryant; a large collection of eggs, numljer- 
 ing 1500 specimens, comprising more than 350 species, from the same lady; a collection 
 of more than 2000 Guatemalan biixls purchased ; a large donation of several thousand 
 rock and fossil specimens from Dr. C. T. Jackson ; and a collection of skulls from Arizona; 
 given by Dr. J. W. Merriam. 
 
 The collections of the several departmeiits were reported generally to be in good con- 
 dition, though that of Entomology had suffered some injury from the ravages of Anthreni. 
 These pests, had however, been entirely eradicated, and it was hoped that by constant vigi- 
 lance they would be prevented from doing farther harm. Some remarks made by the 
 Custodian before closing his report, are worthy of notice. He said, in referring to the 
 growth of the Society: "The small collections received at first had a certain charm of 
 novelty which attracted the lovers of nature, and were midoubtedly a principal means of 
 sustaixiing the interest of its members ; l3ut the times have greatly changed ; for while the 
 number of members who give their personal attention to the care of the collections is 
 scarcely greater than in former years, the collections have increased an hundred fold, and 
 the ratio of increase does not seem to lessen. Now it is manifestly unpossible for such a 
 state of things to continue, if the Museum is to maintain an appearance creditable to the 
 name and honor of the Society. On this account several years ago a regular Custodian 
 was appointed ; for the same reason the Council found it necessary, within a few months, to 
 engage the services of a regular assistant, whose labors have been already felt in every 
 department. On similar grounds, I believe that in a short time, the services of many 
 assistants will be indispensable ; indeed I am convinced that at least one or two more are 
 needed at the present moment, and that from this time forward the greater jiart of the 
 work of the Museum should be done by regular salaried assistants, mider the direction of 
 the officers." 
 
 The report of the Treasurer showed, including all sources of income available for gen- 
 eral purposes, an excess of expenditures over receij^ts of $;208.05. 
 
 Dr. J. C. White, notwithstanding urgent solicitation that he would continue to hold the 
 position in which he had faithfully served the Society, positively declined reelection. He 
 had been Curator of the department of Mammals and Comparative Anatomy for nearly 
 ten years, devoting a considerable poi'tion of his time to laborious work upon the collec- 
 tion, not a small part of which his wise and skilful management saved from destruction. 
 He was, moreover, very efficient in obtaming specimens for the department, thus contrib- 
 uting to its large increase. 
 
 At the election, all the officers were re-chosen excepting Dr. White. No one was sub- 
 stituted in his place. 
 
 It may be remembered by the reader that in 1837 permission had been given to mem- 
 bers to bring with them to the meetings ladies of their iamilies and such others as they 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 123 
 
 might choose to invite, and that the temporary effect of this at least had been beneficial , 
 leading to a better attendance on the part of the members tliemselves. As stated subse- 
 quently, there is no record of the permission having been withdrawn, but as ladies ceased 
 to attend, it is fair to presume they did so from lack of interest in the proceedings. Twenty 
 years had elapsed, and again an effort was made to have their attendance. Tlie Council at 
 a meeting in June of this year voted : " That member's have permission to invite ladies to 
 attend the second meeting of each month." 
 
 Previous to the summer recess the Lecture Committee of the Council reported in favor 
 of having three courses of lectures during the next succeeding winter, one course of four 
 by Dr. JeflTries on the anatomy of the eye, one by Mr. W. H. Niles, of ten or twelve on the 
 Geological History of North America, and one by Mr. Wm. T. Brigham on some botanical 
 subject. The report was accepted and adopted. 
 
 In October Dr. Burt G. Wilder resigned his position as Curator of Herpetology, being 
 about to remove fronr the State. 
 
 November 18th, Dr. Chas. F. Folsom was elected Curator of Comparative Anatomy, and 
 J. A. Allen Curator of Herpetology. 
 
 In November the death of Mr. Octavius Pickering, long a member of the Society and one 
 of the founders of the Linnaean, was announced with appropriate remarks by the President. 
 
 At the next meeting, the Society was called upon to deplore the loss of another member 
 by the death of Mr. Horace Mann, the youngest officer in its-service, Curator of Botany. 
 The remarks upon the occasion by Mr. Wm. T. Brigham, his intimate friend, were very 
 appropriate and the following particulars are abstracted from them. 
 
 In his earliest youth Mr. Mann imbibed a love of nature from the teachings of his father, 
 and in opposition to the advice of many of his friends who wished him to have a collegiate 
 education, entered the school of Prof Agassiz as a student of zoology and geology. He 
 was at the same time deeply interested in botany, and it was from this taste that his friend- 
 ship with the speaker commenced. In company they visited the Hawaiian Islands and 
 studied the peculiar flora of that group. Soon after his return to Cambridge, Mr. Mann 
 was appointed assistant to Dr. Gray, and subsequently instructor in botany in Harvard 
 College. Besides the work of arranging the Thayer Herbarium, and of aiding Dr. Gray 
 both in preparing material for his classes, and in revising proof for his two botanical man- 
 uals, he worked steadily in spare hours, often late into the night, upon his Hawaiian col- 
 lections, many thousand specimens of which were determined, laljelled and distributed. 
 His enumeration of Hawaiian plants, which has given him a good botanical reputation, 
 was published by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, of which body he was 
 elected a fellow on the very evening of his death. As the result of these Hawaiian 
 explorations, five new genera and sixty-seven new species were added to the flora. 
 
 Early in October, Mr. Mann yielded to the solicitations of his friends, and resigned his 
 college classes ; but the worst forms of pulmonary complaint had gone too flir to be 
 checked ; and although at times his recovery was hoped foi-, he continued to fail rapidly, 
 and passed away on the evening of November 11th. 
 
 1869. Mr. Edward S. Moi'se, then residing in Salem, was engaged to work on the 
 shells of the Pi-att collection, for three alternate days of each week through the year, the 
 other three da^s being devoted to work on the collections of the Peabody Academy. 
 
124 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 A new arrangement was also made with the Custodian, by which he was to give his 
 undivided attention to the duties of the position through the year, with the exception of 
 five weeks between the first of May and the first of November, and three weeks between 
 the first of November and the first of May, he to have permanent assistance in the 
 Library and Museum. 
 
 Upon application to the City Government, two police officers were detailed for duty at 
 the Museum on public days of exhibition. 
 
 An idol obtained in purchasing other objects from Guatemala was, by vote of the Coun- 
 cil, presented to the Peabody Museum. Authority was also obtained from the Marine 
 Society by which the antiquities formerly given by that institution were transferred to the 
 same Museum. 
 
 The Trustees of the Society, after calling attention to the greatly increased expenses of 
 the year, and mentioning the necessity arising therefrom to sell stocks to the amount of 
 $4,000 to meet indebtedness, made a protest against such large expenditures. 
 
 The Council voted that authors should be allowed twenty-five copies of their productions 
 from the publications of the Society, free of expense. 
 
 From the Eeport of the Custodian at the annual meeting in Maj, and doings of the 
 Society for the year ending May, 18G9, may be learned as usual much of interest. There 
 had been twenty general meetings of the Society, ten of the Section of Entomology, and 
 six of Microscopy. At the general meetings, the average attendance of members had been 
 thirty-three, of the Section of Entomology twelve, and of that of Microscopy eight. The 
 number of ladies who attended in response to the invitation of the Society, of course is not 
 included. Very few, however, availed themselves of the opportunity offered. One hundred 
 and five scientific communications had been presented by forty-nine persons, of which the 
 titles are given in the report. Five Corresponding and twenty-nine Resident Members 
 had been elected during the year. 
 
 There had been three courses of lectures given during the winter and spring ; the first 
 by Dr. B. Joy Jeffi'ies, consisted of four upon Optical Phenomena, the second by Mr. W. 
 H. Niles, of twelve upon the Geological History of North America, and the third by Mr. 
 Wm. T. Brigham, of twelve upon Plant Life. The first, not having been advertised and the 
 subject being of limited interest, failed to draw many hearers, the second was attended by 
 an average of sixty-six persons, the third by an audience averaging about nmety-nine per- 
 sons. The last course was in the evening, which may in part account for the greater 
 attendance. 
 
 The Custodian dwelt with satisfaction upon the large amount of the Society's publica- 
 tions, as well he might if only their extent and value were considered, and the consequent 
 cost ignored. When, however, it is learned that what was done in this way led to an 
 excess of expenditures over receipts to the amount of thousands of dollars, and obliged the 
 Trustees of the property of the Society to encroach largely upon its capital to meet this 
 excess, one is inclined to judge there was little cause for exultation. A few years of such 
 lavish expenditure could have had but one result. 
 
 The issue from the press of the publications of the Society had been double that of any 
 previous year, being not less than an equivalent of one thousand two hundred and twenty- 
 nine octavo pages. The twelfth volmne of Proceedings begun a year previous, had 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY 125 
 
 reached the four hundredth page. The annual report, the first issue of the publication 
 called the " Annual," a phjsical map of North America, the fourth part of the Memoirs, 
 and the first volume of the Occasional papers had all appeared, the latter containing the 
 Entomological correspondence of the late Dr. T. W. Harris, embellished with steel plates 
 and wood cuts. 
 
 It will be remembered that in 1867, an appropriation of $500 was made by the Council 
 towards the expenses of some explorations to be made under the auspices of the Smitli- 
 sonian Institution, with the understanding that the Society should receive the first choice 
 among the duplicates of objects of Natural History collected by the explorers. Under 
 this arrangement the Society received within the first year a series of birds from the 
 Island of Socorro, the natural history of which had been explored by Col. Grayson. The 
 specimens received were of peculiar interest, being nearly all new to science, and distinct 
 from the species of the neighboring continent, or of islands nearer the coast. Only a 
 portion of the sum appropriated having been called for, the Council again voted in 1868, 
 that $200 should be at the disposal of the Smithsonian Institution for further explorations 
 by Col. Grayson in Central America, and $100 towards an expedition to be made by 
 Prof Sumichrast in Tehuantepec, the $300 being what remained unexpended of the 
 original appropriation. 
 
 During the past year, after leaving the Island of Socorro, Col. Grayson had been study- 
 ing the natural history of the Sierra Madre, from which, however, returns had not been 
 made of objects obtained by him. A fine collection of birds had, nevertheless, been pre- 
 sented to the Society, by Prof Henry of the Smithsonian Institution, collected at Costa 
 Rica. 
 
 From the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, for the exploration of which by Prof Sumichrast 
 the Society contributed $100, news had been received of a very promising character. 
 The Smithsonian Institution had already received specimens which had been distributed 
 for identification. 
 
 One of our own members, Mr. W. H. Dall, had lieen employed by the Society for sev- 
 eral months selecting specimens from the Smithsonian duplicates, partly in return for the 
 contributions made by the Society towards the explorations referred to, and partly as a 
 donation from the Institution. 
 
 Already many fossils and mollusks had been received by the Society, and a collection 
 of the nests and eggs of birds was expected to arrive. 
 
 The visitors to the Museum had exceeded thirty-six thousand. It had been open to 
 the public one hundred and four days. 
 
 In the department of Mammals and Comparative Anatomy, a movement had been made 
 towards obtaining specimens of all our New England mammals, and to make room for 
 them, the Ethnological collection was to be removed. A black bear and an antelope, one 
 the donation of Mr. W. T. Adams, the other of the City, had already been received. 
 
 The collection of birds had been increased by a donation of twenty-five specimens 
 of the land species of Massachusetts, from Mr. L. L. Thaxter of Newton. Mi-s. Bryant 
 had again shown her interest in tlie Society by the gift of a large and valuable collection 
 of unmounted birds from the West Indies and Central and North America, and from Pro- 
 fessor Henry of the Smithsonian Institution, eighty specimens from Costa Rica had been 
 received, all labelled by Mr. Lawrence. 
 
126 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 The collection of Nests and Eggs of birds had been entirely rearranged. A statement 
 was made showing the collection at this time to consist of the eggs of seven hundred birds, 
 of which four hundred were American. A large numljer of duplicates, valuable for ex- 
 change, had been presented by Mi's. Bryant, and about two hundred and fifty nests and 
 eggs by the Smithsonian Institution. 
 
 The Curators of the departments of Reptiles and Fishes mentioned great deficiences in 
 the representation of Massachusetts species, and in the latter the need of help in order 
 to identify and label the specimens. 
 
 The Entomological collection was stated to be in better condition than it had been a 
 year previous, much attention having been given to its improvement and preservation. 
 
 In refei'ring to the condition of the department of Mollusks, the Custodian made some 
 remarks of more than temporary value. With the exception, he stated, of work done by 
 the last Curator, there is no evidence of any attention having been bestowed upon the 
 specimens for fifteen years. It was now in a worse condition than it had been years before, 
 showing that gratuitous aid had proved a failure. The Curator's entire attention had been 
 given to the Pratt collection, the arrangement of which would be completed before other 
 woi'k was done in the department. 
 
 Of the other collections nothing was said of sufficient importance to repeat here. 
 
 The report of the Treasurer was startling. It showed an excess of expenditures over 
 receipts of more than ^6,000, and a diminution in the value of the Society's property of 
 over $13,000. Much of this latter was accounted for by the reduction in the estimated 
 value of the stocks which had been received under the Walker bequest, but it was only 
 too evident that there had not been a due economy exercised in the administration of the 
 business of the Society. Well might the Trustees protest as they did, and well it was, too, 
 that the Council heeded their warning. The lesson taught was not lost upon the members, 
 and finally led to measures tending to prevent, under any ordinary circumstances, more 
 expense of means than income warranted. Among these was that of requiring from the 
 Trustees at the commencement of each year an estimate of the probable receipts from the 
 various sources tabulated, and also one showing what expenditures might be incurred in 
 the different departments based upon such receipts ; there being a clear understanding 
 that under no avoidable circumstances should there be expended more than the income. 
 This met the hearty approval of all, and the policy adopted has been faithfully adhered to 
 ever since. It was not, however, intended that the expenditure yet necessary in finishing 
 the rooms of the Museum and in supplying cases should be paid for from the ordinary 
 income. Whatever was done in this way it was expected would necessarily be paid for in 
 part, at least, from the principal of the Society's property. At the meetings of the Coun- 
 cil followino; the o;eneral meetino;, there was much discussion concerniuij retrenchment, a 
 strong disposition being manifested to reduce expenses within the probable income. 
 
 At a regular meeting in June the Rev. Robert C. Waterston reminded the members of 
 the approaching centennial anniversary of tlie birthday of Humboldt, and suggested the 
 public celebration of it by the Society. lie remarked that it was wholly unnecessary in 
 such a presence to speak of Alexander Von Ilumljoldt in order to im])art information con- 
 cerning one whose illustrious reputation in so many departments of knowledge had made 
 his name familiar over the civilized world. Yet in view of what he had done for science 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OP NATURAL HISTORY. 127 
 
 by liis explorations on this continent, it seemed particularly appropriate that a Society like 
 this should do honor to his memory. He further remarked tha,t there was one among the 
 members, preeminent in science, who had been his pupil and his personal friend, Louis 
 Agassiz, who was specially qualified to sjieak upon such an occasion. That to hear him 
 menof science and letters from every part of the country would gladly assemble to listen 
 and to respond. 
 
 Although the matter had not been apparently thought of by any of the members, all 
 present heartily concurred in the sentiments expressed by Mr. Waterston, recognizing that 
 in the Society thus paying a tribute of respectful homage to one of the noisiest of men, 
 it could not but do itself great honor. The proposal therefore met with a hearty response, 
 and the following resolution, offered by Mr. Waterston, was unanimously adopted : 
 
 " Resolved, Tliat it is highly desirable that the Boston Society of Natural History should 
 hold a public celebration of the centen^iial anniversary of the birth of Alexander Von 
 Humboldt, and that a committee of five be appointed to consider the whole subject and 
 empowered to make all arrangements." The President appointed on this committee the 
 Rev. Robert C. Waterston, Dr. Samuel Kneeland and Mr. Samuel H. Scudder. To these 
 were subsequently added the President, Jeflries Wyman, His Honor the Mayor, N. B. 
 Shurtleflf, and Col. T. W. Higginson. 
 
 It is due to Mr. Waterston to state that a large part of the work attendant upon 
 the celebration was done by him. That it might be a thorough success and redound 
 to the credit of the Society and the community, he gave up his whole tune to it, remain- 
 ing in the city during the hot summer months, and exex'ting himself to the utmost that 
 nothing might be left undone that would add to the interest of the occasion. He not only 
 arranged for the meeting at which the address was to be delivered, but for a reception in 
 the evening, at which distinguished men should be invited to speak, and he induced the 
 City Government to take jiart in it and to provide an entertainment at the expense of the 
 City. 
 
 The celebration which followed on the 14th of September was in every resjDect a success, 
 far exceeding the anticipations of all who had favored it. Probably nowhere throughout 
 the civilized world was the day more appropriately observed. The address by Agassiz was 
 worthy of the man and the occasion. It was delivered at the Music Hall before an 
 audience which filled every available place in it. Delegates from the leading literary 
 and scientific societies of New England and representatives from the colleges of Yale, 
 Bowdoin, Brown, Dartmouth and Harvard were present, as were likewise His Excellency 
 the Governor of the Commonwealth, His Honor the Mayor of the City and members of 
 both branches of the City Government. President Wyman presided at the meeting. 
 
 The evening reception was at Horticultural Hall. A large and distinguished audience 
 attended it, including invited guests from Uterary and scientific societies, members of the 
 City Government, and many gentlemen interested in the cause of education from every 
 part of the country. Interesting mementos of Humboldt, including several portraits of 
 him, were placed upon the platform and about the hall. The Rev. Mr. Waterston pre- 
 sided, and after welcoming the delegates from the different societies present and mak- 
 ing some appropriate remarks, introduced successively the Rev. Frederick H. Hedge, Mr. 
 Ralph Waldo Emerson and Prof E. J. Young, all of whom made interesting addresses. 
 Among the portraits exhibited, was one by Mr. Wight, painted at Berlin in 1852 from life. 
 
128 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 when Humboldt was eighty-three years of age. It had been loaned to the committee for 
 the occasion by the artist. The chairman, calling attention to it, stated that an order had 
 been given to tlie artist to execute an exact copy. This wovdd Ijc unveiled, and if it was 
 found in every respect satisfactory, he, tlie chairman, would take great pleasure in pre- 
 senting it on this centennial anniversary to the Boston Society of Natural History. The 
 covering was removed and the resemblance was found to be so perfect as to call forth 
 spontaneous applause. A letter from the artist was read giving an account of his personal 
 observation of Humboldt when he was engaged upon his portrait. Accompanying it was 
 an autogi'aph note of Humboldt, which was also presented to the Boston Society of Natural 
 History by the chairman. In Ijehalf of the Society, Dr. Charles T. Jackson, Vice-Presi- 
 ident, accepted the portrait and autograph with expression of thanks. He stated that 
 Humboldt himself had declared that the original by Wight was the best ever painted of 
 him. 
 
 Dr. Jackson then gave some pleasant reminiscences of Hural)oldt, whom he had often 
 met in Paris at Cuvier's lectures in 1833. He also made some interesting remarks upon 
 his works and character. 
 
 The chairman then called upon his Honor the Mayor, who, in responding briefly, said 
 that the City Government, being desirous of expressing its respect for the memory of Alex- 
 ander Von Humljoldt, had passed resolutions and had made a generous appropriation. In 
 behalf of Isoth branches, he invited all present to partake of a collation prepared for them 
 in the hall below. The company accepted the invitation and proceeded to the place 
 assigned, where they enjoyed an excellent supper, during which at intervals the Gei'- 
 mania Ijand added their enlivening music to the entertainment. 
 
 After refreshment at the tables, a poem upon Humljoldt, prepared for the occasion by Oli- 
 ver Wendell Holmes, and another by Mrs. Julia Ward Howe, were read. During the even- 
 ing, several communications from distinguished persons unable to be present, were pre- 
 sented, one from the Hon. Theo. S. Fay, one from Prof William B. Eogers, one from 
 the Rev. Noah Porter and one from John G. Whittier. The address by Agassiz, with a 
 full account of the proceedings at the evening meeting, may be found in pamphlet form 
 published hy the Society. 
 
 In October, Dr. C. F. Folsom resigned his position as Curator of Comparative Anatomy 
 and Mammals. 
 
 At a meeting of the Council, held Nov. 17th, it was voted tftat the net proceeds of 
 the celebration of the Centennial Anniversary of the birth of Humboldt, together with 
 the money received from the sale of Prof Agassiz's address previous to Jan. 1, 1870, and 
 the money subscribed at the solicitation of the Society's Committee, be given to the 
 Trustees of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College, in trust, for the 
 establishment of an endowment under the title of the " Humboldt Scholarship," the 
 income of which should be solely applied, under the direction of the Faculty, toward the 
 maintenance of one or more young and needy persons engaged in study at said Museum. 
 The reception of the money, amounting to $7,040.66, was gratefully acknowledged by 
 the Trustees of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, under the conditions expressed in 
 the vote of the Council. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 129 
 
 Mention was made in giving an account of the proceedings at the evening reception on 
 the day of the Humbohit celebration, of a fine portrait presented by the Rev. Mr. Waters- 
 ton to the Society. This may now be seen in the Library of the Museum. 
 
 The hearty thanks of the Society were passed to Mr. Watersto n not only for the val 
 uable portrait and autograph, but for the unflagging energy with which he had labored 
 for the success of the Humboldt celebration. Testimony was borne to the untiring zeal 
 manifested by him in obtaining subscriptions for the fund, and in performing a large part 
 of tlie worlv consequent upon the celebration. The Society also expressed its obligations 
 to Prof Agassiz for his able address, a copy of which was asked for publication. Thanks 
 were also voted to the Orpheus Musical Association, and to Mr. Carl Zerrahn, for their wel- 
 come aid in the performances of the occasion; also to Mr. J. H. Paine, who presided at 
 the organ. 
 
 1870. On January 19th, Dr. Thomas Waterman was elected Curator of Comparative 
 Anatomy and Mammals. 
 
 At the meeting of April 20th, in view of contemplated changes in the administration of 
 the Society, certain alterations were made in the Constitution and By-laws to go into 
 effect on and after the annual meeting. The most important of these arose from the sub- 
 stitution of Committees for Curators in the care of the Museum. 
 
 The Constitution was made to express that the officers of the Society shall consist of a 
 President, two Vice-Presidents, a Corresponding Secretary, a Recording Secretary, a Libra- 
 rian, a Custodian and a Committee of three on each department of the Museum, etc., etc. 
 
 The By-laws were so altered as to define that the Committees should be entrusted with 
 the care of the Museum ; that they should be designated for particular departments at 
 the time of their election, and consist of not more than three members, one of whom 
 should be named by the nominating committee to act as chairman. The duties mentioned 
 were such as the By-laws previously active expressed for those of the Curators. 
 
 Annual meeting. The Custodian's report gave the following summary of the doings of 
 the Society during the year : 
 
 There had been eighteen general meetings, the average attendance at which had been 
 thirty-two : eight of the section of Entomology, with an average attendance of eleven : 
 and seven of the section of Microscopy, with an average attendance of nine. Forty-seven 
 scientific communications had been made by twenty-five persons, all of which had been 
 printed in full or by title in the Proceedings. 
 
 One Honorary, three Corresponding and thirty-nine Resident Members had been elected. 
 
 Three courses of evening lectures had been arranged for by the Council. One of twelve, 
 entitled Sketches of Animal Life, by Mr. Edward S. Morse, delivered in the early part of 
 the season, had an average audience of seventy-six persons ; the second, consisting also of 
 twelve, given by Mr. William T. Brigham, entitled The Earth we live on, had an 
 audience averaging ninet3'-eight persons; the third, not concluded at the time of the annual 
 meeting, consisted of four, entitled Familiar Talks about Insects, given by Mr. F. G. San- 
 born. The average attendance at these was about sixty. 
 
 Of the Publications it was stated that from economical considerations the issue of a large 
 number of the Memoirs had been postponed. Of the Proceedings the twelfth volume had 
 been printed, and a part of the thirteenth. The address of Prof. Agassiz at the recent cole- 
 
130 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 bration of tlie Humboldt Centenary, with an account of the evening's festivities, forming 
 an octavo pamphlet of one hundred and seven pages, had been also published and dis- 
 tributed. 
 
 The Custodian expressed strongly the feeling that a further postponement of activity 
 in this direction could not tail to be disastrous. Yet there had been sent aln'oad of 
 parts of Memoirs and of the Journal, of copies of Harris' Correspondence, of the Pro- 
 ceedings, what was equivalent to about two hundred and sixty-five volumes of the Pro- 
 ceedings, and over 200,000 octavo pages. Besides all this the Society had distributed in 
 behalf of the Commonwealth, three hundred copies on the Report of the Invertebrates of 
 Massachusetts, recently published by the State. 
 
 The judicious action of the Legislature, the Custodian remarked, in placing its scien- 
 tific publications where they will be of the greatest permanent benefit, merits the com- 
 mendation of all who, like ourselves, are aiming at the widest diftusion of knowledge. 
 
 An enumeration of the books in the Liln-ary had been recently made. They were 
 counted as bound, whether containing more than one volume, as frequently the case, or 
 not ; and the parts had been estimated at their proper proportions of the volumes to 
 which they belong, and the pamphlets counted separately. The enumeration therefore 
 gave the number as proportionably smaller than previous estimates. There were found 
 to be 9-396 volumes, and 2677 pamphlets. Of these volumes ten hundred and ten were of 
 a general literary character, mostly deposited by "A Piepublican Institution "; eight hun- 
 dred and six were botanical ; four hundred and fifty-three entomological ; four hundred 
 and two geological and mineralogical ; five hundred and ten encyclopaedic ; six hundred 
 and thirteen upon vertebrates ; five hundred and thirty-six upon travels and local fauna, 
 and forty-one liundred and seventy-three journals and publications of Societies. 
 
 The Custodian announced the death of our esteemed coadjutor. Col. A. J. Grayson, to 
 whose explorations it will be recollected the Society contributed in connection with the 
 Smithsonian Institution. It had been the strong wish of both jjarties interested, that he 
 should visit the Sierra Madre of North Western Mexico, that he might make there a care- 
 ful investigation of its fauna. He arranged to be there in June, that being considered 
 the most favoruljle month for his purposes. Prior to that period he visited the Island of 
 Isabella off the coast to study the habits of sea fowl during their breeding season, and 
 there he contracted a malarious disease that led to his death in August. 
 
 The amount contributed by the tSociety being unexpended, was returned by his wife to 
 the Smithsonian Institution. By advice of Prof. Henry, this was transferred by vote of 
 the Council to Prof Sumichrast, to be used in the explorations undertaken Ijy him on the 
 Isthmus of Tehuantepec. 
 
 An arrangement had been made by the Custodian with the Secretary of the Smith- 
 sonian Institution, by which a large number of unassorted sjiechnens of various character 
 were sent to the Society with the \uiderstanding that they should be returned in orderly 
 condition, compensation for the labor being made by a selection from the duplicates for 
 the Cabinet. 
 
 The number of visitors to the Museuui diu-ing the year exceeded forty thousand. It 
 was open to the public one huudred and four days. The largest number present on any 
 one day was seven hundred and eiglity-one. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 131 
 
 The Cnstodian reported the collections of the different departments of the Society to be 
 in good condition. That of Mammals and Comparative Anatomy had received a stuffed 
 specimen of the great Antarctic seal collected in the exploring expedition of Commodore 
 Wilkes. A living opossum and its young had also been received from Dr. C. Kollock of 
 South Carolina, and had been mounted in characteristic attitudes. Other interesting 
 specimens had been received from the Union Street menagerie. 
 
 In the Ornithological department, the mounted birds had had special attention, every 
 specimen having been taken down, thoroughly examined, and where necessary treated 
 with benzine and other materials. The cases had all been made as nearly air tight as pos- 
 sible and in fict every possible measure adopted to prevent the further ravages of insects. 
 To accomplish this, four or five persons had worked continnously for two months. Dona- 
 tions had been received from the Smithsonian Institution, F. E. Everett, S. Mixter, 
 H. A. Purdie and others. 
 
 Quite extensive additions had been made to the collection of nests and eggs, mostly 
 in exchange. To Mr. B. P. Mann and Mr. S. Mixter, the department had been indebted 
 for the presentation of many specimens. 
 
 The Entomological collections were reported in better condition than at any time within 
 ten years. Mrs. Stratton, Mr. H. Edwards and others, had presented many specimens, and 
 there had been a valuable accession from Tehuantepec collected by Professor Sumichrast. 
 
 There had l^een considerable work done upon the Reptiles, and one hundred and fifteen 
 specimens had been added to the collection. A marked deficiency of native species was 
 mentioned, particularly of turtles. 
 
 The Fishes, numbering three thousand eight hundred and ninety-six specimens, were 
 reported in good order and mostly identified. 
 
 Some work had been done by Mr. S. I. Smith upon the Crustacea, and the whole collec- 
 tion placed in satisfactory condition. 
 
 The Curator of Mollusks reported much progress in mounting the gasteropods of the 
 Pratt collection, and mentioned that a valuable series of British shells had been received 
 from the Smithsonian Institution, and many specimens from Mr. H. Edwards and othei-s. 
 
 The collection of Radiates had been greatly improved, and a large portion of the corals 
 and sponges mounted in an erect position upon black tablets. 
 
 The Botanical department had received an important addition in the herbarium of Hon. 
 John Amory Lowell, containing many thousand species carefully labelled, mounted aud 
 catalogued. 
 
 By the subscription of some gentlemen, a ring of the bark of a Redwood tree of Califor- 
 nia had been purchased, measuring forty feet in circumference. This had been mounted 
 under the direction of Mr. Brigham, the acting Curator, and now forms a conspicuous 
 object in the entrance hall of the Museum. 
 
 The arduous task of rearranging and labelling the entire Mineralogical collection had 
 been completed by the Curator, and the whole was now in perfect order. The number of 
 specimens was about 2800. 
 
 Mr. S. H. Scudder, the Custodian, in presenting the annual report, took occasion, as 
 this was to be the final one by him, to review somewhat at length the experience of the 
 Society in the past, and to suggest considerations in relation to its future policy. He said 
 that " while some collections need a good deal of revision and many are not yet entirely 
 
132 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 supplied with the xmiform system of labelling lately adopted, the Museum is in much 
 better order and in a much safer condition than it has been at any time since our removal 
 to this building. The Library has increased, and the lectures have proved a success, but 
 in our publications and in the interest of our meetings, we have sadly fallen off." 
 
 The Custodian further remarked upon the great importance of the publications of the 
 Society as a means through which the researches of the members might be promptly 
 made known, and the fame which it has fairly won at home and abroad be sustained. 
 
 In relation to the Museum, after mentioning its large collections, he expressed the view 
 that, with some exceptions, they embi-aced sufficient for all the purposes of the Society. 
 That its principal aim shoiild not be to sustain a great museum or an industrial one, but 
 rather seek to maintain first, a popular educational one, in which all and none but the 
 characteristic forms of life and inorganic nature should be displayed, and second, a com- 
 plete local collection, restricted at widest to our New England flora and fauna. To effect 
 this, it was important that more skilled labor should be regularly employed, and a man of 
 broad scientific culture placed at the head of the Museum, with its interests alone in 
 charge. 
 
 The Custodian then spoke of his endeavors to faithfully perform the duties of his office, 
 and expressed warmly his appreciation of the devotedness of those who had Ijeen engaged 
 to assist him in the various departments of the Society's opei'ations. 
 
 Upon motion of Mr. F. W. Putnam, who thought something more was due the retiring 
 Custodian than a simple vote of thanks for his services, it was unanimously voted that the 
 rules be suspended and Mr. Scudder be made a Life Member of the Society. 
 
 The Treasurer's report showed, including all sources of income available for general pur- 
 poses, a balance of receij^ts over expenditures, of $160.49. 
 
 The Prize Committee reported through Dr. J. B. S. Jackson, that only one essay had 
 been offered in competition for this year's prize, and this was not deemed worthy of it. 
 They announced for the subject of the prize for 1872, "The Darwinian question ; its bear- 
 ings on the development of animal life." 
 
 Letters from the President, Dr. Jeffries Wyman, at this time in Europe, positively declin- 
 ing to be a candidate for the office so long held by him, had been received. The Nomina- 
 ting Committee however, thinking that he might lie induced again to accept the position, 
 asked further time for consideration before any action was taken in electing a President. 
 They also asked further tune before presenting names for the Committees on the depart- 
 ments of Mammals and Comparative Anatomy, as the Council had, but a few hours before 
 the meeting, divided the department of Comparative Anatomy, which before embraced 
 Mammals, into two departments. They lilicwise asked further time before nominating the 
 Committee for the department of Microscopy. 
 
 The list of officers proposed by them was then presented, the Rev. Joshua A. Swan 
 being named as the successor to Mr. S. H. Scudder, for the positions of Custodian, Librarian 
 and Recording Secretary. A strong objection was made to the nominee for the former 
 office, many present fiTvoring the election of Mr. Alpheus Hyatt. A prolonged and very 
 earnest discussion followed, the whole policy of the Society and the comparative merits of 
 the two persons mentioned for the position being ably presented. Those who participated 
 in the discussion were N. S. Shaler, J. R. S. Jackson, J. C. White, E. S. Morse, R. C. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 133 
 
 Greenleaf. F. W. Putman, W. H. Niles, T. M. Brewer, W. T. Brigham, J. D. Runkle and 
 Thomas T. Bouve. Upon balloting, it was found that Mr. Alpheus Hyatt was elected 
 Custodian and Mr. Swan, Librarian and Recording Secretary, the majority of the members 
 thus electing two officers to fill the three positions, instead of one as hitherto. One objec- 
 tion to this was the largely increased expense thereby incurred, but the result was gener- 
 ally satisfactory. 
 
 The Committees chosen for the several departments were as follows : 
 
 On Birds. 
 Tlioinas M. Brewer, M. D., 
 Samuel Cabot, JNI. D., 
 J. A. Allen. 
 
 On Fishes and Reptiles. 
 D. Humphreys Storer, M. D., 
 F. W. Putnam, 
 N. E. At wood. 
 
 Qti Insects. 
 F. G. Sauborn, 
 A. S. Packard, .Jr., M. D., 
 Edward Burgess. 
 
 On Crustacean and Radiates. 
 A. S. Packard, Jr., M. D., 
 A. E. Verrill, 
 Alexander Asrassiz. 
 
 On Molliishs. 
 Edward S. Morse, 
 John Ciunmingg, 
 Levi L. Thaxter. 
 
 On Palaeontology. 
 W. II. Niles, 
 N. S. Shaler, 
 Thomas T. Bouve. 
 
 On Botany. 
 William T. Brigham, 
 Charles J. Sjirague, 
 J. Amory Lowell. 
 
 On Minerals and Geology. 
 Thomas T. Bouve, 
 Cliarles T. Jackson, M. D., 
 William T. Bri<duun. 
 
 The election of Committees for the departments of Comparative Anatomy, Mammals and 
 Microscopy was postponed to allow time for further consideration. 
 
 The fourth decade of the existence of the Society was now completed. Tt had been a 
 period of gr-eat events in its history. Its commencement found the country involved in a 
 war which, by rapidly wasting its resources, threatened alike its material prosperity and 
 its progress in art, science and literature. There was sadness in the hearts of men and an 
 undefined dread of evil pervading their minds, tending to concentrate all thought upon the 
 movements of armies and the tidings of conflict. Thank God, too, there was an unfalter- 
 ing faith in the final success of the struggle for the nation's integrity, which kept alive 
 hope and encouraged exertion for the advancement of all movements promising future 
 good to the communit}'. Thus was it that in the midst of a dreadful civil war the Society 
 was enabled, through the untiring devotion of its own members and by the exertions, the 
 contributions and Ijequests of many friends, to erect the fine structure that now adorns the 
 city, and to place therein the great collections of natural history that now minister to 
 the delight and the instruction of multitudes. 
 
 In referring to the period of the civil wai", it may not be amiss to state that besides the 
 members of the Society mentioned as having resigned their official positions in it to enter 
 the service of their country, there were several others who took an active part m the con- 
 flict. Among them was one whose great interest in the welfare of our institution for 
 
134 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 many years as sliown by his exertions in its behalf when in distant regions, entitles him to 
 resijectful notice in these pages. Th:it he died by the hands of the enemy makes it all the 
 more a duty to render a tribute to his memory. 
 
 Joseph P. Couthouy Avas born in Boston, January 6, 1808. He was educated at one of 
 the schools in the town, and when yet a lad, made a voyage in his father's ship. His 
 tastes leading him to prefer a sea life, he applied himself to the calling he had chosen, and 
 became, when old enough, the captain of a vessel. 
 
 He early developed a love for science, and had progressed in his studies to such an 
 extent that when the American Ex23loring Expedition was organized imder command of 
 Lieutenant Wilkes, he was appointed one of the scientific corps to accompany it, his spe- 
 cialty being that of Conchology. The expedition sailed from Hampton Roads, Aug. 18th, 
 1838, and, although the state of his health obliged him eveutually to abandon his share 
 of the enterprise at the Samoan Islands, yet he had already made veiy valualtle collec- 
 tions of shells and illustrated his numerous notes and descrijjtions concerning the many 
 species obtained, with draAvings and colorings which AYOuld have been of invaluable assist- 
 ance to Dr. A. A. Gould, who subsequently published the elaborate report on the shells 
 secured by the expedition, had not these papers been in some unexplained Avay lost or 
 destroyed when the cases containing the specimens were nnjiacked after arrival. 
 
 Captain Couthouy afterwards went to South America and the islands of the Pacific 
 Ocean, making numberless valuable observations on the natural history of the countries 
 which he visited. 
 
 In the year 1854, he was engaged to take command of an expedition to the Bay of 
 Cumana, for the purpose of exploring for the wreck of the Spanish man-of-war San Pedro, 
 lost there nearly half a century previously, which was supposed to have had a great amount 
 of treasure on board. After three years spent in an unsuccessful search for this, the vessel 
 returned to the United States, and was lost in a violent snow storm on Cape Cod, the crew 
 being saved 'with the greatest difficulty. 
 
 When the war of the rebellion broke out, Captain Couthouy offered his services to the 
 government. They were at once accepted, and he was placed in command of the U. S. 
 barque -'Kingfisher," in Avhich he w^as actively engaged against the enemy. Being trans- 
 ferred to the command of the U. S. steamer " Columbia," he joined the blockading 
 squadron of the South Atlantic, and upon his vessel being wrecked in a storm at Mason- 
 boro Inlet, he was captured aud sent as a prisoner of war to Salisbury, where he remained 
 three months. After being exchanged he was placed in command of the monitor "'Osage" 
 of the Mississippi river squadron under Admiral Porter, and subsequently, being transferred 
 to the " Chillicothe " of the same squadron, Avas ordered up the Red River. In this expe- 
 dition he met his death. On the 3d of April his ship Avas engaged Avith a large body of 
 rebel troops on the shore. Captain Couthouy Avas on deck directing tlie fire of his guns, 
 when a rebel sharp-shooter on the bank fired at and mortally wounded him. He died the 
 next day, universally regretted by officers and men, and Ijy no one more than the 
 Admiral, Avho, in a letter to the Secretary of the Navy, bore witness to his zealous, patri- 
 otic and estimable character. 
 
 Captain Couthouy was a man of rare and varied ability. He AA^as a fine linguist, and 
 spoke Avith great elegance the Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese languages. An 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 135 
 
 interesting example of the beauty of his pronimciation of the Spanish was given the 
 writer by one of Ins intimate friends. Being in Spain at tlie time of the CarUst wars, he 
 was repeatedly under suspicion on the part of the officers of the government, who could 
 not believe him to be a foreigner, the purity of his accent and thorough knowledge of the 
 language leading them to think that he must necessarily be a native Spaniard. He had 
 also in the course of his travels mastered more than one of the unwritten languages of the 
 South Pacific Islands. 
 
 He was descriljed by inthnate friends and associates as being a man of the utmost fasci- 
 nation of manner, and one whose wide and varied information made him one of the most 
 interesting of companions. 
 
 Elected a member of the Society on the 6th of April, 1836, he was often before it while 
 at home, at the meetings, with commvmications or remarks relating to facts of scientific 
 interest which had come to his knowledge during his wide-spread investigations abroad. 
 He also, from time to time, presented many specimens to the Society. 
 
 His memory should be held in tender regard by the Society, for while, in former years, 
 an active and valued associate, his death in battle in the service of his country added 
 another to the list of those who have passed away, leaving, through faithful work in the 
 cause of science, a lasting lustre on its roll of membership. 
 
 Captain Couthouy married Miss Mary G. Wild of Boston. His wife died in 1857, and at 
 the time of his death, in 1864, he had three daughters living. His only son had died 
 previously. 
 
 It having been necessary in quite a number of instances during the first half of this 
 decade to record the fact of several of the officers having resigned or temporarily vacated 
 their positions in order to engage in the military or naval service during the war for the 
 suppression of the rebellion, it is fitting that the part which was taken in the great conflict 
 by members of the Society should be recognized ; and the following roll gives the names 
 and branch of the . service to which they belonged, of such as are, or have been, borne 
 upon its list of membership. 
 
 Dr. Samuel Kneeland, Surgeon 45th Mass. Infantry, Brevet Lieut. Colonel. 
 
 Dr. Henry Bryant, Surgeon 20th Mass. Infantry, Brigade Surgeon U. S. Vols. 
 
 Dr. Samuel A. Green, Asst. Surgeon 1st Mass. Infantry, Surgeon 24th Mass. Infantry. 
 
 Dr. Burt G. Wilder, Asst. Surgeon 55th Mass. Infantry. 
 
 Dr. B. Joy Jeffries, Sergeant 1st Corps Cadets M.V.M., Acting Assistant Surgeon U.S.A. 
 
 Dr. Francis H. Brown, Acting Assistant Surgeon U. S. Army, Private 12th unattached company Mass. 
 Infantry. 
 
 Theodore Lyman, Colonel U. S. Vols., aide-de-camp to Major General Meade. 
 
 Albert Ordway, Lieut. Colonel 24th Mass. Infantry. Brevet Brigadier General. 
 
 Amos Binney, Mnjor and Paymaster U. S. Vols. 
 
 Dr. John Stearns, Surgeon 4th Mass. Heavy Artillery. 
 
 Dr. Lucius M. Sargent, Jr., Surgeon 2d Mass. Infantry, afterwards Major 1st Mass. Cavalry. Killed in 
 battle. 
 
 Dr. ILiU Curtis, Asst. Surgeon 24th Mass. Infantry, Surgeon 2d Mass. Heavy Artillery. 
 
 Dr. Robert T. Edes, Passed Assistant Surgeon U. S. Navy. 
 
 Dr. Z. Boylston Adams, Asst. Surgeon 7th Mass. Infantry, Surgeon 32d Mass. Infantry, afterwards 
 Major 56tli Mass. Infantry. 
 
 Dr. A. S. Packard, Jr., Asst. Surgeon 1st Maine Veteran Volunteer Infantry. 
 
136 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Dr. Calvin G. Page, Surgeon 39tli Mass. Infantry. 
 
 Dr. Franklin Niekerson, Acting Assistant Surgeon U. S. Navy. 
 
 Dr. F. P. Sprague, Acting Assistant Surgeon U. S. Army. 
 
 Dr. Algernon Coolidge, Acting Assistant Surgeon LT. S. Army. 
 
 Dr. Edward Wigglesworth, Jr., Hospital Steward 45th Mass. Infantry, Volunteer Surgeon. 
 
 Dr. J. Collins Warren, Volunteer Surgeon U. S. Army. 
 
 Dr. Francis C. Ropes, Assistant Surgeon U. S. Army. 
 
 Dr. H. M. Saville, Surgeon 4tli Mass. Infantry. 
 
 Dr. George Derl)y, Surgeon 23d Blass. Infantry, Brevet Lieut. Colonel. 
 
 Dr. II. P. Bowditch, Major 54lh Mass. Infantry, Captain 1st Mass. Cavalry, Major 5th Mass. Cavalry. 
 
 Dr. Jolm McLean Hayward, Surgeon 12th Mass. Infantry. 
 
 Dr. C. F. Crehore, Asst. Surgeon 15th Mass. Infantry, Surgeon 37th Mass. Infantry, Medical Inspector on 
 staff of Major General Sedgwick. 
 
 Dr. Oliver F. Wadsworth, Asst. Surgeon 5th Mass. Cavalry, Brevet Captain U. S. Vols. 
 
 Dr. Allston G. Bouve, Private Gth Mass. Infantry. 
 
 Dr. John Homans, Assistant Surgeon U. S. Navy, Asst. Surgeon U. S. Army. 
 
 Dr. William Ingalls, Surgeon 5th and 59th regiments Mass. Infantry. 
 
 Dr. William Henry Thayer, Surgeon 14th New Hampshire Infantry. 
 
 Dr. John C. Dalton, Asst. Surgeon 7th New York V. M., Surgeon U. S. Vols. 
 
 Dr. S. W. Langmaid, Acting Asst. Surgeon U. S. Army. 
 
 Dr. Charles W. Swan, Acting Asst. Surgeon TJ. S. Army. 
 
 Dr. Samuel G. Webber, Asst. Surgeon U. S. Navy. 
 
 Dr. Charles B. Porter, Acting Asst. Surgeon U. S. Army. 
 
 Dr. Frederick S. Ainsworth, Surgeon 22d Mass. Infantry. 
 
 Dr. Thomas B. Hitchcock, Asst. Surgeon 42d Mass. Infantry. 
 
 Dr. George J. Arnold, Acting Asst. Surgeon U. S. Army. 
 
 Dr. Chai'les E. Hostuer, Private, Steward U. S. Navy, Acting Asst. Surgeon U. S. Navy. 
 
 Dr. John G. Park, Acting Asst. Surgeon U. S. Navy. 
 
 Dr. Charles Thaeher Hubbard, Asst. Surgeon U. S. Navy. 
 
 Dr. .lames E. Walker, Acting Asst. Surgeon U. S. Army. 
 
 Dr. Henry G. Clark, Inspector-in-chief of the Sanitary Commission. 
 
 Dr. J. Nelson Borland, Inspector of Hospitals for the Sanitary Commission. 
 
 Dr. Samuel L. Al)ljot, " 
 
 Dr. Henry I. Bowditch, " " Surgeon to the Board of Enrolment in 
 
 Boston during the war, and Volunteer Surgeon in tlie Army. 
 
 Dr. Samuel Cabot, Jr., Inspector of Hospitals for the Sanitary Commission and Volunteer Surgeon. 
 
 Dr. William Edward Coale, " « 
 
 Dr. Calvin Ellis, " " and Volunteer Surgeon. 
 
 Dr. yVugustus A. Gould, " « 
 
 Dr. J. B. S. Jackson, " " 
 
 Dr. Francis Minot, " " 
 
 Dr. Benjamin S. Shaw, " " 
 
 Dr. Charles E. Ware, •' " 
 
 Dr. Henry W. Williams, " « 
 
 Dr. W. W. Morland, « " 
 
 Dr. Winslow Lewis, " " 
 
 Dr. Henry K. Oliver, « « 
 
 Dr. D. D. Sladc, u u 
 
 Rev. Warren II. Cudworth, Chaplain 1st Mass. Infantry. 
 
 T. Went worth Higginson, Captain 51st Mass. Infantry, Colonel 33d U. S. Colored Troops (1st South 
 Carolina Infantry). 
 
 Francis A. Osborn, Colonel 24th Mass. Infantry, Brevet Brigadier General IT. S. Vols. 
 
 Joseph P. Couihouy, Acting Volunteer Lieutenant U.S. Navy. Killed in battle. 
 
 Aljilieus Hyatt, Jr., (':i]>lain 47lh IMass. Infantry. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 137 
 
 T. W. Clark, Colonel 29tli Mass. Infantry. 
 Edward C. Cabot, Lieut. Colonel 44th Mass. Infantry. 
 Hiram S. Shurtleff, Captain 56tli Mass. Infantry. 
 Nathaniel S. Shaler, Captain 5th Kentucky Artillery. 
 
 Nathaniel Bowditch, 1st Lieut. 1st Mass. Cavalry, A.A.G. U. S. Vols. KiUed in battle. 
 Charles W. Folsom, 1st Lieut, and Q.M. 20th Mass. Infantry. 
 Huntington F. Wolcott, 2d Lieut. 2d Mass. Cavalry. Died in the service. 
 
 Edward T. Bouve, 1st Lieut. 32d Mass. Infantry, Captain 4th Mass. Cavalry, Major 26th N. Y. Cavalry. 
 Josepli H. Lathrop, Sergeant 43d Mass. Infantry, 1st Lieut, and Adjutant 4th Mass. Cavalry. 
 John E. Alden, 2d Lieut. 1st unattached company Mass. Infantry. 
 
 Nathan Appleton, 1st Lieut. 5th Battery Mass. Light Artillery, Capt. and A.D.C. U. S. Vols. 
 Louis Cabot, 2d Lieut. 1st Mass. Cavalry, Capt. 2d Mass. Cavalry, Major 4th Mass. Cavalry. 
 Fletcher M. Abbott, 1st Lieut. 2d Mass. Infantry. 
 John Ritchie, 1st Lieut, and Q.M. 54th Mass. Infantry. 
 
 William E. Endicott, 2d Lieut. 30th unattached company Mass. Heavy Artillery. 
 Lorin L. Dame, 1st Lieut. 15th Battery Mass. Light Artillery. 
 Albert S. Bickmore, Private 44th Mass. Infantry. 
 A. P. Cragin, Private in a Mass. Cavalry regiment. Killed in battle. 
 John Jeffries, Jr., Mnjor 1st Corps Cadets Mass. Volunteer Militia. 
 
 George Brooks, Private 45th Mass. Volunteers. Died in the service at Newbern, N. C. 
 Robert M. Copeland, 1st Lieut, and Q.M. 2d Mass. Infantry, Major and A.A.G. U. S. Vols. 
 Alfred P. Rockwell, Captain 1st Battery Conn. Light Artillery, Colonel 6th Conn. Infantry, Brevet 
 Brigadier General U. S. Vols. 
 
 Stephen M. Weld, Captain 18th Mass. Infantry, Colonel 56th Mass. Infantry, Brevet Brigadier General. 
 
 E. R. Cogswell, Corporal 44th Mass. Infantry. 
 
 Jonathan Don-, Private 44th Mass. Infantry. 
 
 Nathaniel Willis Bumstead, Captain 45th Mass. Infantry. 
 
 Carleton A. Shurtleff, Medical Cadet U. S. Army. 
 
 Joseph T. Rothrock, Private 12th unattached company Mass. Infantry, Captain Pennsylvania Cavalry. 
 
 Copley Amory, 1st Lieutenant 4th U. S. Cavalry. 
 
 Rev. George H. Ilepworth, Chaplain 47th Mass. Infantry. 
 
 William Ellery Copeland, Private 44th Mass. Infantry. 
 
 Lewis W. Tappan, Jr., Captain 45th Mass. Infantry. 
 
 The writer can scarcely hope, notwithstanding great care taken, that no errors will be 
 found in this roll of honor. He would especially regret the omission of the name of a 
 single member of the Society, who manfully went forward to serve the nation in its hour 
 of peril. 
 
 Early in the decade now passed was received the bequest of Mr. Jonathan PhUlips of 
 $10,000. This was followed by the grant of land from the State on which the Museum 
 was afterwards erected. Then came the first of the series of donations from our great 
 benefactor, Dr. William J. Walker, of his house in Bulfinch Street, followed by the second 
 and third of $20,000 each, and finally by the great bequest from him which established 
 the institution on such a firm foundation as to secure its perpetuity so long as wisdom 
 shall prevail in its councils. 
 
 The Society had also been the recipient during the decade of the bequests before men- 
 tioned, from Paschal P. Pope, $20,000; Miss Sarah P. Pratt, $10,000, with a large collec- 
 tion of shells; Dr. Benjamin D. Greene, $9,000, with a large library of valuable books; 
 and Mr. Henry Harris, $5,000. It had likewise received for the establishment of a fund 
 
138 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 for the Library, $5,000 in the name of Huntington Frolhinghjim Wolcott, who died in the 
 military service of the country in the war of the rebeUion. 
 
 Of the donations made towards building and other purposes in the early part of the 
 decade, Mr. Nathaniel Thayer contributed |2,500, Mr. Thomas Lee $1,000, Mr. John L. 
 Gardner $1,000, Dr. Benjamin D. Greene $1,000, Mr. Henry B. Rogers $1,000, and an 
 anonymous friend $1,000. A considerable amount of the money subscribed towards the 
 building and working funds was from donors of sums varying from $500 to $100 and less. 
 Besides money, the Society received during the decade the magnificent donation of the 
 Lafresnaye collection of birds from Dr. Henry Bryant. 
 
 There was a very valuable donation made to the Society by Mr. James M. Barnard in 
 1864, notice of which has not been given. This consisted of a large collection of fossil 
 echinoderms made by Dr. A. Krantz of Bonn, and Avas second in the country only to that 
 in the Museum of Comparative Zoolo gy in Cambridge, presenting as it did good types of 
 nearly every group of the class. 
 
 Mr. H. F. Wolcott mentioned above was a young member of the Society whose great 
 interest in it led to the endowment after his death of the fund referred to in his name by 
 his father, Mr. J. Huntington Wolcott, as a memento of that interest, and as a recognition 
 of what would have been pleasing to him if living. The fund is known as the Himtington 
 Frothingham Wolcott Fund, and now amounts to over $6,000, the interest at first having 
 been allowed to accumulate and having been added to the capital. It is held is trust, the 
 income alone being available for the purchase of books for the Library. The service of 
 this fund to the Society has been very great, as without it, there would not have been 
 means to supply works actually indispensable for the use of the members. Mr. Wolcott 
 was born in Boston, February 4th, 1846, and died June 9th, 1865. 
 
 In mentioning the beqviests of Mr. Jonathan Phillips made during the decade, no such 
 notice was given of this benefactor of the Society as seems fitting should appear concern- 
 ing him. A few brief remarks are therefore added here. 
 
 Hon. Jonathan Phillips was born in Boston, April 24th, 1778. He was the son of 
 Lieutenant Governor William Phillips and was educated for mercantile life, but never 
 engaged in much active business. Upon the death of his father in 1827 he became the 
 possessor of a very large fortune, and the remainder of his life was mostly passed in liter- 
 ary culture, travel, and in taking an active share in many of the benevolent and educa- 
 tional movements of his day, all of which he generously aided. He was at one period a 
 member of the Senate of Massachusetts, but his tastes and inclinations were such as to lead 
 him to shrink from public life. For a number of years he held the office of Pi'esident of 
 the Massachusetts Bank. He was an associate with Dr. William Ellery Channing, Eev. 
 George Ripley, Dr. Charles Follen and many other prominent men, in the well-known 
 Progress Club, and was a very intimate friend of Dr. Channing. Among many other 
 bequests and donations he contributed $30,000 in aid of the Boston Public Library, first 
 making a donation of $10,000 and afterwards bequeathing by will $20,000, the interest of 
 which sums alone is available for use. He bequeathed likewise the sum of $20,000 to the 
 City in trust, the income of which is to be expended in adorning and embellishing the 
 streets and public places. To this last-mentioned bequest, the City owes the statue of 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 139 
 
 Josiah Quincy in front of City Hall, that of John Winthrop m Scollay Square, and that of 
 Samuel Adams on Washington Street. 
 
 Mr. Phillips died in Boston on the 29th of July, 1860, at the age of eighty-two years. 
 
 Of the publications during the ten years, the seventh volume of the Journal and the 
 last of the series, was completed in 1863. The Memoirs in quarto form which succeeded 
 the Journal had been delivered to members in parts from 1863 ; the whole of the first 
 volume being completed in 1869. Of the Proceedings the twelfth volume and part of the 
 thirteenth had been issued. 
 
 The members of the several standing committees of the Council during the decade 
 were as follows : 
 
 On Puljlication. Drs. Jeffries Wyman, Augustus A. Gould, S. L. Abbot, Samuel Knee- 
 land, Charles Pickering ; and Messrs. S. H. Scudder, William T. Brigham and Charles J. 
 Sprague. 
 
 On the Library. Messrs. Charles K. Dillaway, Charles J. Sprague, S. H. Scudder, Hor- 
 ace Mann, J. Elliot Cabot; and Drs. John Bacon and A. S. Packard, Jr. 
 
 On Finance. Messrs. Thomas T. Bouve, James M. Barnard, Edward Pickering and 
 Amos Binney. 
 
 The average attendance at the general meetings during the ten years was as follows : 
 
 For the year 1860-61 37 For the year 1865-66 34 
 
 " " 1861-62 37 " " 1866-67 39 
 
 « « 1862-63 33 « " 1867-68 40 
 
 « " 1863-64 44 « " 1868-69 33 
 
 « " 1864-65 33 « " 1869-70 32 
 
 The average attendance at the meetings of the Section of Microscopy after its for- 
 mation was for the months December 1864 to May 1865, 9 ; for the year 1865-66, 9 ; 
 1866-67, 12 ; 1867-68, 12 ; 1868-69, 8 ; 1869-70, 9. 
 
 The average attendance at the meetings of the Section of Entomology after its forma- 
 tion was for the months November 1866 to May 1, 1867, 12 ; for the year 1867-68, 9 ; 
 1868-69, 12; 1869-70, 10. 
 
 The members who took the most active part in the proceedings of the Society during 
 the first five years of the decade were Drs. Jeffries Wyman, C. T. Jackson, B. Joy Jeffi-ies, 
 James C. White, Charles Pickering, Augustus A. Gould, Henry Bryant, Burt G. Wilder, 
 C. P. Winslow, William Stimpson and Thomas M. Brewer ; Profs. Louis Agassiz, William 
 B. Rogers and H. J. Clarke ; Messrs. S. H. Scudder, F. W. Putnam, Alexander Agassiz, A. 
 E. Verrill, Horace Mann, C. J. Sprague, Charles Stodder and Thomas T. Bouve. Those 
 who were most active during the last five years were Drs. Jeffries Wyman, C. T. 
 Jackson, B. Joy Jeffi'ies, James C. White, Charles Pickering, Hermann A. Hagen, J. B. S. 
 Jackson, Thomas M. Brewer ; Messrs. S. H. Scudder, Charles Stodder, William T. Brigham, 
 E. C. Greenleaf, N. S. Shaler, Horace Mann, B. P. Mann, F. G. Sanborn, E. Bicknell, C. 
 S. Minot and Thomas T. Bouve. 
 
 Walher Prizes. In accordance with the provisions in an agreement made with Dr. 
 William J. Walker by which the Walker Prize Fund was established, offers were made for 
 the best and second best memoirs presented on subjects proposed by a Committee of the 
 Council, as follows : 
 
 Subject for 1865 : " Adduce and discuss the evidence of the coexistence of man and 
 extinct animals, with the view of determining the limits of his antiquity." 
 
140 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Subject for 1866 : "The fertilization of plants by the agency of insects, in reference 
 both to cases where this agency is absolutely necessary, and where it is only accessory." 
 
 No essays having been presented, or none deemed by the Council worthy of a prize, the 
 same subjects were proposed again for the years 1867 and 1868, but still -\\nthout bringing 
 forth any response from writers. Other subjects were therefore proposed for the two sub- 
 sequent years, viz : 
 
 For 1869 : " On the range of arctic and al2:)ine plants hi Northern America, "\vith an 
 enmneration of species." 
 
 For 1870 : "The reproduction and migration of Trichina spiralis." 
 
 As with the case of previous subjects, neither of these last elicited any response, or any 
 of sufficient merit in the estimation of the Council to call for an award. It will be seen 
 later that those proposed for the immediately succeeding years were more successful in 
 calling forth essays upon them. 
 
 The property of the Society at the end of this decade, besides the building, and the col- 
 lections and library which were of inestimable value, consisted of investments belonging 
 to the various funds amounting in the aggregate to $186,898.20 ; this included, however, 
 several bequests left under restrictions, a part of the income of which must be expended 
 only for special purposes, and can never be available for general uses or expenses. 
 
 The library at this time had nearly doubled in size during the ten years, and consisted 
 of 9396 volumes, and 2677 pamphlets, as before stated. But if the members had cause to 
 rejoice at the material prosperity of the institution, they too had often cause to lament 
 the loss of faithful workers for its interests, many of whom had been companions in their 
 labors. Among those taken by death during the ten years were Dr. B. D. Greene, 
 Dr. Geo. Hayward, Mr. Francis Alger and Dr. Augustus A. Gould, all original members of 
 the Society; Dr. Wm. J. Walker, its great benefactor; Dr. Henry Bryant, Mr. Octavius 
 Pickering, Mr. Thomas Bulfinch, Mr. Horace Mann, Mr. Huntington Frothingham 
 Wolcott, Mr. Carleton Atwood ShurtlefF and Capt. Joseph P. Couthouy. 
 
 Decade V. Mat, 1870 — May, 1880. 
 
 1870. The fifth decade commences with the office of President vacant, by the 
 resignation of Dr. Jeffries Wyman ; with Mr. Alpheus Hyatt, Custodian ; Rev. Joshua A. 
 Swan, Recording Secretary and Librarian ; Dr. Samuel L. Abbot, Corresponding Secre- 
 tary ; Mr. Edward Pickering, Treasurer ; Mr. F. G. Sanborn, Assistant in the Museum ; 
 Miss Lillias Blaikie, Assistant in the Library, and Mr. George Coles, Janitor. 
 
 It will be recollected that at the annual meeting the Committees for the several depart- 
 ments of Comparative Anatomy, Mammals and Microscopy were not elected. At the first 
 meeting succeeding, the following pei'sons were chosen to these respectively : 
 
 3Ianimah. J. A. Allen, Thomas Waterman, Jr., M.D., J. B. S. Jackson, M.D. 
 
 Comjiarative Anatomy. Thomas Dwight, M.D., Jeffries Wyman, M.D., J. C. White, 
 M.D. 
 
 Alicroseojni. Edwin Bicknell, R. C. Greenleaf, B. Joy Jeffries, M.D. 
 
 The following changes were made in the members of the Committees as elected at the 
 annual meeting : J. A. Allen was tivansferred from the Committee on Ornithology to that 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OP NATUEAL HISTORY. 141 
 
 of Fishes and Reptiles, taking N. E. Atwood's place on the latter ; and J. Elliot Cabot 
 was chosen one of the Committee on Ornithology. 
 
 It was decided to change the Janitor's room from the north-west corner of the base- 
 ment to the south-west corner, at an expense of $1500, it having been found that 
 from lack of sunshine in the apartments, the health of members of his family had been 
 seriously impaired. 
 
 Under the new condition of affairs inaugurated by the election of Mr. Hyatt as Cus- 
 todian, certain changes were desirable in the Regulations and By-Laws. The Librarian, 
 besides such duties as defined hitherto, was given the sole direction of the Janitor so far as 
 related to work expected of him in the delivery of publications, care of office, lecture 
 room, &c. He was also to have sole charge of the assistants in the Library. The office 
 hours were fixed at from 9 A. M., until the closing of the Library in the afternoon, ex- 
 cept an intermission not exceeding two hours at noon. A vacation of two months was 
 allowed him during the year. 
 
 The Custodian, in addition to duties defined in By-laws, was to have the immediate 
 charge of the Museum, and the sole direction of the assistants employed there. Also the 
 sole direction of the Janitor, excepting in such duties as are mentioned in the authority 
 given the Librarian over him. He was empowered to decide in all cases relative to the 
 arrangement, care or use of the collections not otherwise specially pi-ovided for, and his 
 decision was to be binding, unless overruled by the Council. When any department suf- 
 fered by neglect or other cause, he was authorized to take charge of it and report to the 
 Council. He was required to prepare a report as early as possible on the state of the Mu- 
 seum, and a plan for the definite arrangement of the collection, so as to best illustrate what 
 the Society had in view by the formation of its Museum. He was required to give twenty- 
 four hours each week at least, of undivided attention to the Museum; six hours each 
 for four days, or eight hours each for three days. A vacation of two months was granted 
 him. 
 
 The Assistant in the Museum was authorized to act for the Custodian in his absence. A 
 vacation of six weeks was allowed him, the time to be fixed by the Custodian. 
 
 The Assistant in the Lil^rary was required to act for the Librarian in his absence. 
 Her attendance was fixed at seven hours per day. She was to be allowed six weeks 
 vacation during the year, the time to be appointed by the Librarian. 
 
 It was understood that an appeal might be made to the Council on the part of any one 
 employed who felt aggrieved. 
 
 At a meeting of the Society on the 1st of June, a Committee was appointed, consisting 
 of five members, to present a candidate for the office of President at the next meeting. 
 Mr. Edward Pickering, Dr. C. F. Winslow, Mr. Chas. J. Sprague, Mr. R. C. Greenleaf and 
 Mr. William H. NUes com^iosed this Committee. 
 
 At the next meeting, held on the 25th of June, Mr. Edward Pickering, the chairman, 
 reported that the name that first suggested itself to the Committee was that of the First 
 Vice-President, Dr. Charles T. Jackson, one of the earliest, most constant aud devoted of 
 the friends of the Society. Upon his unwearying interest in its welfare, his liberal contri- 
 butions to its treasures, his courtesy as a presiding officer, his well known scientific attain- 
 ments, it was not necessary to enlarge. But the reception of the following letter pre- 
 vented the Committee from offering his name as a candidate. 
 
142 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Edward Pickering, Esq., Chairman of Committee of JVoynitiation. 
 
 Dear Sir : Having been informed that the Committee on the Nomination of President 
 for the Boston Society of Natural History are disposed to offer my name as a candidate for 
 that office, I beg leave to say to the Committee, through you, that however highly I con- 
 sider the honor, I cannot consent to become a candidate, since my health, which is often 
 impaired, especially in the winter, might be inadequate to the very important duties and 
 constant attention required of the first officer of the Society. So far as my health and 
 ability will permit, I shall always be happy to labor for the interests of the Society, and 
 whatever influence I can exert will be in its ftivor. 
 
 A younger man than myself I believe would be able to serve the Society much better 
 than I can, and my personal preference would be in favor of the promotion of the Second 
 Vice-President, Mr. Thomas T. Bouve, to the Presidency of the Society. 
 
 Most cordially thanking the Committee for their lavorable consideration, I have the 
 honor to be Your obedient servant, 
 
 Charles T. Jackson. 
 
 Under these circumstances the Committee proposed for the office of President of the 
 Society the name of the Second Vice-President, Thomas T. Bouve. 
 
 The report was accepted. 
 
 Dr. C. F. Winslow moved that the Society proceed to ballot for the candidate nominated. 
 
 This led to considerable discussion, there being the feeling on the part of some present, 
 that the proposed action was hasty, and that no harm could result from postponing the 
 election to a futui'e period. A ballot, however, was ordered by a large majority of the 
 members, which resulted in the election of Mr. Thomas T. Bouve to the Presidency of the 
 Society, there being but two dissenting votes. 
 
 Early in this official year a letter was received from Prof. Ruukle of the Institute of 
 Technology, expressing a desire for the cooperation of the Boston Society of Natui'al 
 History with the Institute. This was warmly responded to by the Council, and the Presi- 
 dent, Mr. Bouve, was requested to write an answer to Professor Runkle expressive of the 
 readiness of the Society to meet his wishes, it being thought that an arrangement might 
 be made which would be of service to both institutions in the furtherance of the purpose 
 each had in view, to extend a knowledge of science in the community. 
 
 A plan was sulssequently adopted by which the Institute had permission to use the halls 
 of the Museum and the collections for the instruction of its students, subject to such 
 restrictions as the Council might impose for the preservation of the specimens, it being 
 understood that the Society should be paid a certain sum therefor, and that the Institute 
 should deposit the collections and charts of the late Prof. H. D. Rogers with the Society, 
 grant the use of the Huntington Hall for lectures, if required, and contribute specimens 
 of natural history towards an educational series. Under this arrangement. Dr. Samuel 
 Kneeland delivei'ed several lectures on Zoology in the lecture room of the Society the 
 first year, and the Custodian delivered a course on Palaeontology. 
 
 It is well, perhaps, before proceeding to detail further the doings of the Society, to 
 dwell at some length upon the necessity of a change in the management of its inter- 
 ests, which had led primarily to the election of Mr. Hyatt as Custodian, and subsequently 
 to the adoption of a more defined policy in its administration. It is manifestly unjust to 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 143 
 
 the memory of the many distinguished and devoted members of the Society who, from its 
 earliest period to that now under consideration, were active in its affairs, to imply that no 
 plan of organization, or policy of administration had been acted upon. A common senti- 
 ment influenced all of them, that of affording means by which a better knowledge of 
 natural history might be attained by themselves and disseminated in the community, and 
 to act upon this they deliberately planned for the accomplishment of their purposes and 
 organized means for the object. They established a Museum, they founded a Library, 
 they held meetings, gave lectures, and published scientific papers. Simply, they did not 
 define their course of action or their arrangement of the Museum, as more advanced 
 knowledge and experience siiggested in 1870. What they did was in accordance with the 
 best thought prevailing anywhere in relation to such institutions as that of the Society. 
 
 If the several departments of the Museum they formed were not placed in such se- 
 quence as to form together as now, the best means for the education of visitors, the collec- 
 tions of each were arranged in thorough scientific order. The time had however come for 
 a more definite statement of what was proposed on the part of the Society, especially as 
 views were held by some members tending to prevent such change in its policy and in the 
 arrangement of the collections as seemed desirable for its best good. The Custodian, Mr. 
 Hyatt, was therefore required, as has been before mentioned, to prepare a report as early 
 as possible, on the state of the Museum and a plan for its definite arrangement, so as to 
 best illustrate what the Society had in view in its foundation. This he did soon after, and 
 a vote was passed by the Council, adopting the proposed plan as a basis for action 
 vmtil the annual meeting in 1871. 
 
 This plan was not limited in its application to the Museum. The paper presented by 
 the Custodian and adopted by the Council, was termed "Proposed Plan of Organization," 
 and embraced views and suggestions concerning the meetings, the publications, and the 
 library, as well as the Museum. The essential details of this plan may be found in the 
 annual report for the year ending May, 1871, published in the fourteenth volume of the 
 Proceedings. Here only such portions of it will be referred to as tended to excite opposi- 
 tion and to lead to a conflict of opinion and action upon measures deemed essential to the 
 interests of the Society. 
 
 After stating that the Museum of the Society was intended especially for the instruction 
 of teachers, general students and the public, and that therefore its collections should be 
 arranged according to some easily understood and comprehensive plan, illustrating the 
 general laws of natural science, the Custodian added, "All the different departments 
 should be connected as closely as possible, and form together a series of lessons in the 
 structure of the earth and its constituent parts, and in the organization of the plants and 
 animals living upon its surface." 
 
 A clear understanding of the defective general character of the arrangement of the 
 Museum, as judged in the light of present experience, is necessary in order that the reason 
 for a radical change in the location of the several departments in the building, involving 
 large expenditui'e of time and money, may be manifest. 
 
 As recently as when the new building of the Society was constructed, it is doubtful if in 
 any of the great museums of the world, the im23ortance was recognized of ai-ranging the 
 several departments in such relation to each other as would best serve educational inter- 
 ests ; certain it is, that not a member of the Society gave a thought to it. The only idea 
 
144 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 that moved the minds of the Curators in selecting rooms for the collections was that of 
 obtaining such as would meet the requirements of each department without reference to 
 the rest. Thus it happened that those brought in contact had no relation to each other, 
 and others closely allied by nature, were far remote in location. On the lower floor, 
 where are two exhibition rooms, one was appropriated to Botany, the other to Geology, 
 whilst the department of Minerals, which should have had a place with that of Geology, 
 and immediately preceding it, was far away in another part of the building. 
 
 To act upon the advanced views expressed by the Custodian upon the arrangement of 
 the departments in consecutive series, a radical change was necessary, involving great ex- 
 pense, particularly in the reconstruction of cases, so that there might be a proper adapta- 
 tion of them to new uses. Perhaps it was fortunate that as constructed originally, none 
 of them were fit for the purposes designed. They were, undoubtedly, as suitable as those 
 generally then found in Museums, but experience had taught the Curators that there was 
 a necessity for much better, if the collections were to be saved from ruin. This fact made 
 it easier to accomplish the radical change in arrangement desired on scientific considera- 
 tions, as it was seen that the necessary expenditure would accomplish a double object. 
 There was no intention to do all or miich at once, towards effecting the change, but only 
 to establish the policy of placing the collections in such consecutive order as suggested, 
 and act upon it as time and means would allow. The President heartily approved of the 
 change. He was strongly averse to encroaching on the principal of the property of the 
 Society for any but the most weighty reasons, but he regarded the end to be attained as 
 fully justifying the means, and he gave the policy of re-arrangement of the Museum all 
 the individual and ofiicial influence he could bring to bear in its support. 
 
 Besides the re-arrangement of the several departments, the proposed plan contemplated 
 the formation of separate New England collections in each, and an epitome collection of 
 the organic sections of the Museum, containing the types of the vegetable and animal 
 kingdoms, classified to show the approximations of the lower, and the great differences of 
 the higher orders of each, with the zoological succession of the types of each. It will be 
 seen in the remaining pages of this vokmie how steadily the policy was adhered to of 
 effecting the object mentioned, and how gradually but surely the great work was accom- 
 plished ; although not without opposition, and not without the manifestation of unpleasant 
 feeling on the part of some who failed to recognize the wisdom of what was proposed. 
 This was to be expected, even on the part of members devoted to the interest of the Society. 
 The Custodian indicated his appreciation of this in the following remarks upon the plan 
 submitted. 
 
 " The difficulties to be encountered in carrying out the details of any scheme, will be 
 great or small, precisely in proportion to the feeling which governs the officers entrusted 
 with its execution. If a broad, catholic s^nrit of consideration for the interests of the 
 Museum obtains, there need be no doubt of its ultimate success. On the other hand, if 
 regai-d for the interests of any special departments is allowed to interfere with the 
 uniform arrangements and proper scientific use of the whole Museum, no very beneficial 
 results can be anticipated." The course pursued has, it is believed, received the commen- 
 dation of all naturalists who have made themselves acquainted with it, and witnessed 
 the results. 
 
GALLERY OVER MAIN HALL. 
 
 BASEMENT 
 
 MUSEUM OF THE BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 FLOOR PLANS. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 145 
 
 In October of this year, a large fin-back whale was exhibited in one of the docks 
 of the harbor, exciting much interest in the community, and attracting a large con- 
 course of visitors. The matter was brought before the Council by a motion being made 
 that Dr. Thos. Dwight, Jr. and the Custodian be a committee to procure if possible the 
 skeleton of this huge animal for the Museum. At the next meeting Dr. Dwight reported 
 that the carcass had been presented to the Society by Mr. Harvey T. Litchfield, had been 
 accepted by the committee, and had been towed to and stranded upon Spectacle Island. 
 Upon the suggestion of Dr. Dwight, three hundred dollars were voted to cover expenses 
 of transportation, cleaning, and delivering the skeleton at the Museum. 
 
 This fine specimen now adorns the main hall of the Museum, being suspended from the 
 roof of the building. Dr. Dwight gave a large part of a year of scientific labor in the 
 preparation and final arrangement of the skeleton in the position it now occupies, and to 
 him the Society is mainly indebted for such an important acquisition to its collection. 
 The skeleton is undoubtedly the finest in the country, and its perfection is largely due 
 to his personal care and watchfulness over the carcass imtil all the bones were safely 
 removed. 
 
 The lack of means at this time necessary to accomjjlish all the objects the Society had 
 in view for the instruction of the public in science, weighed upon the minds of the active 
 members, as indeed it has ever since. They were, therefore, much gratified to learn from 
 the President that he had had an interview with Mr. John Amory Lowell, the Trustee of 
 the Lowell Institute, who had kindly expressed a willingness to provide for several courses 
 of lectures from the Lowell fund, to be given in our building under the auspices of the 
 Society ; the lectures to be selected by the Coiuicil, and the subjects to be such as per- 
 tained to natural history. 
 
 In accordance with this favoral)le provision for continued instruction by lectures, seven 
 courses were given during the season of 1870-71. The fii'st six lectures were by the 
 Rev. J. L. Russell, on Cryptogamic Botany, the second course of two lectures by 
 Prof J. S. Newberry, on the Canons of the Colorado and Ancient Civilization of America, 
 the third course of six lectures by Dr. Thos. Dwight, Jr., on the Comparative Anat- 
 omy of the Mammalia, the fourth course of four lectures by Dr. P. P. Carpenter, on 
 a General Sketch of Mollusca, the fifth course of two lectures was by the Rev. R. C. 
 Water, 'ton, on some of the remarkable natural features of California ; the sixth course of 
 twelve lectures by Prof. W. H. Niles on the Principles of Geology, and the seventh 
 course of six lectures by the Rev. E. C. BoUes, on the Revelations of the Microscope. 
 These lectures were generally attended by large numbers and were of a very interesting 
 and instructive character. 
 
 In December, 1870, Miss Blaikie, whose services as assistant in the Library had been 
 very valuable, and whose presence had always diffused cheerfulness, resigned on account 
 of her approaching marriage. The thanks of the Council were presented to her for the 
 very efficient manner in which she had discharged the duties of her office. 
 
 1871. By vote of the Council in Januai'y of this year, as one of the precautions against 
 fire, smoking in every part of the building was prohibited. On Feb. 7th, Mr. John Cum- 
 mings presented to the Society five hundred dollars to be ajDplied for educational lectures 
 to teachers during the next winter, that of 1871-72. Mr. John Cummings, the President, 
 Mr. Bouv6, the Custodian, Mr. Hyatt, and Mr. Wm. H. Niles, were appointed a Committee 
 
146 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 manifestation made by Mr. Cimimings of bis intention to afford an opportmiity to the 
 teachers of Boston to become acquainted with natural history. His mind had for some 
 time dwelt ni^on a phm by which the public might possess a better scientific culture than 
 hitherto, and thus share in its refining influences. The general lectures delivered each 
 winter, thougli undoubtedly of great service to many, seemed to him to accomplish but 
 inadequately the oljject he had in view. He finally came to the conclusion that by inter- 
 esting the teachers in the several branches of science, and by affording them an oppor- 
 tunity of receiving practical instruction, better and more lasting results might follow than 
 from any other course. Possessing themselves a knowledge of botany, of mineralogy, or 
 of any other branch, they could not fail to exert a great influence upon the many thous- 
 and minds that came under their instruction, in favor of its study, and thus another gen- 
 eration be led to show greater interest in pursuits of an elevating tendency. The mem- 
 bers of the committee other than Mr. Cummings himself, feeling a great interest in the 
 proposed plan, early issued a circular to the teachers, calling attention to the generous 
 proposnl made by him, and invited their co-operation. A committee on the part of the 
 masters of the Grammar Schools was appointed to learn the feelings of the teachers gen- 
 erally on the matter, and to report results. The circular referred to, after mentioning the 
 proposal of the donor, stated that teachers of every grade were invited ; that the lectures 
 would be given on Wednesday or Saturday afternoons, as the teachers might decide, com- 
 mencing in October and continuing through the winter at the Museum of Natural 
 History ; that the earlier courses would be on Physical Geography, Botany and Geol- 
 ogy, and that they would be given by Professors familiar with the object method of teach- 
 ing and skillful in the use of chalk ; that it was designed that the lectures should be 
 practical and familiar, questions and answers to be allowed, and the whole subject slowly 
 developed ; that the Professors were anxious to know how large classes they could rely 
 upon before leaving the Museum for summer work, and therefore asked all teachers 
 who desired to avail themselves of the offer to sign the circular. 
 
 It was gi'atifying to find that the movement excited great interest on the part of those 
 to whom it was addressed, manifested by the prompt signing of the circular by ujswards 
 of seven hundred teachers. The great success which followed this preliminary action will 
 be given in the account of proceedings hereafter. 
 
 In March of this year, a bequest of one thousand dollars was received from the late Mr. 
 Sidney Homer for the general purposes of the Society. The Council subsequently voted 
 to appropriate the amount for New England mammals. 
 
 The assistant in the Museum, Mr. Sanljorn, was authorized to devote two mornings each 
 week to giving instruction at the Bussey School of Agriculture, upon his consenting to 
 have his salary reduced, and Mr. P. S. Sprague was employed to Avork in the collection of 
 Insects. 
 
 At the annual meeting in May, the Custodian read his report lor the year. Much of it 
 was devoted to general considerations concerning the objects of the policy of the Society 
 wliich, having been referred to earlier, will not be dwelt upon here. Of the meetings, it was 
 stated that there had been eighteen of the Society, with an average attendance of forty- 
 one persons, eight of the section of Microscopy with an average attendance of eleven, and 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 147 
 
 seven of the section of Entomology with an average of ten. Thirty-seven written com- 
 munications had been made by thirty-six persons. Of these, thirteen were presented in 
 the section of Entomology and thirteen in the section of Microscopy. 
 
 Of the publications, eleven signatures of the Proceedings, completing the thirteenth vol- 
 ume, had been issued, and of the Memoirs, one paper. Historical Notes on the Earth- 
 quakes of New England, by William T. Brigham, had appeared. 
 
 The Library had received during the year by gift, purchase or exchange, 215 volumes, 
 765 parts of volumes, 183 pamphlets and 22 maps and charts. The use of the Library had 
 been extended to members of the Institute of Technology and to others pursuing some 
 branch of natural science, Avho made application. 
 
 Of the departments of the Museum, the Custodian reported as follows : 
 
 That of Minei'alogy had received a large accession by the purchase of a fine series of 
 specimens, and by the presentation of several, and the reception of others by exchauo-e. 
 The whole collection was in perfect order, and every specimen labelled. 
 
 The Geological collection was in good order, and fully arranged and labelled. There 
 had been no important additions. 
 
 The Palaeontological collection had had much work done upon it in identifyino- and 
 labelling the specimens. 
 
 The condition of the Botanical collection was stated to be good, being entirely free from 
 insects. It contained about 25,000 specimens labelled and glued to paiDcrs, and many 
 hundred duplicates for exchange. A considerable number of plants from various expe- 
 ditions 3^et required much study and work for their identification and arrangement. 
 
 The dej^artment of Com2:)arative Anatomy had been enriched by the important addition 
 made to it of the skeleton of the whale before mentioned, of the reception and mounting 
 of which the particulars have been given. 
 
 The corals and the sponges of the Radiata had been rearranged by Mr. Sanborn, and 
 placed on black tablets. The labelling was reported, however, as incorrect in many cases, 
 and it was recommended that measures should be taken to secure the services of Prof 
 A. E. Verrill for the naming of the species. 
 
 Much work had been done on the Insects by Mr. P. S. Sprague, and it was stated that 
 the cases recently procured would obviate all danger of future damage from moths and 
 Anthreni. Valuable additions to the collection had been made by Messrs. Sanborn, Swan, 
 Trouvelot, Sprague, Dickenson, Minot, and Scudder. 
 
 The department of the Mollusca required much attention from able conchologists. The 
 services of Dr. P. P. Carpenter were obtained for a short period on the general collection, 
 and Mr. L. Lincoln Thaxter continued work on the New Ens-land collection. 
 
 The collection of Fishes was in good order and Mi-. Putnam had been engaged in label- 
 Img the specimens, which work was reported as nearly completed. 
 
 The Reptiles were stated to be in the same condition as the previous year. The col- 
 lection was reported as small, and needing many additions. 
 
 The department of Ornithology had received many valuable additions of fresh eggs of 
 Arctic birds from the Smithsonian Institution, and some rare specimens of birds from 
 Mr. Thure Kumlein. 
 
 The Custodian had adopted many expedients to stop the ravages of the Anthreni, but 
 
148 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 with only partial success. Constant work alone, he said was the most effectual. Every 
 bird had been soaked in benzine or naptha. The great want was such cases as are 
 the best adapted to keep out the pests that do the injury. Those in use were not iit by 
 their construction to contain specimens liable to attack. 
 
 The department of the Mammalia was reported as rapidly improving. The New Eng- 
 land collection had received many accessions obtained by expenditure of a portion of the 
 bequest of Mr. Sidney Homer, the Council, as before stated, having appropriated the sum 
 thus received for the purpose of adding to this collection. 
 
 At the election of officers, Mr. R. C. Greenleaf was chosen Second Vice-President, and 
 Mr. J. A. Allen one of the Committee on birds in place of Mr. J. Elliot Cabot, resigned. 
 
 Walker Prizes. At a meeting of the Society in June, the President, Mr. Bouve, pre- 
 sented the report of the committee on the Walker prizes. 
 
 To Prof Albert N. Prentiss of Ithaca, New York, the first prize of one hundred dollars 
 was awarded, and to Mr. Daniel Milliken of Hamilton, Ohio, the second, of fifty dollars, 
 for their competitive essays " On the mode of the Natural Distribution of Plants over the 
 Surface of the Earth." 
 
 In October, Mr. F. W. Putnam called the attention of the Society to the great loss the 
 Chicago Academy of Science had suffered in the destruction by fire of their valuable col- 
 lections in the various departments of natural history and of archaeology, and offered a 
 resolution of sympathy on the -part of the Boston Society of Natural History, and the 
 offer of such of our publications and duplicate specimens as might be acceptable. This 
 was ably seconded by Professor Agassiz, who mentioned that the Museum of Comparative 
 Zoology had suflered greatly by the fire, as all of Count Pourtales' collections on the Deep 
 Sea dredging expedition were deposited there. The resolve was unanimously passed. 
 
 At a meeting of the Council it was voted that Miss Lucinda Foster be employed to suc- 
 ceed Miss Blaikie as assistant in the Library. 
 
 The death of the Reverend Joshua Augustus Swan, the Recording Secretary and Libra- 
 rian of the Society, occurred on the 31st of October. At the meeting on November 1st, 
 the President, Mr. Bouve, paid the following tribute to his memory : 
 
 " I know not how to utter the deep grief I feel and which I know is shared by you all 
 in the death of our dear comj^anion, Mr. Swan, the Secretary of the Society. No one, I 
 am sure, who has had the pleasure of personal intercoiu'se with him, but will feel that he 
 has lost a near and dear friend. To me his presence even has always seemed a benedic- 
 tion. I do not think I ever was so much impressed by the personal character of any man 
 with whom I have come in contact as with that of Mr. Swan. He seemed always over- 
 flowing with love for, and a desire to aid, all about him. What might excite in other 
 men feelings of bitterness or anger, moved him only to sorrow, and no one was more char- 
 itable in his judgments of the acts of others. Truly we have lost from our circle a man 
 devoid of guile, upright in conduct, lovable bej-ond expression, pure in heart and faithful 
 in every duty. God grant that his family, so dear to him, may have strength to bear the 
 loss that falls so much more heavily upon them than upon all others." 
 
 The following i-esolutiou; with others oflered by Prof. J. D. Runkle, was then unani- 
 mously passed : 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 149 
 
 " Resolved, That in the death of Mr. Swan the Society recognizes the loss of not only a 
 highly efficient officer and member, but of an associate greatly respected for his attain- 
 ments as a scholar, admired for his noble qualities as a gentleman, and loved for his many 
 virtues as a man and a Christian." 
 
 Before the close of the year it had become so evidently necessary to have cases of 
 better construction for the birds than those in use, and in furtherance of the plan of 
 reorganization adopted, the Council voted that the entire income from the Bulfmch Street 
 fund for one year, be expended in fitting up cases in the upper gallery for that purpose. 
 
 1872. In February, Mr. Edward Burgess was elected Eecording Secretary and 
 Librarian of the Society in place of Rev. J. A. SAvan, deceased. 
 
 The necessity for the presence of police officei's on public exhibition days to preserve 
 order and to see that the specimens of the Society suffered no harm, was now so apparent 
 that at the meeting on March 6th, the President was authorized to petition the City Gov- 
 ernment to appoint such officers. 
 
 At a meeting of the Section of Entomology, on the 2Tth of March, the death of an 
 active member of that section, Mr. William Hales Dale, was feelingly referred to, and 
 the following resolution unanimously passed : 
 
 " Resolved, That in the death of our late associate, William Hales Dale, we mourn the 
 loss of one whose many graces had endeared him to us, and whose reseai'ches in natural 
 science, now abruptly arrested by this inscrutable dispensation, commanded our highest 
 respect." 
 
 This gentleman bequeathed to the Section of Entomology his cabinet of insects, and 
 five hundred dollars. 
 
 The annual meeting of the Society was held on May 1st. From the report of the 
 Treasurer it appeared that the receipts, including donations amounting to $1249.26, and 
 a bequest of |500, exceeded the expenditures |3649.89. 
 
 The Custodian's report for the year embraced much matter of importance, but nothing 
 more gratifying that what he expressed relative to the Teachers' School of Science, by 
 which name he designated the school formed through the liberality of Mr. John Cum- 
 mings. It will be recollected that this gentleman in the early part of the previous year 
 presented to the Society $500 to be applied for educational lectures to teachers, to be 
 given during the succeeding winter. This sum he afterwards increased to cover all 
 expenses occurred in carrying out his design, so that instead of $500 he really paid $950 
 to the Society. The remarks upon the result are here given. 
 
 " The Teachers' School of Science was conceived and has been carried into successful 
 operation during the past winter, under the patronage of Mr. John Cummings, a well 
 known member of the Society. Under the direction of the Committee in charge, courses 
 of lessons have been given in Physical Geography, by Prof. W. H. Niles ; on Mineralogy, 
 by W. C. Greenough ; on Zoology, by the Custodian ; and one is now in progress by 
 Dr. W. G. Farlow, of Cambridge, on Botany. 
 
 " Prof. Niles delivered the first six. He undertook to give the more general features of 
 the earth's surface, and then to apply these general principles to the explanation of the 
 physical characteristics of Massachusetts. The success of this course may be judged by 
 the average attendance, which was about six hundred teachers of all grades, and by the 
 
150 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 fact that the methods of teaching geography in some of our pubHc schools are now under- 
 going a change in fovor of the more natural method introduced by him. 
 
 " The necessity of actually handling and dissecting s]3ecimens obliged the Committee, 
 after consultation with the masters of the Public Schools, to confine the issue of tickets to 
 about two for each school. This limited the average attendance at the succeeding lessons, 
 six on mineralogy, eleven on zoology, and ten on botany, to about fifty-five. Specimens 
 were distributed and studied at every lesson, and we know that in many instances the 
 instruction was repeated at the schools. We have without doubt excited an interest in 
 natural history, which must speedily effect a marked improvement in the system of public 
 instruction. 
 
 " The lectures of the first course by Professor Niles were given in the commodious hall 
 of the Institute of Technology, the others in the lecture room of the Society. The mate- 
 rials for the course of zoology were largely furnished by Prof S. F. Baird, United States 
 Commissioner of Fisheries, and those of the botanical course l)y Prof. Asa Gray, from the 
 Botanic Garden at Cambridge. 
 
 " The expenses of the Society in connection with these lectures were but trifling, and it 
 received donations incidental to their delivery of considerable value. Among these were 
 a full suite of the marine animals of Wood's Holl, a full and complete collection of the 
 fauna of the southern coast of Massachusetts, and also a complete collection of the marine 
 animals of the coast of Maine. These collections were purchased for the Teachers' School 
 of Science by Mr. Cummings, but as the duplicates were sufficient for the distribution at 
 the schools, a series from all of them was first selected for the Museum to be the property 
 of the Society. Many of the species thus obtained were not before in the cabinet. The 
 visit of the Custodian to Wood's Holl to procure the specimens required for the school, 
 enabled him fortunately to procure a complete set of the skins of sharks, rays, skates and 
 other large fishes, which were collected by the vessels and the men in the employ of the 
 U. S. Commissioner of Fisheries." 
 
 The Custodian, in addition to what has been given above, stated that at his solicitation 
 Mr. Charles J. Sprague had generously given two hundred dollars towards preparing the 
 skins mentioned above for the New England collection. 
 
 The rearrangement of the Museum in accordance with the plan adopted by the Society, 
 had been commenced by removing the birds to the upper gallery, where suitable cases had 
 been prepared for their reception. As the experience of the Society may be of service 
 to some who read these pages, the statement of the Custodian concerning these cases is 
 given entire. " Extraordinary precautions were taken to render them absolutely insect 
 tight. The lumber was very carefully selected and kept heated while the work was going 
 on. All joints were tongued, grooved and glued. The tops, bottoms and sides were tniilt 
 into the plastering, the sashes grooved and tongued and locked by wedge-shaped bolts. 
 The latter were arranged so as to draw the sashes up tightly and firmly against the 
 tongues at the top and bottom and completely close the fronts of each case. Morse's 
 patent brackets were used to suspend the shelving, which hangs upon the wall and has no 
 connection with the fronts. The success of these precautions is shown by the air tight 
 condition of the cases. By suddenly opening or closing a sash, one can readily crush in 
 or burst out the neighboring glass panes. The resistance of the air is so great that it has 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 151 
 
 to be overcome by a steady slow pressure. The plan was similar to one adopted in the 
 Smithsonian Institution and was recommended by Professor Baird." 
 
 The Custodian reported that the effort to free the Ornithological collection from the 
 further ravages of Anthreni had been successful. Some of the birds had been so badly 
 affected as to require their being operated upon over twenty-five times before they were 
 entirely freed from the pests. 
 
 In the Conchological department much work had been done by Dr. P. P. Carpenter, 
 and by exchange with him a valuable collection of British shells had been procured for 
 the Society. 
 
 In the department of Entomology also much work had been done by Mr. Sprague in 
 completing the general collection of Coleoptera placed in the rail cases of the upper gal- 
 lery. The specimens of Coleoptera wei-e mentioned as numbering about 10,000, and are 
 in the improved boxes adopted by the Council. 
 
 The Mineralogical department had received by donation from Mr. F. Alger, the large 
 specimens of bei-yl which have since occupied the window recesses in the hall of entrance 
 to the Museum, exciting the interest of beholders. * 
 
 The Geological department had been enriched by the presentation on the part of the 
 Technological Institute of the magnificent mass of hematite iron ore and jasper which 
 may be seen with the beryls above mentioned in the hall of the Museum. From Mr. L. S. 
 Burbank a series of specimens had been received illustrative of a paper by him upon the 
 Eozoon canadense, from Dr. S. Kneeland some lavas, and from Mr. Thomas T. Bouv^ a set 
 of polished marbles. 
 
 The other collections were mentioned as in fair condition. Much work was constantly 
 required upon many of them in consequence of defective cases. 
 
 Of the publications two quarterly parts of the fourteenth volume of the Proceedings 
 had been issued, and four articles of the Memoirs. 
 
 The Library had received 424 volumes, 9-43 parts of volumes, 268 pam^jhlets and 32 
 maps and charts. 
 
 There had been eighteen genei-al meetings with an average attandance of thirty-two per- 
 sons, nine of the section of Microscopy with an average of ten, and eight of the section of 
 Entomology with an average of eleven. Six Corresponding and thirty-four Resident Mem- 
 bers had been elected. There had been eighty-two communications, of which seventeen 
 were before the Entomological section and twelve before the Microscopical section. 
 
 Previous to the election of officers, the department of Geology and Minerals was divided, 
 and at the election the following members were chosen on the respective committees: 
 Geology ; William H. Niles, William T. Brigham and Thomas T. Bouve ; — Minerals ; 
 Thomas T. Bouve, Charles T. Jackson, M. D., and L. S. Burbank. The only other change 
 made at the election was in substituting Dr. Samuel Kneeland in place of Mr. J. A. Allen 
 on the Committee for Fishes and Reptiles. 
 
 Leave of absence was granted in June to the Custodian for one year, his salary to be 
 relinquished until his return to the duties of his office. He wished to visit Europe and 
 make himself acquainted with its museums and men of science. 
 
 WalheT Prizes. In June the Council awarded the first prize of one hundred dollars 
 
152 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 to E. D. Coj)e, and the second of fifty dollars to Benjamin G. Ferris, for their competitive 
 essays on "The Darwinian Question; its bearing on the Development of Animal Life." 
 
 In August of this year, the Council passed votes implying some action on the part of 
 members not entirely satisflictory, and at the same time defining limits for the future, viz. : 
 
 All donations shall be submitted to the Committees of departments, before final depo- 
 sition. 
 
 All work rooms in use by Committees are to be regarded as private and shall not be 
 exposed to intrusion except by members of the Council. 
 
 In September, Prof. Shaler proposed that notices of each meeting be mailed to mem- 
 bers designating the subjects that would be brought before it, hoping this might lead to 
 better attendance. Before this time simple notice of other meetings had been published 
 in two daily papers. The suggestion of Pi'of. Shaler was approved and adopted. 
 
 In October, the Council, in view of the fact that the City Government did not furnish 
 regularly such police officers as were necessary on public days, j^assed the following vote : 
 
 " That in consequence of injuries done the Society's building and collection by visitors, 
 the Museum will be' closed to the public after October 19th, until measures can be taken to 
 properly protect the property ; and the Secretary is instructed to advertise the same in 
 six daily papers for one week." This determined action led to officers being furnished for 
 a while satisfactory to the Society. 
 
 During the summer of the year, there had been three field excursions of the members 
 of the Entomological section, resulting in their obtaining a large collection of specimens. 
 The places visited were first Mattapan and vicinity, second Peabod}-, and third, Waltham 
 and Waverly. 
 
 1873. The Museum of the Society was closed to the public on the first day of March, 
 because the police officers had ceased to attend. This led to an interview on the part of 
 the President, with the Mayor and Chief of Police, resulting in a promise on their part 
 that officers should be present on public days. 
 
 At the annual meeting in May, in the absence of the Custodian abroad, the Secre- 
 tary, Mr. Burgess, presented the yearly Report upon the condition and operations of the 
 Society. From this is given the following abstract. 
 
 During the year, two Honorary, one Corresponding, and twenty Resident Members had 
 been elected. 
 
 There had been eighteen general meetings of the Society, six of the section of Ento- 
 mology, and six of the sectioii of Microscopy. The average attendance at the general 
 meetings had been twenty-five, showing perhaps a diminished interest in them. 
 
 There had been four courses of Lowell Lectures given under the direction of the Society, 
 and a fifth was in progress. The first was upon '' The Principles of Zoiilogy," by Prof 
 Edward S. Morse, and had an average audience of sixty persons ; the second upon " Min- 
 eralogy," by Mr. L. S. Burbank, and had an average audience of forty persons ; the third 
 upon " Evenings with the Microscope," by the Rev. E. C. Bolles, and had an average audi- 
 ence of two hundred and fifty, and the fourth on " Chemical and Physical Geology," by 
 Prof. T. Sterry Hunt, and had an average attendance of one hundi-ed and fifty. The fifth 
 course by Mr. B. Waterhouse Hawkins, upon '■' Comparative Anatomy," so tar as they had 
 progressed, had had an average attendance of fifty. 
 
 The Teachers' School of Science was necessarily suspended, much to the regret of a 
 great number who desired to avail themselves of its privileges. The publications had 
 
BOSTON" SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 153 
 
 been satisftictory. Two numbers of the Memoirs and two parts of the Proceedings had 
 been issued. 
 
 The additions to the Library during the year had been 277 volumes, 852 parts of vol- 
 umes, 189 pamphlets aiid 20 maps and charts. 
 
 In the Museum the necessary alterations in the cases had progressed as flist as regard to 
 financial considerations warranted. New and admirable ones for the reception of the valu- 
 able Herbarium presented by John Amory Lowell, Esq., had been made and were in use. 
 
 The change in the location of the collections of the various departments so as to brino- 
 them in the designed relation to each other had proceeded steadily, ami at this time the 
 work was so far accomplished as to enable visitors to the galleries, by entering the first 
 and passing round to the right, to study the zoological collection in order, beginning with 
 the sponges and passing to the higher groups. 
 
 A beginning had been made on a comprehensive system of labelling, a great step 
 towards publishing a visitors' catalogue, so important as a means of instruction. 
 
 Much work had been done on the collections during the year by Messrs. Eraerton and 
 Sprague, the former having labelled over 2,000 bottles of Crustacea and many of New 
 England worms and radiates, and the latter being engaged nearly all the year on insects. 
 Dr. Carpenter had likewise done much in studying our Mollusca and in labelling them. 
 They were sent to him at Montreal for identification. 
 
 Valuable donations had been received from many parties, among them birds from the 
 Smithsonian Listitution, insects from Mr. Sanborn and Mr. Ernest Papendiek, a fine fossil 
 tree from the Joggins Mine, Nova Scotia, presented by the Institute of Technology and a 
 beautiful Japanese crystal globe by Mr. Thomas Gaffield. 
 
 The collection of Minerals had been much enriched by a large and valuable addition 
 made to it by purchase from Dr. Beadle of Philadelphia. The expense was but trifling to 
 the Society, as two members paid a large sum towards the purchase, and considerable 
 money was received from the sale of duplicates. 
 
 The number of visitors to the Museum seemed steadily to increase, schools often coming 
 with their teachers. It was open to the public daily during the Peace Jubilee, so called, 
 when the City provided special police for its protection. 
 
 The Treasurer's account for the year exhibited an excess of receipts over expenditures 
 of $1,342.98. The Society suffered a loss of $6,280 from the great fire of November, 
 1872, it having held stocks in insurance companies that became worthless. It was obliged 
 to pay also assessments to the amount of $2,346, levied by the companies. 
 
 The changes made in the officers at the election were as follows: John Cummings was 
 chosen on the Committee of the department of Geology, from which William T. Brigham 
 and Thomas T. Bouve resigned. J. Henry Blake was chosen on the Committee of Mol- 
 lusks in place of John Cummings, transferred to Committee on Geology. Richard Bliss, 
 Jr., was chosen on the Committee for Fishes and Reptiles in place of Dr. D. Humphreys 
 Storer resigned. J. H. Emerton was chosen on the Committee for Mammals in place of 
 Thomas Waterman, Jr., M. D., resigned. Samuel H. Scudder was chosen on the Committee 
 for Insects in place of F. G. Sanborn. 
 
 In June of this year the gallery was added, with the cases, to the rear library apartment. 
 The want of more room for books had been long felt but was now indispensable. A case 
 was also built for the reception of the moose which had been procured for the Society. 
 
154 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 At a meeting of the Council it was voted to present the specimens belonging to the 
 Society which were formerly in the Ethnological department to the Peabody Museum. 
 
 Walker Prizes. The first prize of sixty dollars was awarded in June to Dr. A. S. Pack- 
 ard, Jr., for an essay by him on the subject proposed for this year " On the development 
 and transformations of the common house-fly." 
 
 The Grand Honorary Pi'ize was awarded this year by the Council to Alexander Agassiz 
 for his investigations in the Embryology. Geographical Distribution, and Natui'al History of 
 the Echinoderms, and the sum of one thousand dollars, the highest amount the Council 
 was authorized to grant, appropriated for the purpose. 
 
 In November, Mr. William T. Brigham offered to present to the Society the casts of the 
 busts of several naturalists, if it would pay the cost of transportation from Eui'ope. The 
 offer w\as accepted with thanks ; these busts, being those of Cuvier, A. L. de Jussieu, 
 Adrian de Jussieu, Buffon, Linnteus, and Charles Girard, were subsequently received and 
 now adorn the main hall of the Museum. 
 
 A meeting of the Council was called by the President on December 15th. Upon assem- 
 bling, he addressed the members, stating that in view of the great calamity that had befal- 
 len the community and particularly upon all interested in scientific culture and progress, 
 by the death of our distinguished member Louis Agassiz, he had thought it well that they 
 should come together and take such immediate action in relation thereto, as might seem 
 fitting upon the occasion. He then recommended as a manifestation of respect to the 
 memory of our honored associate, that the usual second monthly meeting be omitted on 
 the next Wednesday evening and that we communicate to the family of Professor Agassiz 
 our wish to be present at his obsequies if this shoidd be agreeable to them. The pro- 
 posed action was taken. 
 
 Louis Agassiz. 
 
 1874. The meeting of the Society on January 7th partook largely of a memorial char- 
 acter, the proceedings generally relating to the death of our distinguished member. Prof. 
 Louis Agassiz. After calling the members to order, President Bouve addressed them as 
 follows : 
 
 Since we last met an event has occurred that has brought deep sorrow to our hearts, 
 and indeed moved with grief those of the whole community ; for whilst in the death of 
 the gi'cat naturalist we have lost a distinguished Honorary Member, a pioneer in the paths 
 we love to tread, one whose name deservedly ranks high among the most illustrious of 
 those who have explored the world of matter and of life, the great body of the commim- 
 ity has lost one whom it has long and justly i^egarded as pre-eminently the great teacher 
 in science, the man of all men, who inspired the love of knowledge, and who was never 
 weary in his ettbrts to impart the best he knew to every seeking soul. 
 
 Truly all alike, learned or unlearned, high in attainments and position, or only humble 
 seekers of truth, may well weep the loss of hun, whose presence alone was to everybody 
 an inspiration. 
 
 To those of us who have been in any degree sharers in his labors, or companions in lit- 
 erary or scientific circles, his loss is irreparable. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 155 
 
 The fine physical form, the countenance ever beaming with feeling and intelligence, the 
 expressive utterances, and above all, that subtle influence which came from the whole 
 being of the man, alas ! that these are now only mattei's of memory. 
 
 But it is not for me to dwell upon the event I have alluded to. For a fit expression of 
 the loss sustained by the Society, we have the privilege of looking to one whose valuable 
 services to it in its earlier days we have not forgotten, and who was one of the first among 
 scientific men to welcome to our shores and our companionship the great naturalist. I 
 need not say I refer to our former President, Mr. George B. Emerson, whom I now have 
 the pleasure to introduce to you. 
 
 Upon the close of the President's remarks, Mr. George B. Emerson gave an interesting 
 address, a large part of which is here presented. 
 
 I thank you, Mr. President, for the great honor you do me by inviting me to say some- 
 thing before, and in behalf of, your Society, in commemoration of the most distinguished 
 naturalist that has appeared among us. You know how reluctantly I consented to speak, 
 and I feel how inadequately I shall be able to represent the Society. Yet I cannot but 
 admit that there is some apparent propriety in your request. I was one of those who 
 fonned this Society. All the others who first met, except one, are gone ; Dr. B. D. 
 Greene, Dr. J. Ware, F. C. Gray and the rest. My old friend, Dr. Walter Channing, 
 alone, in whose office most of the first meetings were held, is still living. Moreover, while 
 I was in the seat you now occupy, it was agreed by my associates that it was very proper 
 and desirable that a survey of the State, botanical and zoological, should be made, to 
 complete that begun by Prof Hitchcock in Geology. At their request I presented to Gov. 
 Everett a memorial sua-srestingr this. 
 
 Our suggestion was graciously received. Gov. Everett brought the subject before the 
 Legislature, in which some friends of natural history in the House of Representatives had 
 already been acting toward the same end ; an appropriation was made, and he was author- 
 ized to appoint a commission for that purpose. On that commission four members of this 
 Society were placed ; the reports of three of whom, Dr. Harris, Dr. Gould and Dr. Storer, 
 have been, and still continue to be, considered of signal and permanent value, and Mr. 
 Agassiz himself regarded them as among the best reports ever made. It has given and 
 still gives me the greatest satisfaction to know that the Society has been continually going 
 forward, and that it is now more prosperous than ever. 
 
 A little more than twenty-seven years ago, as I was sitting in my study, a message 
 came to me that two gentleman desired to see me. They were immediately admitted, and 
 Dr. Gould introduced me to Louis Agassiz. His noble presence, the genial expression of 
 his face, his beaming eye and earnest, natural voice, at once gained me, and I responded 
 cordially to his introduction. He said, " I have come to see you, because Dr. Gould tells 
 me that you know the trees of Massachusetts ; I wish to be made acquainted with the 
 Carya. I have found the leaves and fruit of several species in the Jura Mountains, where 
 they were deposited when those mountains were formed ; but, since that time, none have 
 been found living in Europe. I want to know them as they are now growing." 
 
 I told him that I knew all the species found in New England, and should be glad to 
 show them to him. "But I have," I said, "presently to begin my morning's work. If 
 you will let me call on you immediately after dinner, I shall be glad to take you to them." 
 
156 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 At the time fixed, I called on him at his lodgings and took him, in my chaise, first to 
 Parker's Hill, where one species of hickory grew, then through Brookline, Brighton and 
 Cambridge, where two others were found, and to Chelsea, where a fourth, and one that 
 might be a variety, were growing. I pointed out the characteristics of each species in 
 growth, branching, bark, fruit and leaves, and esjiecially in the buds. He listened with 
 the most captivating attention, and expressed surprise at my dwelling upon the peculiari- 
 ties of the Ijuds. '' I have never known the buds to be spoken of as characteristic," said 
 he ; '• that is new to me." 
 
 We drove on to Chelsea Beach, which stretches off several miles, — apparently without 
 end, — and, as the tide was very low, was then at least a quarter of a mile wide. He was 
 charmed with everything, expressing his pleasure with all the earnestness of a happy 
 child, hardly able to restrain himself in his admiration and delight. He told me that he 
 had never before been on a sea-beach, but that he was familiar with the undulations and 
 wave marks on the old beaches laid open in the Jura Mountains. 
 
 I need not say what a pleasant drive this was. I had long felt great interest in various 
 departments of Natural History, but had been so fully occupied with my own duties, as a 
 teacher, that I had been able to indulge myself fully, and that for a small part of the year, 
 in one only. Here was a companion who was intimately acqviainted with all, and with the 
 most distinguished men who had been advancing them, and who was ready and happy to 
 communicate wealth of information ujjon every point 1 could ask about. 
 
 The news of the death of Agassiz caused a throb of anguish in millions of hearts. Such 
 a death is a loss to mankind. What death among kings or princes in the Old World, or 
 among the aspirants for power, or the possessors of wealth, in the New, could produce 
 such deep-felt regret ? 
 
 He is gone. We shall see his benignant face and hear his winning voice no more ; but 
 we have before us his example and his works. Let us dwell, for a few moments, on some 
 features in his life and character, as an inspii-ation and a guide, especially to those who 
 mean to devote their leisure, or their life, to natural history, or to the great work of 
 teaching ! What a change has taken place, in the whole civilized world, and especially in 
 this country, in men's estimation of the value and interest of these pursuits, since he 
 began his studies. To whom is that change more due than to Agassiz? 
 
 He was endowed by nature with exti*aordinary gifts. His fascinating eye, his genial 
 smile, his kindlmess and ready sympathy, his generous earnestness, his simplicity and ab- 
 sence of pretension, his transparent sincerity ; — these account for his natural eloquence 
 and persuasiveness of speech, his influence as a man, and his attraction and power as a 
 teacher. For the development and perfecting of many of his highest and most estimable 
 qualities of mind and character, Mr. Agassiz was doubtless indebted to his noble mother, 
 who, judging from every thing we can learn, was a veiy rare and remarkable woman. 
 To the quiet, homely, household duties, for which the Swiss women are distinguished, she 
 added unconsciously, very uncommon mental endowments, which she wisely cultivated by 
 extensive reading of the best authors, and by conversation with the most intelligent per- 
 sons. 
 
 Trained by such a mother, Agassiz grew up in the l)elief of a Creator, an infinite and 
 all-wise Intelligence, Author and Governor of all things. He Avas sincerely and humbly 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 157 
 
 religious. During his whole life, while exploring every secret of animal structure, he saw 
 such wonderful consistency in every part, that he never for a moment doubted that all 
 were parts of one vast plan, the work of one infinite, all-comprehending Thinker. He 
 saw no place for accident, none for blind, unthinking, brute or vegetable selection. 
 Though he was a man of the rarest inteUect, he was never ashamed to look upwards and 
 recognize an infinitely higher and more comprehensive Intellect above him. 
 
 Ao-assiz's mother-tono'ue was French, but both this and German were in common use 
 in the Pays de Vaud. He lived, for years afterwards, in several parts of Germany, and 
 thus attained, without special study, the rich language which we Americans have to give 
 so much time to acquire ; and he lived, long, a studious and laborious life in Paris, where 
 he became intimately acquainted with Cuvier and other distinguished naturalists, and per- 
 fectly familiar with the French language in its best form. More than once, when he was 
 putting his note-book into his pocket, he told me he knew not whether he had made his 
 notes in German or in Fi-ench. 
 
 Agassiz's universality of study and thought suggest a precious lesson. It is never safe 
 to give one's self entirely to one study or to one course of thought. The full powers of 
 the mind cannot so be developed. Nature is infinite ; and a small part of one kingdom 
 cannot be understood, however carefully studied, without some knowledge of the I'est. 
 
 Agassiz took a large, comprehensive view of the whole field of natural history ; his 
 thorough education and intimate acquaintance with the works of the highest men m sev- 
 eral walks, Von Martins, Cuvier, Humboldt, and others, made it possible for him to do it, 
 and he then fixed on certain departments, and, for the time, he gave himself entirely to 
 one. 
 
 Whenever Mr. Agassiz undertook a special work, he prepared himself for it by a care- 
 ful study of whatever had been done in that particular line by all others. He had seen, 
 everywhere, indications of the action of ice. He determined to investigate. He began 
 by reading all he could find upon the subject, and then set himself to observe, patiently 
 and carefully, what was taking place in the glaciers themselves. He gave the leisure of 
 several years to this examination, and then felt himself ready to observe the eftects of 
 similar action in former ages and distant regions. The opinions of such an observer, after 
 such a preparation, cannot be without authority and value ; and it is not surprising that 
 he should not himself have been willing to yield them to those of others who had never 
 given the same study to the subject. 
 
 His example as a teacher has been of inestimable value, as showing the importance of 
 the best and largest possible preparation, teaching by things really existing and not by 
 books, opening the eye to the richness and beauty of nature, showing that there is no 
 spot, from the bai'ren sea-beach to the top of the mountain, which does not present ol)jects 
 attractive to the youngest beginner, and worthy of, and rewarding, the careful considera- 
 tion of the highest intellect. 
 
 In 1855, with the aid of Mrs. Agassiz, who, from the beginning, did a great deal of the 
 work, Mr. Agassiz opened a school for young ladies. For this he was, in all respects, 
 admirably well qualified. The charm of his manner, his perfect simplicity, sincerity and 
 warm-heartedness, attracted every pupil, and won her respect, love and admiration. He 
 knew, almost instinctively, what we teachers have to learn by degrees, that we cannot 
 
158 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 really attract, control and lead a child, and help to form his habits and character, without 
 first loving him ; that nothing in the world is so jDOwerful as real disinterested affection. 
 lie gave, hunself, by lectures most carefidly prepared, an hour's instruction, real instruc- 
 tion, every day. All his pupils retain their respect and love for him, and some keep the 
 notes they made of his talks, and read them with delight. The school was continued for 
 seven yeai's, with great success, attracting pupils from distant parts of the country. 
 
 One of the secrets of his success as a teacher was, that he brought in nature to teach for 
 him. The young ladies of a large school were amused at his simplicity in putting a grass- 
 hopper into the hand of each, as he came into the hall ; but they were filled with surprise 
 and delight, as he explained the structure of the insect before them, and a sigh of disap- 
 pointment escaped from most of them when the lesson, of more than an hour, closed. He 
 had opened their eyes to see the beauty of the wonderful make of one of the least of God's 
 creatures. What a lesson was this to young women preparing to be teachers in the public 
 schools of our Commonwealth, showing that in every field might be found objects to 
 excite, and, well explained, to answer the questions, what ? and how ? and why ? which 
 children will always be asking. 
 
 He had all the elements necessary to an eloquent teacher : voice, look and manner, that 
 instantly attracted attention ; an inexhaustible flow of language, always expressive of rich 
 thoughts, strong common sense, a thorough knowledge of all the subjects on which he 
 desired to speak, a sympathy with others so strong that it became magnetic, and a feeling 
 of the value of what he had to say, which became and created enthusiasm. He thus held 
 the attention of his audience, not only instructing and persuading them, but converting 
 them into interested and admiring fellow students. 
 
 The advent of Agassiz is to be considered a most important event in the Natural His- 
 tory of the country. The example of his character, his disinterestedness, his consecration 
 to science, his readiness to oblige even the humblest and most modest, his superiority to 
 self-interest, his sincerity and absence of all pretension, his enthusiasm in all that is noble 
 — all these recommended not only him, but the science he professed. Never was a life more 
 richly filled with study, work, thought ; and all was consecrated, not to the benefit of 
 himself, but to the promotion of science for the good of his fellow creatures. 
 
 For auany years Mr. Agassiz has seemed to live only for the advancement of natural 
 history, by the building up of his Museum, for which he had collected material, of the 
 greatest possible diversity, which would, propei'ly cared for and arranged, form a Museum 
 superior in numbers and variety to any similar collection in the world. Shall this great 
 work be allowed to fail ? 
 
 Let every person who honors the name of Agassiz, say No ! Let every one who regrets 
 that the great main support of the noble structure is taken away, resolve that it shall not 
 fail, but that, so far as depends on him and what he can do, it sliall go on and he 
 hullt and filled, and stand firm, a glorious temple of science forever. 
 
 At the conclusion of Mr. Emerson's address Rev. Dr. R. C. Waterston in response to 
 an invitation from the chair, spoke as follows of Prof. Agassiz's connection with the Cen- 
 tennial Anniversary of the l)irth of Humboldt : 
 
 At a meeting of the Boston Society of Natural History, June, 1869, it was moved and 
 voted that a celebration of the Centennial Anniversary of the birth of Alexander von 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 159 
 
 Humboldt, by this Society, was highly desirable. It was also suggested that Professor Agas- 
 siz be invited to deliver an address upon the occasion. The invitation was extended to 
 Professor Agassiz and accepted. Various circumstances connected with that memorable 
 occasion, at a time like the present, come to the mind with peculiar power. 
 
 In Professor Agassiz's public address, his introductory remarks were, "I am invited to 
 an unwonted task. Thus far I have appeared before the public only as a teacher of nat- 
 ural history. To-day, for the first time in my life, I leave a field in which I am at home, 
 to take upon myself the duties of a biographer." 
 
 Thus this Society had the privilege of inviting Professor Agassiz to a duty (most nobly 
 fulfilled), which without this invitation in all probability he would never have entered 
 upon. That being as he himself expressed it, the first time in his life he had undertaken 
 such a task ; it was also, as we now know, destined to be the last. This event which, on 
 every account, had great interest, for these reasons possesses a solemn and sacred import. 
 That anniversary we would keep in grateful remembrance, forming as it does, in connec- 
 tion with many reminiscences, an added and, may we not say, an indissoluble tie between 
 us and him. 
 
 At the time when the invitation was extended to Prof Agassiz, he was overwhelmed 
 with work ; while by previous labor, both body and mind had already been overtaxed. 
 Under such circimistances, it would have appeared next to impossible for him to comply 
 with the request of the Society, yet so desirous was he to meet their wishes that he under- 
 took the task. 
 
 On the 3d of July Prof. Agassiz wrote as follows : — 
 
 "For weeks past I have intended every day to write to you, but the fact is that just 
 now I have scarcely time to breathe, and with tlie sincere desire of accepting the invita- 
 tion tendered to me through you, I have been trying to free myself in some degree of 
 the tasks before me. It is not so easy to do this as it seems. 
 
 " However, I write now to say that I will do my best so far as it depends upon me, to 
 make the Anniversary of Humboldt worthy of his memory, and serviceable to science in 
 the country. The task will be a difficult, and in some respects a painful, one to me, none 
 the less because of my personal relations with him. But I will do my best, and I beg 
 you to believe that the confidence placed in me by those who wish to make this occasion 
 a marked day, has gratified and touched me deeply. 
 
 " I wish you would express this sentiment in my behalf, and add that my great cause of 
 hesitation has been the fear that I might not satisfy the expectations of those who have 
 thus honored me. Believe me, 
 
 " Ever truly yours, 
 
 " Louis Agassiz." 
 
 In a note dated July 21st, he says, " I have been completely prostrated this week." 
 
 Yet notwithstanding this exhaustion (doubtless far beyond what was imagined by his 
 
 most intimate friends, and, added to this, serious illness among the members of his own 
 
 family, his son leaving for Europe, on account of his health, the very day upon which the 
 
 address was delivered), Professor Agassiz most conscientiously devoted himself through the 
 
160 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 sultriness of an intensely hot mid-summer, to the work of preparation. Few are prob- 
 ably aware what a mind like his would, under such circumstances, consider requisite. 
 Nothing was to be taken for granted ; not even the memory of former investigations 
 would be accepted without passing through the process of examination. Every step was 
 to be measured, with critical exactness, through the long progress of Humboldt's scientific 
 career. 
 
 Is there not exemplified in this fact, one of the marked characteristics of Prof. Agas- 
 siz's mind ? Absolute thoroughness ; sifting every question and princijile down to its first 
 elements ; tracing every thought, from its earliest germ through each successive develop- 
 ment, until the final result is reached. 
 
 In order to secure freedom from all interrujition during these researches, he asked for a 
 room at the City Library, which was readily granted. Here he could gather about him 
 papers and books, which during his absence would remain undisturbed. Mr. Winsor, the 
 efficient and obliging Superintendent, tells me that for more than a month Prof. Agassiz 
 passed at least three or four days of each week, from nine o'clock in the morning until 
 generally three o'clock in the afternoon, and that during this time he called for more than 
 two hundred volumes in different languages, always desiring to read each work as it orig- 
 inally came from the mind of the author. Thus every work which Alexander von Hum- 
 boldt ever wrote passed under careful review ; not only every volume, but every pam- 
 phlet, with the exception of one, which could not be found in this country. 
 
 On the 4th of September he wrote me, 
 
 " I have only yesterday finished gathering my materials, and have not yet begun pre- 
 paring my address." 
 
 He adds — " My friends will never know what anxieties I have to go through on this 
 occasion." 
 
 Six days after this I received the following : — 
 
 "JSTahant, Sept. 10th, 1869. 
 "My Dear Sir: 
 
 " I have succeeded this evening in bringing to a close my draft of an address ; not 
 exactly as I would like to deliver it, but such as I may be compelled to read should the 
 occurrences of the day unfit me for an extemporized discourse, which I believe might be 
 more effective." 
 
 It would thus appear that even after the address was wi'itten, he hoped to give, not 
 what he had embodied in manuscript, Ijut the result of which that would be the basis, in 
 the form of an extemporized discourse, for which, as all know from his constant habit of 
 speaking without notes, he possessed the very highest qualifications. 
 
 However, to meet every contingency, he adds : — 
 
 " As I go to-morrow to Cambridge, I will try to have my illegible manuscript set in 
 type, that I may myself be aljle to read it. At the same time I shall see how my dia- 
 grams are progressing, and if satisfactory, forward them at once to the Music Hall. 
 
 '• Very truly yours, 
 
 " L. Agassiz." 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 161 
 
 
 
 On the 13th of September he wrote : — 
 " Dear Sir :— 
 
 " I hope I may have a proof of my address for your reporters by the time I reach Bos- 
 ton to-morrow, which I shall hand to you. My diagrams went to the Music Hall Saturday 
 afternoon, with the palm-branch worn on Humljoldt's funeral. 
 
 " The pen taken from his desk the day he died, and sent to me, I shall bring myself, 
 fearing it might be lost if left with bulkier objects. Very truly yours, 
 
 " L. Agassiz." 
 
 Such were some of the preparatory labors connected with the address which was to be 
 heard on that Centennial Anniversary by literary and scientific men from every part of the 
 country. Seldom h,is there been an occasion in the history of New England, which has 
 brought together so brilliant an assemblage of able scholars and prominent men in every 
 department of thougl. t. 
 
 At the evening reception, Mr. Ralph Waldo Emerson, in speaking of what he termed 
 the " delightful address in praise of Humboldt," concentrated his estimate in this charac- 
 teristic declaration, " our eminent professor never delivered a discourse more wise, more 
 happy, or of more varied power." 
 
 These words expressed the universal feeling. And the address, so cordially welcomed 
 by those who heard it, was received when published with equal favor on both sides of the 
 Atlantic. 
 
 This very day, I was reading a letter by Sir Jolui Herschel expressing his commen- 
 dation ; and in the Life of Alexander von Humbolt, edited by Professor Karl Bruhns, 
 director of the observatory at Leipzig, the address by Agassiz is referred to, both in the 
 preface, and in the body of the book. In the latter, a lengthy extract is introduced. 
 [See Vol. n, pp. 179, 180 and 181.] 
 
 There were several occasions upon which Alexander von Humboldt extended such 
 attention and kindness to Agassiz, at a time when encouragement was most needed, that 
 it seems but an act of justice and gratitude to recall them here. The first was related by 
 Agassiz some fifteen years ago, at a meeting of the American Academy of Arts and 
 Sciences, soon after Humboldt's death. 
 
 " May I be permitted," he said, " to tell a circumstance personal to me ? I was only 
 twenty-four years of age when in Paris, whither I had gone with means given me by a 
 friend, but I was at last about to resign my studies from want of ability to meet my 
 expenses. Professor Mitscherlich was then on a visit in Paris, and I had seen him in the 
 morning, when he had asked me what was the cause of my depressed feelings, and I told 
 him I had to go, for I had nothing left. The next morning as I was seated at breakfast, 
 in front of the yard of the Hotel, where I lived, I saw the servant of Humboldt approach. 
 He handed me a note, saying there was no answer and disappeared. I opened the note, 
 and I see it now as distinctly as if I held the paper in my hand. It said: 
 'My Friend:— 
 
 ' I hear that you intend leaving Paris in consequence of some embarrassments. This 
 shall not be. I wish you to remain here as long as the object for which you came is not 
 accomplished. I enclose you a check of £50. It is a loan which you may repay when 
 you can.' " 
 
162 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 That one act of Humboldt, at the turnmg point in the Hfe of Agassiz, may have affected 
 the whole course of his active careei-. If Sir Humphrey Davy could say " My best dis- 
 covery was Michael Faraday,' ' — what shall we say of this discriminating instance of gen- 
 erous encouragement, which perhaps gave to us Agassiz as a man of science. 
 
 In the address upon Humboldt, Agassiz speaks of his studies at Munich, whose Uni- 
 versity had opened under the most brilliant auspices, and where nearly every professor 
 was prominent in some department of science or literature. " These men," he says, 
 " were not only our teachers but our friends. We were the companions of their walks 
 and often present at their discussions." " My room," he adds, " was our meeting-place, bed- 
 room, study, musei;m, library, lecture-room, fencing-room, all in one. Students and pro- 
 fessors used to call it the little Academy." 
 
 It was at this time that Humboldt was preparing for his Asiatic journey. Agassiz was 
 anxious to accompany him, and asked that he might join the expedition as an assistant. 
 This was the beginning of his personal acquaintanceship with Humboldt. 
 
 A graphic picture is presented of the student's life in Paris, in the days of Louis Phil- 
 ippe, when Cuvier, just the age of Humboldt himself, was active and ardent in research, 
 his salon frequented by statesmen, scholars and artists. 
 
 Cuvier was then giving a course of lectures, in the College of France, on the History 
 of Science. "Humboldt," says Agassiz, " attended these lectures regularly; I had fre- 
 quently the pleasure of sitting by his side, and being the recipient of his passing criti- 
 cism." At this period, Humboldt had his working-room at the Rue de la Harpe. 
 " There," continues Agassiz, " it was my privilege to visit him frequently. There he 
 gave me leave to come, to talk with him about my work, and consult him in my difficul- 
 ties." 
 
 At this time Agassiz was twenty-four years of age, and Humboldt sixty-two. 
 
 " I had recently," says Agassiz, " taken my degree as Doctor of Medicine, and was 
 struggling, not only for a scientific position, but for the means of existence also. I have 
 said that he gave me permission to come as often as I pleased to his room, opening to me 
 freely the inestimal_)le advantages which intercourse with such a man gave to a young 
 investigator like myself But he did far more than this, occupied and surrounded as he 
 was, he sought me out in mv lodging." 
 
 Here he o-ives a most interesting account of a visit from Humboldt, at Agassiz's narrow 
 quarters, in the Hotel du Jardin des Plantes. After which is an invitation from Humboldt 
 to meet him at the Palais Royal, — where they dine, — "a rare indulgence," says Agassiz, 
 "for a young man, who could allow himself few luxuries." " Here," he adds, "for three 
 hours, which passed like a dream, I had him all to myself. How he examined me, and 
 how much I learned in that short time ! How to work, what to do, and what to avoid ; 
 how to live, how to distribute my time ; what methods of study to pursue ; these were the 
 things of which he talked to me, on that delightful evening." 
 
 When we reflect upon the extended reputation accpiired by Agassiz before he left 
 Europe ; of that visit to this country which led him gladly to adopt it as his home, and of 
 the untiring zeal with which he devoted to it tlie best years of his life ; shall we not hold 
 in grateful remembrance the man who gave to him, at the most critical moment, the cor- 
 dial hand of friendship, and who by his cheering words, insjjired fresh ardor, and a hope 
 which no after trial could extinguish ? 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 163 
 
 It is more than a pleasant picture, it is a lesson for all time, and should awaken, through 
 generations, the desii'e generously to encourage and wisely to aid. 
 
 It was in this spirit that a " Humboldt Scholai-ship " became associated with the Hum- 
 boldt Anniversary. Through personal solicitation on the part of the committee the sum 
 of seven thousand dollars was subscribed to form a permanent fund, the income of which, 
 under the direction of the Faculty, was to be solely applied to the aid of young and needy 
 students, while pursuing their preparatory studies at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, 
 in Cambridge. The founding of this scholarship was the voluntary proposition of this So- 
 ciety as a token of sympathy and hearty good-will. 
 
 The gratification of Professor Agassiz was at once expressed. In a note written July 
 3d, he says : 
 
 " Your proposition to connect a scholarship with the Museum of Comparative Zoology, 
 in commemoi'ation of this occasion, has had gi'eat weight with me. I believe that such an 
 arrangement will not only be an ever-returning memento of the solemnities of this 14th of 
 September, but, if properly conducted, will contribute to the real advancement of Natural 
 History among us." 
 
 The origin of this scholarship was by some misapprehended. It was supposed to have 
 been suggested, directly or indirectly, by Professor Agassiz. This is an entire mistake. 
 No one could feel more sensitive than he himself did upon this subject. His feelings are 
 frankly expressed in a note which I received from him, after he had read a paragraph in 
 the daily j^apers, referring this movement to him. 
 
 "My Dear Sir:— . 
 
 " In a paper to-day, giving an account of the proposed celebration, ' a plan ' is alluded 
 to ' of Mr. Agassiz for founding a Humboldt Scholarship in the institution of which he is 
 the head.' 
 
 " This is no doubt a simple error of the press, but I should be very sorry to have it 
 stand. It would have been very ungracious in me, and would have shown, to say the 
 least, a great want of delicacy, had I suggested an endowment for the Museum in which I 
 am personally interested. It was, as you know, a proposition made spontaneously, without 
 any reference to me. And though I rejoice in it and feel doubly unwilling, on account of 
 this offer, to shrink from the responsibility connected with the invitation of your com- 
 mittee, yet the suggestion coming from me, under the circumstances, instead of being 
 appropriate, would be wholly unbecoming. You will excuse me for troubling you about 
 this, but I am sui'e you will see that it places me in an awkward position." 
 
 If in any mind there should exist even the shadow of a misapprehension upon this sub- 
 ject, these words will serve to explain fully both the feelings of Prof Agassiz and the 
 exact facts of the case. 
 
 At the close of his public address of the 14th of September, he says : 
 
 " I have appeared before you as the representative of the Boston Natural History So- 
 ciety. It was their proposition to celebrate this memorable anniversary. I feel grateful 
 for their invitation, for the honor they have done me. I feel still more gi-ateful for the 
 generous impulse which has prompted them to connect a Humboldt Scholarship, as a me- 
 morial of this occasion, with the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Cambridge." 
 
164 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Thus, Mr. President and gentlemen, while we cannot but deeply mourn the vast loss 
 which this community and the whole country has sustained by this bereavement, we 
 rejoice in that friendly relationship which so long existed between us, and are thankful 
 that one of the last great pul)lic utterances of his life was given under the auspices of this 
 Society. 
 
 And now that his life, so beneficently crowded with activity and usefulness, has closed 
 to us in this sphere of being, we are grateful that our mutual efibrts established what will 
 not only be a perpetual bond of imion between this Society and the institution of which he 
 was the honored head, but which, we trust, through successive years, may prove a source 
 of practical help and encouragement to numberless students, who, by their future efforts, 
 may extend the boundaries of knowledge, thus aiding in the work of human progress, 
 while they carry forward to yet further completion, those investigations and discoveries 
 which, in oiu- own day, have given innnortality to the names of Humboldt and of Agassiz. 
 
 There was much feeling manifested at this time concerning the safety of the Museum 
 and collections, now of inestimable value. At a meeting of the Council, the Custodian 
 brought up the question of prohibiting the use of workrooms after dark. This led to the 
 appointment of a committee to take the whole subject of securing the building and con- 
 tents against fire. At a subsequent meeting, the President, in behalf of this committee 
 of which he was chairman, rei^orted, recommending several changes in regard to unsafe 
 gas fixtures, and the erection of stand pipes for water. By vote, the committee was 
 authorized to do all they deemed wise and necessary in the matter. 
 
 In January, the President, Mr. Bouve, again brought before the Council the necessity 
 of continued action in order to place the collections of the Museum in projDcr sequence, 
 in accordance with the j^h^n of arrangement which had been adopted. He thought that 
 extensive changes were desirable at once. These would involve the fitting up of two gal- 
 leries in the side rooms of the main hall for the reception of the Botanical collection, as 
 well as the fitting up of the north rooms on the first floor for the Mineralogical and Geo- 
 logical collections. To carry out these changes would require an expenditure of about 
 five thousand dollars. After discussion, a committee was appointed, consisting of Messrs. 
 Bouve, Hyatt, Brigham, Cummings and Scudder, to consider the matter and report at the 
 next meeting to be held a week later. When the Council again met, the President in 
 behalf of the committee, pi'esented plans and estimates relative to the proposed alterations. 
 He stated, however, that the majority of the committee recommended that the Botanical 
 collections be placed in the gallery on the north side of the main hall, rather than on the 
 south side. To this, Mr. Brigham, in behalf of a minority of the connnittee, strongly 
 remonstrated. A prolonged discussion followed. The Council, after mature deliberation, 
 finally voted, with but one dissenting voice, to make the alterations as proposed by the 
 majority of the committee, and full authority was given the President, Custodian and 
 Treasurer to carry them out. The Council also voted that the southeast room in the base- 
 ment be fitted up as a woi-k I'oom under the direction of the same parties. 
 
 As indicative of thought given by membei-s of the Society to matters afi'ecting the pub- 
 lic interest not pertaining especially to its work, it may be stated that in February of this 
 year, the Council passed a vote tor presentation to the cit}' authorities remonstrating 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 165 
 
 against licensing " Jourdain's Museum of Anatomy " so called, on the ground of its ten- 
 dency to offend decency and public morality, whilst subserving no good purpose. 
 
 It being understood that persons were in the habit of entering the building during 
 the evening hours for other purposes than that of working upon the collections, the Coun- 
 cil voted in March : That after the closing of the building, no person shall be allowed to pass 
 into it, except through the apartments of the Janitor. 
 
 Some alterations were proposed and adopted in the Constitution and By-laws at this 
 time, the most important of which was the addition to the latter of a section, providing 
 that whenever any existing or anticipated vacancy in the list of officers was to be filled by 
 election, a nominating committee should be appointed by the Society at a stated meeting to 
 bring in at a subsequent meeting one or more nominations of persons to fill such vacancy. 
 And providing also that no person should be elected to aiiy office until his nomination had 
 been under consideration by the Society at least two weeks. 
 
 In April of this year, Mr. S. H. Scudder spoke of the great importance of a re-survey 
 of the State of Massachusetts, topographical, geological and biological. It was the first in 
 the Union to provide for a survey, but while almost all the principal States had now 
 finished or begun a second one, no steps had been taken by Massachusetts in this direc- 
 tion. The original survey was wonderfully well done, yet incomplete, and the advance of 
 scientific knowledge since rendered a re-survey very desirable. The American Academy of 
 Arts and Sciences had taken the matter into consideration and had appointed a committee 
 to memorialize the Legislature on the subject. 
 
 Prof Niles, Mr. John Cumniings and the President all addressed the meeting in favor of 
 the project, and finally it was voted on motion of Mr. Putnam : That the President ap- 
 point a committee including himself to petition the Legislature for a re-survey of the State. 
 Messrs. Niles, Cummings, Putnam, Jeffries, Hyatt, and Morse with the President, were 
 accordingly made this committee. 
 
 In the following May Mr. S. H. Scudder reported that the subject of a re-survey of the 
 State had duly come before the Legislature and had been referred to the Committee on 
 Education with every prospect of a favorable report. He also referred to the question of 
 a public park now agitated, thinking that the idea of the establishment of a zoological 
 garden should be considered by the Society in connection with it. 
 
 The annual meeting was held on May 6th, Vice-President R. C. Greenleaf in the Chair. 
 
 The report of the Treasurer showed that the expenditures of the Society had exceeded 
 its receipts $1874.12. Among the former, however, was included the sum of |1754.22 
 paid for insurance of property for five years. The alterations and improvements in the 
 building indispensable for the safety of the collections, and to bring them into proper rela- 
 tion to each other, had cost $3423.81. 
 
 The report of the Custodian, Mr. Hyatt, who had returned home and resumed the 
 duties of his office, after appropriately referring to the decease of Prof Agassiz, gives a 
 summary of the work of the year, from which the following is presented. 
 
 Mr. Hyatt's visit to Europe afforded an opportunity to fill out the Palaeontological col- 
 lection. A fair collection of species from Western Europe was needed in order that we 
 should be able to compare them in a general way with their synchronous representatives 
 in North America. To meet this want Mr. John Cummings generously furnished the 
 
166 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 necessary means iov their purchase. By good fortune Mr. Hyatt was able to buy the very 
 valuable collection of Oberfinanzrath Eser of Stuttgart. This was very rich in the fossils 
 of the Tertiary, Secondary and Triassic periods, and also contained a fair representation of 
 the Carboniferous, and some of the Devonian and Silurian types. All these had Iseen 
 selected with great care, and Herr Eser had expended the leisure hours of nearly forty 
 years in accumulating them. 
 
 Speaking of this collection, the Custodian remarked that the " imique specimens which 
 it contains are both remarkable and numerous. Many of these were found during the 
 building of the extensive fortifications at Ulm, and were selections from all the fossils 
 obtained, which were sent by the chief architect to Herr Eser. The most valuable single 
 series consists of the two head pieces and detached bones of Belodon Campbelli, the only 
 remains of this i-emarkable animal ever found. There are specimens of tertiary plants, 
 which are of such delicacy that they are mounted like l^otanical specimens on paper." 
 
 Besides the collection mentioned, Mr. Hyatt purchased also while abroad, through the 
 generosity of Mr. Cummings, several large specimens for the Palaeoutological department 
 quite essential to it, among the species several Ichthyosauri and Teleosauri, and a magnifi- 
 cent plate of the expanded species of the Pentacrinus Briarius. 
 
 A splendid collection of Devonian fossils collected near Ithaca, New York, had also 
 been added to the Palaeoutological series, partly by donations of Mr. John Cummings 
 and Mr. Thos. T. Bouve, and partly by purchase. 
 
 The illness of Mr. Sprague had interrupted work in the Entomological department. It 
 was reported by Mr. Emerton, free from destructive insects. Dr. Carpenter had continued 
 work on the Mollusca. To the Comparative Anatomy department a prepared skeleton of 
 a horse mackerel had been added. Work ou the Fishes had been begun by Mr. Putnam, 
 Chairman of the Ichthyological Committee. 
 
 The Ornithological collection had been frequently inspected through the year. It was 
 reported as free from insects. Considerable work had been done in the Botanical depax-t- 
 ment by Miss Carter, employed at the expense of Mr. John Cummings, to inspect and 
 arrange the duplicates. 
 
 During the year five Corresponding and thirty-one Resident Members had been elected. 
 There had been seventeen general meetings of the Society, eight of the section of Ento- 
 mology, and seven of the section of Microscopy. 
 
 The plan of notifying each member By postal card of the general meetings and of the 
 papers to be read at each, adopted in the autumn, had been attended with great success. 
 The numbers present smce Oct. loth, have averaged sixty-four, whereas the average imm- 
 ber the previous year was but twenty-five. The greatest number of persons present at 
 one meeting was one hundred and twenty-four, the largest Society meeting ever held in 
 this building. 
 
 Only one course of the Lowell Institute Lectures was given. This was by Dr. Thos. 
 Dwight, Jr., upon living animal tissues. 
 
 The disastrous eifects of the great fire of November, 1872, had prevented tlic contin- 
 uance of the lectures to teachers, so generously provided for hitherto by Mr. John Cum- 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 167 
 
 Of publications, four articles in the Memoirs had appeared, and four parts of the Pro- 
 ceedings. The library had received during the year three hundred and tweuty-three vol- 
 umes, eight hundred and thirty-three parts of volumes, one hundred and twenty-four 
 pamphlets, and forty-nine maps and charts. 
 
 Respecting the alterations that had been going on, the Custodian remarked that a con- 
 siderable part of the year had been taken up in making them. There would undoubtedly 
 be experienced some difficulty in the arrangement of details in the separate collec- 
 tions but the natural sequence of forms, whether mineralogical, geological, or zoolog- 
 ical would be as fully and better illustrated than it ever has been in any printed work 
 embracing similar grounds, an achievement heretofore considered unattainable in Mvise- 
 ums of the size of this. He deprecated having ascribed to himself the whole credit 
 of the extraordinary success thus far obtained, mentioning that the President had urged 
 the adoption of the plan of organization presented in the annual report of 1870-71, and 
 had ever since given it his energetic support. 
 
 At the election of officers for the year ensuing, Mr. Samuel H. Scudder was chosen 
 First Vice-President, and Mr. John Cummings Second Vice-President of the Society, 
 taking the positions hitherto held by Dr. Chas. T. Jackson, and Mr. Richard C. Greenleaf. 
 
 T. Sterry Hunt and L. S. Burbank were chosen upon the Committee on Geology, from 
 which John Cummings resigned ; R. H. Richards was chosen upon the Committee on Min- 
 erals, in place of Dr. Charles T. Jackson ; John Cummings was chosen one of the Com- 
 mittee on Botany in place of William T. Brigham. 
 
 On motion of Dr. Kneeland the thanks of the Society were unanimously voted to the 
 retiring Vice-President, Mr. Greenleaf, for his valuable services. The following resolu- 
 tion presented by Mr. George Washington Warren was also unanimously passed : 
 
 " Resolved, That this Society desires to place upon its records, its high appreciation of 
 the eminent services rendered by Dr. Chas. T. Jackson, one of its Vice-Presidents, and of 
 the high honor conferred upon the Society by his long association with it ; and it would 
 respectfully tender to his afflicted fomily its sincere condolence for the malady which 
 has overtaken him, and has so abruptly terminated, for a season only, it is greatly to be 
 hoped, his scientific researches, which have been of inestimable value to the public." 
 
 It was voted that a copy of the resolution be sent to the family of Dr. Jackson. 
 
 Six years have now passed since the above mentioned action was taken by the Society, 
 and as the hope expressed of the renewal of scientific work on the part of Dr. Jackson, 
 has not been and is not likely to be realized,^ there can be no more fitting occasion to 
 dwell upon his connection with, and his services to the Society. He was not, strictly speak- 
 ing, one of its original members, but he, soon after its foundation, was acting among them, 
 and in 1833 was elected to the office of Curator. 
 
 To no man was the Society more indebted for constant and active zeal in its welfare 
 than to Dr. Charles T. Jackson during the first forty years of its existence. Others sur- 
 passed him in laborious work on its collections when nearly all done upon them was by 
 voluntary effort ; others in exerting greater influence in the community for its ad vantage ; 
 but none in a constant manifestation of interest in its proceedings as shown by so long 
 and uninterrupted a participation in them, and by the generous donation of a large por- 
 
 ' Dr. Jackson died, after .1 long illness, on the 29th of August, 1880. 
 
168 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 tion of his mineral collection. No man among the members perhaps manifested more 
 genins for scientific work. Had the truly brilliant suggestions of his mind been always 
 followed up by promj^t endeavor to obtain practical results, he would have been recog- 
 nized everywhere as a great discoverer and benefactor. This is not the place to discuss 
 questions relative to his instrumentality in the introduction of ether as an anjesthetic 
 agent. Suffice it here to ex])ress what is clearly true that the friends who knew him the 
 most intimately and who were his constant companions, ever felt that much more was due 
 to him than the world awarded. Whatever may be said, however, upon mooted points, all 
 who were members of the Society in his days of activity will agree that he served it well 
 and faithfully and that he richly earned its gratitude. Possessed of a good memory, and 
 having a great fund of information upon almost all subjects that came up for discussion 
 at the meetings, Dr. Jackson became much relied upon to take part when there was any 
 lack of speakers, and thus often largely contributed to the interest of proceedings that 
 might otherwise have been dull. Moreover, he frequently read papers of great value 
 which appeared in the publications of the Society. 
 
 In the Council meeting first held after the annual one of the Society, the usual commit- 
 tees for the year were formed, and a new arrangement was made with the Custodian, by 
 which it was understood that he should give all his time to the Society, excepting such as 
 was required by him for his regular lectures, and be held responsiljle for the building and 
 all the employees under his charge ; these to be considered his assistants and not those of 
 the other officers or of members of the Council. The Custodian or the Museum assistant 
 to Ije present during office hours. The Secretary to be present only when necessary, 
 and the second assistant to be a general assistant under his charge. 
 
 In furtherance of the plan still in progress to arrange the collections in consecutive 
 order, the Council voted, upon representation of Mr. Bouve in behalf of the committee 
 on alterations, that it was necessary to fit up the gallery on the south side of the building 
 for the reception of Protozoans and Radiates. 
 
 Walker Prizes. The subject proposed for the Walker annual prize for 1874 was "The 
 comparative structure of the limbs of birds and reptiles." No essay of sufficient merit 
 for an award was presented. 
 
 In June of this year, the subject of a Zoological Garden came before the Society and 
 the Council. At a meeting of the former, it was voted, upon motion of Mr. G. Washing- 
 ton Warren, that a committee be appointed by the Chair to urge, in the name of the 
 Society, before the Park Commissioners and the City Council, the importance of providing 
 for the establishment of a Zoiilogical Garden and Aquarium in connection with one of the 
 proposed public pai'ks, and that said committee have power to call a special meeting of 
 the Society whenever it may l)e thought expedient to consider such recommendation as 
 the committee may suggest in relation to the subject. 
 
 Whether this committee was appointed and if so what they did, is not reported in the 
 records. The matter is quoted as indicating the readiness of the Society to cooperate 
 with the City government in any movement that may be made towards the establishment 
 of a Zoological Garden. 
 
. "'V^I^^KtS^^W^: . 
 
 <l^'y '-v^Ji^ 
 
 ^\ 
 
 \Ay>^OL.\A_ 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 169 
 
 JEFFRIES WYMAN. 
 
 Died 4th Sept., 1874. 
 
 The wisgst man coulJ .ask no more of F<ate 
 Than to be simple, modest, manly, true, 
 S;<fe from tlie M.any, honored by the Few; 
 Nothing to court in World, or Church, or State, 
 But inwardly in secret to be great; 
 To feel mysterious N.ature ever new. 
 To touch, if not to grasp, her endless clew. 
 And lenrn by each discovery how to wait ; 
 To widen knowledge and escape the praise ; 
 Wisely to teach, because more wise to learn ; 
 To toil for Science, not to draw men's gaze. 
 But for her lore of self-denial stern ; 
 That such a man could spring from our decays 
 Fans the soul's nobler faith until it burn. 
 
 James Russell Lowell. 
 
 The first meeting of the Society in the autumn was held on October 7th. There were 
 one hundred and fourteen ^jersons present, many of whom had come expressly to testify 
 their great respect and regard for the memory of Dr. Jeffries Wyman, whose death had 
 occurred on the fourth day of the previous month. The President addressed the members 
 as follows : 
 
 After our usual summer vacation we meet together with more than accustomed emotion ; 
 for mixed with the joy of greeting one another after separation, there is a consciousness 
 of irreparable loss that weighs heavily upon our spirits, a recognition that there have 
 gone away from us a force and a virtue which have so long been a help and inspiration, 
 that we cannot but feel a sense of bereavement such as no words of mine can adequately 
 express. Sad indeed is it for us and for all, that such nobleness of nature, such wealth of 
 acquired knowledge, such purity and simplicity of life, as were manifested in Jeffries 
 Wyman, should pass from the world ; for rare, too rare, are to be found examples of such 
 exalted character and attainments. 
 
 To our Society Professor Wyman was a great benefactor ; not in the sense of a donor 
 especially, but in the higher sense of one imparting to it such honorable flime as enhanced 
 greatly respect for it, both at home and abroad. To him also was the Society mainly 
 indebted for the interest shown in our woi'k by the late Dr. Walker, aud which led directly 
 to its large endowment with means of succe;7s. 
 
 But pleasant as it would be for me, as a personal friend, to dwell upon the transcendent 
 virtues of one whom I have always regarded with the highest respect and most affection- 
 ate esteem, I feel it would be unbecoming to further occupy your time in view of those 
 present, who have come here with their tributes of love to the memory of our dear 
 departed friend. I therefore close by inviting others to address you, first calling upon 
 Dr. Asa Gray, who, from his great regard for Professor Wyman has kindly prepared a 
 notice of his life and work to read on this occasion. 
 
170 - HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Dr. Gray said : — 
 
 When Ave think of the associate and friend whose death this Society now deplores, and 
 remember how modest and retiring he was, how averse to laudation and reticent of 
 words, we feel it becoming to speak of liim, now that he has gone, with much of the 
 reserve which would be imposed upon us if he were living. Yet his own perfect truthful- 
 ness and nice sense of justice, and the benefit to be derived from the contemplation of 
 such a character by way of example, may be our warrant for reasonalde freed(.)m in the 
 expression of our judgments and our sentiments, taking care to avoid all exaggeration. 
 
 Appropriate and sincere eulogies and expressions of loss, both official and personal, 
 have, however, already been pronounced or puldished ; and among them one from the 
 governors of that institution to which, together Avith our own Society, most of Professor 
 Wyman's official life and services were devoted, — which appears to me to delineate in the 
 fewest words the truest outlines of his character. In it the President and Fellows of Har- 
 vard University " recall with affectionate respect and admiration the sagacity, patience 
 and rectitude which characterized all his scientific work, his clearness, accuracy and con- 
 ciseness as a writer and teacher, and the industry and zeal with which he labored upon the 
 two admirable collections which remain as monuments of his rare knowledge, method and 
 skill. They commend to the young men of the University this signal example of a char- 
 acter modest, tranquil, dignified and independent, and of a life simple, contented and hon- 
 ored." 
 
 What more can be or need be said?. It is left for me, in compliance with your invita- 
 tion, Mr. President, to say something of what he was to us, and has done for us, and to 
 put upon record, for the use of those who come after us, some account of his uneventful 
 life, some notice, however unperfect, of his work and his writings. I could not do this 
 without the help of friends who knew him well in early life, and of some of you who are 
 much more conversant than I am with most of his researches. Such aid, promptly ren- 
 dered, has been thankfully accepted and freely used. 
 
 Our associate's father. Dr. Rufus Wyman, — born in Woburn, graduated at Harvard Col- 
 lege in 1799, and in the latter part of his life Physician to the McLean Asylum for the 
 Insane, — was a man of marked ability and ingenuity. Called to the charge of this earli- 
 est institution of the kind in New England at its beginning, he organized the plan of 
 treatment and devised the excellent mechanical ai'rangements wdiich have since been 
 developed, and introduced into other establishments of the kind. His mother was Ann 
 Morrill, dautrhter of James MorrUl, a Boston merchant. This name is continued, and is 
 familiar to us, in that of our associate's elder brother. 
 
 Jeflries Wyman, the third sou, derived his baptismal name from the distinguished 
 Dr. John Jeffries, of Boston, under whom his father studied medicine. He was born on 
 the 11th of August, 1814, at Chelmsford, a township of a few hundred inhabitants in 
 Middlesex Co., Mass., not far from the present city of Lowell. As his father took up his 
 residence at the McLean Asylum in 1818, when Jeffries was only four years old, he 
 received the rudiments of his education at Charlestown, in a private school ; but after- 
 wards went to the Academy at Chelmsford, and, in 182G, to Phillips E.xeter Academy, 
 where, under the instruction of Dr. Abbot, he was prepared for college. He entered 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 171 
 
 Harvard College in 1829, the year in whicli Josiah Quincy took the presidency, and was 
 graduated in 1833, in a class of fifty-six, six of whom became professoi's in the University. 
 He was not remarkable for general scholarship, but was fond of chemistry, and his jirefer- 
 ence for anatomical studies was already develojied. Some of his class-mates remember 
 the interest which was excited among them by a skeleton which he made of a mammoth 
 bull-frog from Fresh Pond, proljably one which is still preserved in his museum of com- 
 parative anatomy. His skill and taste in drawing, which he turned to such excellent 
 account in his investigations and in the lecture room, as Avell as his habit of close obser- 
 vation of natural objects met with in his strolls, were manifested even in boyhood. 
 
 An attack 'of pneumonia during his senior year in college caused much anxiety, and 
 perhaps laid the foundation of the pulmonary affection which burdened and finally short- 
 ened his life. To recover from the effects of the attack, and to guard against its return, 
 he made in the winter of 1833-34, the first of those pilgrimages to the coast of the 
 Southern States, which in later years were so often repeated. Returning with strength 
 renewed in the course of the following spring, he began the study of medicine under 
 Dr. John C. Dalton, who had succeeded to his father's practice at Chelmsford, but who 
 soon removed to the adjacent and thriving town of Lowell. Here, and with his father at 
 the McLean Asylum, and at the Medical College in Boston, he passed two years of profit- 
 able study. At the commencement of the third year he was elected house-student in the 
 Medical Department, at the Massachusetts General Hospital, — then under the charge of 
 Doctors James Jackson, John Ware and Walter Channing — a responsible position, not 
 only most advantageous for the study of disease, but well adapted to sharpen a young 
 man's power of observation. 
 
 In 1837, after receiving the degree of Doctor of Medicine, he cast about among the 
 larger country towns for a field in which to practice his profession. Fortunately for 
 science he found no oj^ening to his mind; so he took an office in Boston, on Washington 
 Street, and accepted the honorable, but fiir from lucrative post of Demonstrator of Anat- 
 omy under Dr. John C. Warren, the Ilersey Professor. His means were very slender, 
 and his life abstemious to the verge of privation ; for he was unwilling to burden his 
 fixther, who, indeed, had done all he could in providing for the education of two sons. It 
 may be interesting to know that, to eke out his subsistence, he became at this time a 
 memljer of the Boston Fire Department, under an appointment of Samuel A. Eliot, 
 Mayor, dated Sept. 1st, 1838. He was assigned to Engine No. 18. The rule was that the 
 firstrcomer to the engine house should bear the lantern, and be absolved from other work. 
 Wyman lived near by, and his promptitude generally saved him from all severer labor 
 than that of enlightening his companj-. 
 
 The turning point in his life, i. e., an opportunity which he could seize of devoting it to 
 science, came when Mr. John A. Lowell offered him the curatorship of the Lowell Insti- 
 tute, just brought into operation, and a course of lectures in it. He delivered his course 
 of twelve lectures upon Comparative Anatomy and Physiology in the winter of 18-40-41 ; 
 and with the money earned by this first essay in instructing others, he went to Europe to 
 seek further instruction for himself. He reached Paris in May, 1841, and gave his time at 
 once to Human Anatomy at the School of Medicine, and Comparative Anatomy and Natr 
 ural History at tlie Garden of Plants, attending the lectures of Floiu'ens, Majendie, and 
 
172 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Longet on Physiology, and of de BlainA'ille, Isidore St. Hilaire, Valenciennes, Dumeril, 
 and Milne-Edwards on Zoology and Comparative Anatomy. In the summer, when the 
 lectures were over, he made a pedestrian journey along the banks of the Loire, and an- 
 other along the Rhine, returning through Belgium, and by steamer to London. There, 
 while engaged in the study of the Hunterian collections at the Royal College of Surgeons, 
 he received information of the alarming illness of his lather ; he immediately turned his 
 face homew^ard, but on reaching Halifax he learned that his flither was no more. 
 
 He resumed his residence in Boston, and devoted himself mainly to scientific work, 
 under circumstances of no small discouragement. But in 1843 the means of a modest 
 professional livelihood came to him in the offer of the chair of Anatomy and Physiology in 
 the medical department of Hampden-Sydney College, established at Richmond, Virginia. 
 One advantage of this position was that it did not interrupt his residence in Boston except 
 for the winter and spring ; and during these months the milder climate of Richmond was 
 even then desirable. He discharged the duties of the chair most acceptably for five ses- 
 sions, until, in 1847, he was appointed to succeed Dr. Warren as Hersey Professor of 
 Anatomy in Harvard College, the Parkman professorship in the Medical School in Boston 
 being filled by the present incumbent, Dr. Holmes. Thus commenced Prof AVyman's 
 most useful and honorable connection as a teacher Avith the University, of which the Pres- 
 ident and Fellows speak in the terms I have already recited. He began his work in 
 Holden Chapel, the upper floor being the lecture-room, the lower containing the dissecting 
 room and the anatomical museum of the College, wath which he combined his own collec- 
 tions and preparations, which from that time forward increased rapidly in number and 
 value under his industrious and skillful hands. At length Boylston Hall was built for the 
 anatomical and the chemical departments, and the museum, lecture and working-rooms 
 were establislied connnodiously in their present quarters; and Prof. Wyman's department 
 assumed the rank and the importance which it deserved. Both human and comparative 
 anatomy were taught to special pupils, some of whom have jiroved themselves worthy of 
 their honored master, while the annual courses of lectures and lessons on Anatomy, Phy- 
 siology, and for a time the principles of Zoology, imparted highly valued instruction to 
 undergraduates and others. 
 
 In the formation and perfecting of his museum — the first of the kind in the country, 
 arranged upon a plan both physiological and morphological — no pains and labors were 
 spared, and long and arduous journeys and voyages were made to contribute to its I'iches. 
 In the summer of 1840, — having replenished his frugal means with the proceeds of a 
 second course of lectures before the Lowell Institute (viz:, upon Comparative Physiology, 
 a good condensed short-hand report of which was published at the time), — he accompa- 
 nied Captain Atwood of Provincetown, in a small sloop, upon a fishing voyage high up the 
 coast of Labrador; in the winter of 1852, going to Florida for his health, he began his 
 fruitful series of explorations and collections in that interesting district. In 1854, accom- 
 panied by his wife, he travelled extensively in Europe, and visited all the museums within 
 his reach. In the spring of 1856, with his pupils, Green and Bancroft, as companions and 
 assistants, he sailed to Surinam, penetrated fiir into the interior in canoes, made important 
 researches upon the ground, and enriched his museum with some of its most interesting 
 collections. These came near being too dearly bought, as he and his companions took the 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 173 
 
 fever of the country, from which he suifereil severely, and recovered slowly. Again, in 
 1S58-9, accepting the thoughtful and generous invitation of Capt. J. M. Forbes, he made 
 a voyage to the La Plata, ascended the Uraguay and the Parana in a small iron steamer 
 which Captain Forbes brought upon the deck of his vessel ; then, with his friend George 
 Augustus Peabody as a companion, he crossed the pampas to Mendosa, and the Cordilleras 
 to Santiago and Valparaiso, whence he came home by way of the Peruvian coast and the 
 Isthmus. 
 
 B3' such expeditions many of the choice materials of his museum and of his researches 
 were gathered, at his own expense, to be carefully prepared and elaborated by his own 
 unaided hands. A vast neighboring museum is a splendid example of what munificence, 
 called forth by personal enthusiasm, ma}^ accomplish. In Dr. Wj'man's we have an exam- 
 ple of what one man may do unaided, with feeble health and feebler means, by persistent 
 and well-directed industry, without eclat, and almost without observation. While we duly 
 honor those who of their abundance cast their gifts into the treasury of science, let us 
 not — now that he cannot be pained by our praise — forget to honor one who in silence 
 and penury cast in more than tliey all. 
 
 Of penury in a literal sense we may not speak ; for although Prof Wyman's salary, 
 derived from the Hersey endowment, was slender indeed, he adapted his wants to his 
 means, foregoing neither his independence nor his scientific work ; and I suppose no one 
 ever heard him complain. In 1856 came unexpected and honcrable aid from two old 
 friends of his father who appreciated the son, and wished him to go on with his scientific 
 work without distraction. One of them, the late Dr. William J. Walker, sent him ten 
 thousand dollars outright ; the other, the late Thomas Lee, who had helped in his early 
 education, supplemented the endowment of the Hersey professorship with an equal sum, 
 stipulating that the income thereof should be ]3fiitl to Prof. Wyman during life, whether 
 he held the chair or not. Seldom, if ever, has a moderate sum produced a greater benefit. 
 
 Throughout the later years of Prof. Wyman's life a new museum has claimed his inter- 
 est and care, and is indebted to him for much of its value and promise. In 18G6, when 
 failing strength demanded a respite from oral teaching, and required him to pass most of 
 the season for it in a milder climate, he was named by the late George Peabody one of 
 the seven trustees of the Museum and Professorship of American Archaeology and Eth- 
 nology, which this philanthropist proceeded to found in Harvard University ; and his 
 associates called upon him to take charge of the establishment. For this he was pecu- 
 liarly fitted by all his previous studies, and by his predilection for ethnological inquiries. 
 These had already engaged his attention, and to this class of subjects he was thereafter 
 mainly devoted, — with what sagacity, consummate skill, untiring diligence and success, 
 his seven annual Reports — the last published just before he died, — his elaborate memoir 
 on shell-heaps, noAV printing, and especially the Archaeological Museum in Boylston Hall, 
 abundantly testify. If this museum be a worthy memorial of the founders liberality and 
 foresight, it is no less a monument of Wyman's rare ability and devotion. Whenever the 
 enduring Ijuilding which is to receive it shall be erected, surely the name of its first cura- 
 tor and organizer should be inscriljed, along with that of the founder, over its portal. 
 
 Of Prof Wyman's domestic life, let it here suffice to record, that in Dec, 1850, he 
 married Adeline Wheelwright, who died in June 1855, leaving two daughters; that in 
 
174 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 August, 1861, he married Anna Williams Whitney, who died in February, 1864, shortly 
 after the birth of an only and a surviving son. 
 
 Of his later days, of the slow, yet all too rapid progress of flital pulmonary disease, it 
 is needless to protract the story. Winter after winter, as he exchanged our bleak climate 
 for that of Florida, we could only hope that he might return. Spring after spring he 
 came back to us invigorated, thanks to the bland air and the opeii life in boat and tent, 
 which acted like a charm; — thanks, too, to the watchful care of his attached friend, 
 Mr. Peabody, his constant companion in Florida life. One winter was passed in Europe, 
 partly in reference to the ArchoBological Museum, partly in hope of better health ; but no 
 benefit was received. The past winter in Florida prodnced the usual amelioration, and 
 the amount of woi'k which Dr. Wyman undertook and accomplished last summer might 
 have tasked a robust man. There were important accessions to the archteological collec- 
 tions, upon which much labor, very trj'ing to ordinary patience, had to be expended. 
 And in the last interview 1 had with him, he told me that he had gone through his own 
 museum of comparative anatomy, which had somewhat suffered in conseciuence of the 
 alterations in Bojlston Ilall, and had put the whole into perfect order. It was late in 
 August when he left Cambridge for his usual visit to the White Mountain region, by 
 which he avoided the autumnal catarrh ; and there, at Bethlehem, New Hamp.shire, on 
 the 4th of September, a severe hemorrhage from the lungs suddenly closed his valuable 
 life. 
 
 Let us turn to his relations with this Society. He entered it in Octoljer, 18-37, just 
 tliirty-seven years ago, and shortly after he had taken his degree of Doctor in Medicine. 
 He was Eecording Secretary from 1839 to 1841 ; Curator of Ichtlwology and Ilerjietol- 
 ogy from 1841 to 1847, of Herpetology from 1847 to 1855, of Comparative Anatomy 
 from 1855 to 1874. While in these latter years his duties may have been almost nominal, 
 it should be remembered that in the earlier days a curator not only took charge of his 
 portion of the Museum, but in a great degree created it. Then for fourteen years, from 
 1856 to 1870. he was the President of this Society, as assiduous in all its duties as he was 
 wise in council ; and he resigned the chair which he so long adorned and dignified only 
 when the increasing delicacy of his health, to which night-exposure was prejudicial, made 
 it unsafe for him anv lono-er to undertake its duties. The record shows that he has made 
 here one hundred and five scientific communications, several of them very important 
 papers, every one of some positive value ; for you all know that Prof Wyman never 
 spoke or wrote except to a direct purpose, and because there was something which it was 
 wortli while to couununicate. He bore his part also in tlie American Academy of Arts 
 and Sciences, of which he was a Fellow from the year 1843, and for many years a Coun- 
 cillor. To it he made a good nundjer of communications ; among them one of the long- 
 est and ablest of his memoirs. 
 
 Dr. Gray then went on to give a brief account of Prof Wyman's scientific work, as 
 recorded in Iris published papers which have appeared in the Journal and Proceedings of 
 this Society, in the Proceedings of the American Academy, in the Boston Medical Jour- 
 nal, in Silliiuan's Journal and in the Smithsonian Contributions. Of several of them he 
 presented interesting analyses which may be found in the published records of the meet- 
 ing. After notice of what he had done Dr. Gray continued his remarks as follows : 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 175 
 
 The thought that fills our mmds upon a survey even so incomplete as this is : How 
 much he did, how well he did it all, and how simply and quietly ! We knew that our 
 associate, though never hurried, was never idle, and that his great repose of manner 
 covered a sustained energy ; but I suspect that none of us, without searching out and 
 collecting his published papers, had adequately estimated their number and their value. 
 There is nothing forth-putting about them, nothing adventitious, never even a phrase 
 to herald a matter which he deemed important. 
 
 His work as a teacher was of the same quality. He was one of the best lecturers I 
 ever heard, although, and partly because, he was the most unpretending. You never 
 thought of the speaker, nor of the gifts and acquisitions which such clear exposition were 
 calling forth, — only of what he was simply telling and showing you. Then to those who, 
 like his pupils and friends, were in personal contact with him, there was tne added charm 
 of a most serene and sweet temper. He was truthful and conscientious to the very core. 
 His perfect freedom, in lectures as well as in writing, and no less so in daily conversation, 
 from all exaggeration, false perspective, and factitious adornment, was the natural expres- 
 sion of his innate modesty and refined taste, and also of his reverence for the exact truth. 
 
 Respecting the views of Jeffries Wyman upon the subject that has most dee^jly moved 
 the minds of profound thinkers in our daj', Dr. Gray remarked : 
 
 In these days it is sure to be asked how an anatomist, physiologist, and morphologist 
 like Prof "Wyman regarded the most remarkable scientific movement of his time, the 
 revival and apparent prevalence of doctrines of evolution. As might be expected, he 
 was neither an advocate nor an opponent. Ha was not one of those persons who quickly 
 make up their minds, and announce their opinions with a confidence inversely proportion- 
 ate to their knowledge. He could consider long, and hold his judgment in suspense. 
 
 And further on he adds : 
 
 Upon one point Wyman was clear from the beginning. He did not wait until evolution- 
 ary doctrines were about to prevail, before he judged them to be essentially philosophical 
 and healthfu*!, " in accordance with the order of Nature, as commonly manifested in her 
 works," and that they need not disturb the foundations of natural theology. 
 
 Perhaps none of us can be trusted to judge of .such a question impartially, upon the 
 bax'e merits of the case; but Wyraan's judgment was as free from bias as that of any one 
 I ever knew. Not at all, however, in this case from indifference or unconcern. He was 
 not only, philosophically, a convinced theist, in all hours and under all " variations of 
 mood and tense," but personally a devout man, an habitual and reverent attendant upon 
 Christian worship and ministrations. 
 
 Those of us who attended his funeral must have felt the appropriateness for the occa- 
 sion of the words which were there read from the Psalmist : — 
 
 '• The Heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handy-work. 
 
 Lord, how manifold are thy works ! In wisdom hast thou made them all ; the 
 
 earth is full of thy riches ; so is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping 
 innumerable, both great and small beasts. Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are 
 created, and thou renewest the face of the earth." 
 
176 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 These are the works which our associate loved to investigate, and this the spirit in 
 which he contemplated them. Not less apposite wei-e the Beatitudes that followed : — 
 
 Blessed are the meek; blessed are the jpeace-makers; blessed are the merciful; blessed 
 are the pure in heart. 
 
 Those who knew him best, best know how well he exemplified them. 
 
 Upon the conclusion of the address of Dr. Gray, Mr. F. W. Putnam offered the following 
 Resolutions : — 
 
 "Besolved, That in the death of Jeffries Wyman the Boston Society of Natural His- 
 tory mourns the loss of a most honored member and efficient officer; one who was untir- 
 ing in his laboi's for the Society during his long and active connection with it as Curator, 
 Secretary and President ; and that, in his death, Science has lost a most thorough and 
 careful investigator, and the cause of education and truth a most devoted and conscien- 
 tious disciple. 
 
 "liesolved, That as members of a Society who gave to Professor Wyman the highest 
 honor and position we could bestow, we acknowledge our indebtedness to him for the 
 thoughtfulness and care with which he guided our labors for so many years, and, while 
 filled with sorrow at our own loss, we ask the privilege, by transmission of these resolu- 
 tions, of extending our sympathy to his Ijereaved flimily in their great trial." 
 
 These resolutions were seconded by Dr. D. H. Storer, who said : — 
 
 Mr. President, I most cordially second the adoption of the resolutions which have been 
 presented. The scientific reputation of our departed friend was universally acknowledged, 
 but the beauty of his life was equally worthy of admiration. I never knew a gentler 
 purer, nobler spirit. As a brother I loved him, and I mourn him. 
 
 The Resolutions were unanimously adopted. 
 
 The following letter from Prof. Rogers was then read : 
 
 Newport, Oct. 6, 1874. 
 To Presidext Bouve, 
 
 My dear friend: — I regret that it will not be in my power to attend the meeting of 
 the Natural History Society to-morrow evening, as I should greatly desire to unite with 
 you in an affectionate tribute to the memory of Prof. Wyman, wdiose long services as 
 President of the Society, and whose peculiar excellences as a student of nature must ever 
 claim our regard and admiration. 
 
 From my first acquaintance with him, while engaged in the delicate microscopic dissec- 
 tions with which he illustrated the work of the late Dr. Amos Biuney on Land-shells, until 
 within a few years past, I have had frequent opportunities of marking his scientific 
 progress ; and although but little acquainted with the inquiries to which he chiefly devoted 
 himself. I have understood enough of his labors to appreciate his singular patience and 
 accuracy as an observer, his ingenuity in devising experiments, and the caution and con- 
 scientiousness with which he was accustomed to report the results of his investigations. 
 
 These qualities, early recognized by his scientific co-workers abroad as well as at home, 
 placed him in the front rank of the promoters of the biological sciences. To these Intel- 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 177 
 
 lectual gifts were added a modesty and self-forgetfulness which, while they were unfavor- 
 able to the more popular recognition of his merits, have rendered his example preemi- 
 nently worthy of imitation by all honest seekers after truth. Yours faithfully, 
 
 William B. Rogers. ■ 
 
 In October the President received a letter from Miss Susan Wyman, Administratrix, 
 stating that the will of her father, Dr. Jeflries Wyman, had an item reading : "I offer to the 
 Boston Society of Natural History my collection of Comparative Anatomy, they paying 
 therefor the sum of three thousand dollars." After considerable discussion it was voted to 
 refer the matter to a committee appointed by the Chair. Dr. B. Joy Jeffries, Dr. T. M. 
 Brewer, and Mr. Chas. J. Sprague, composed this committee. In November, the com- 
 mittee on the bequest reported recommending the Council to accept the offer made in the 
 will, and also, in consequence of the increased value of the collection, to pay ^5000 
 instead of |3000. 
 
 Much discussion followed, it being suggested that possibly there might be facts not yet 
 before the Council concerning the later wishes of Dr. Wyman in regard to the disposal of 
 the collection which might influence action. A decision upon the matter was therefore 
 further postponed, and the President was requested to confer with Dr. Morrill Wyman, and 
 to report the result to the Council two days later. This he did at a large meeting of that 
 body, there being twenty-one members present. Much more discussion followed, some 
 members thinking the expense too great for the Society to incur, others that the wish of 
 the late President as expressed in the will should be respected even at some sacrifice. 
 None objected to increasing the amount to $5000 provided the collection was received. 
 
 It was finally voted to accept the offer made in the will, and also in consequence of the 
 increased value of the collection since the execution of that instrument, that $2000 
 additional be paid. Drs. Dwight and White were appointed a committee to take all nec- 
 essary action to remove the collection and have cases prepared for its reception. 
 
 1875. The Report of the Custodian at the annual meeting in May, was as usual full of 
 interest to the meml^ers. Respecting the work in the building for the protection of the 
 collections yet in progress, he stated " that such as had been proposed to be done within 
 the year has been completed. More than half the cases are now secured against the 
 entrance of dust and insects, and the most valuable preparations can be safely trusted to 
 their protection. If any member of the Society will take the trouble to walk through 
 our rooms, he will easily satisfy himself of the necessity of these changes. Tlie condition 
 of the collections which still remain in the old cases, whose loose doors cannot be secured 
 either against dust or insects, show this very plainly. The tables in the Palaeontological 
 and Conchological collections, though but recently completed, are more or less disfigured 
 by dust, and where more perishable specimens exist, as among birds and mammals, the 
 amount of damage done will in a few years be irretrievable." 
 
 Much work had been done upon the collections during the year. Mr. Emerton had been 
 occupied in removing those of the Geological department, and also the sponges, corals and 
 echinoderms. 
 
 The minerals had been rearranged by the President, so as to make a most attractive dis- 
 play in the newly furnished room at the right of the main entrance. In the gallery of 
 this room he had placed a special collection of New England species. 
 
178 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 The Eser Palaeoutological collection, presented by Mr. John Cummings, had been thor- 
 oughly revised by Mr. Crosby, and was being mounted for exhibition by Miss Carter, 
 whose efficient services to the Society were due to the generosity of Mr. Cummings. Mr. 
 Crosby had been also engaged upon the American fossils, and they were being mounted by 
 Miss Washburn, for whose desirable assistance the Society had been likewise indebted to 
 Mr. Cummings. 
 
 During the summer of the past year, the Custodian, assisted by Mr. Rathbun, worked for 
 the U. S. Fish Commissioners under the charge of Prof. S. F. Baird, to whom the Society 
 was indebted for the ample ojiportunities given the Custodian and his assistant for collect- 
 ing. The valuable additions thus made to our New England collection had been revised 
 and placed in complete order. 
 
 The Custodian, in mentioning some work done in preparing models illustrating some of 
 the living forms of the MoUusca, remarked that the experiment had shown the practicability 
 of rendering our collections useful as a means of conveying accurate knowledge to gen- 
 eral students, teachers and the public, and he strongly deplored the insufficiency of funds 
 in every department of the Museum, necessary to this being done, except in that of Con- 
 chology, which the bequest of Miss Pratt provides for. 
 
 The Teachers' School of Science had been resumed with good results, Mr. Cummings 
 liberally furnishing the means. A course of about thirty lessons on Minerals had been 
 given by Mr. L. S. Burbank of Lowell, and the usual plan of presenting specimens used at 
 the lectures had been followed. In order to test the practical results of these gifts, 
 enquiries wei'e made which resulted in showing that in as many as fifty instances the spec- 
 imens were being intelligently employed in the instruction of students of the teachers. 
 
 The Society may therefore congratulate itself upon being the birthplace of the first 
 practicable movement for introducing the study of the natural sciences into the public 
 schools of Boston. 
 
 The Botanical collection had received daily attention from Mr. Cummings, and had been 
 much improved by his own work and that of Miss Carter. A beautiful as well as valu- 
 able addition to this department had been made by Mr. Edward T. Bouve, consisting of 
 the preparations of the leaves and stems of New England trees and shrubs pressed under 
 panes of glass so that they can be readily studied without injury to the specimens. These 
 were accompanied by other specimens of the wood and l)ark of each species. When com- 
 pleted, as it will be as rapidly as possible, this collection will occupy a prominent place 
 among the New England plants. 
 
 Among the donations worthy of mention was one of birds, shells and insects, received 
 as a bequest from the family of a deceased fellow-member, Mr. P. P. Atkinson. Although 
 very young, Mr. Atkinson had already shown much interest in the study of natural hist- 
 ory, and had attracted the friendly attention of many of the members of the Society, who 
 deejDly regretted his early death. 
 
 The evening lectures given from the Lowell fund by the Trustee, Mr. John Amory Low- 
 ell, consisted of four courses, and in all twenty lectures. Six were upon the '' Chemistry 
 of the Waters," by Dr. T. Sterry Hunt; six upon " Injurious Fungi," by Dr. W. G. Farlow ; 
 six upon " American Archaeology," by Mr. F. W. Putnam ; and two upon the " Village 
 Indians of New Mexico," by Mr. Ernest Ingersoll. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. I79 
 
 There had been eighteen general meetings with an average attendance of fifty-four per- 
 sons, five of the section of Microscopy with an average attendance of eight persons 
 and six of the section of Entomology, with an average of seven persons. On two occas- 
 ions one hundred and fourteen persons had been present at the general meetings. One 
 Honorary, four Corresponding and thirty-seven Resident Members, had been elected; 
 seventy-five communications had been presented. 
 
 Of the Publications, two quarterly parts each of volumes sixteen and seventeen of the 
 Proceedings, and four articles of the Memoirs had been published. 
 
 The additions to the Library had been 297 volumes, 820 parts of volumes, 261 pam- 
 phlets, and 19 maps and charts. 
 
 The Treasurer's Report showed an excess of receipts over ordinary expenditures of 
 $248.81. There had been besides extraordinary expenses, viz. : for alterations in Museum 
 and cases, $10,689.01, and for the Wyman Collection, $5,000, making a total of $15,689.01. 
 
 The changes made in the officers, consisted in the resignations of WiUiam H. Niles from 
 the Committee of Palaeontology, J. H. Emerton from the Committee on Mammals, A. 
 S. Packard, Jr., and A. E. Verrill from the Committee on Radiates, Crustacea and Worms, 
 and the election of Dr. H. A. Hagen on the last mentioned Committee. 
 
 Walker Prizes. The subject proposed for competitive essays for this year was " Pro- 
 tective coloration in any class or classes of animals." No article was presented in 
 response, or none deemed worthy of a prize . 
 
 In May, the Council of the Society, recognizing th e unportance of the zoological and 
 botanical observations made by the U. S. Signal Service Bureau, passed resolutions 
 expressing its interest in the continuance of such observations and their extension, as 
 being of great value, affording as they do, data for important generalizations respecting 
 not only the migrations of birds and the relation of their movements to atmospheric 
 changes ; but also respecting the influence of great extremes of temperature, the lateness 
 or forwardness of the season, etc., upon the development and maturation of useful and 
 other plants and the increase or decrease of insect jDests ; thus possessing not only scien- 
 tific importance but as likely to lead to valuable practical results, especially in relation to 
 agricultvn-e. 
 
 In view of these considerations and of the fact that such observations are beyond the 
 power of private individuals to make, the Council deemed a special ajjpropriation a wise 
 expenditure of the public money. 
 
 Resolutions expressing the above were transmitted to General Albert J. Meyer, Chief of 
 the Signal Service Bureau. 
 
 A little incident in May was too expressive of the feelings existing on the part of the 
 members towards one of their number to be passed over without mention. Prof. William 
 B. Rogers, who had not for a long period, by reason of illness, been able to attend the 
 meetings of the Society, was present, prepared to offer a communication. Upon the Presi- 
 dent's introducing him Avith a few appropriate words of welcome, there immediately fol- 
 lowed sucli heart}' plaudits from all the members as could not fail to testify how great the 
 respect and warm the love felt by them for their distinguished associate. 
 
 In October of this year, through the bequests of Mr. and Mrs. C. S. Hale of Burling- 
 ton, New Jersey, the Society came into the possession of a considerable collection of 
 
180 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Cretaceous and Tertiary fossils, including series of the Vertebrae of the Zeuglodon and 
 of the Mosasaurus. 
 
 Mr. Hale upon a visit to Boston, many years ago, visited the rooms of the Society, then 
 in Mason street, and was so much gratified with what he saw of the arrangement of the 
 cabinet, and of the care taken to exhibit the specimens to the best advantage, that he 
 proffered to send bones of the Zeuglodon which he had obtained himself in Alabama, and 
 place them in the Society's collection, intimating that they might afterwai'ds be pi-esented. 
 They being received were properly placed for examination, duly labelled, and designated 
 as deposited by him. These were the vertebrae mentioned as included in the bequest. 
 The specimens received numbered about two thousand, of which over one thousand were 
 catalogued and placed in the Cabinet. The others were put aside for exchange. Besides 
 the fossils there were several books upon natural history received, also bequeathed to 
 the Society. 
 
 The painting of Prof Agassiz by Mrs. C. V. Hamilton, which has since been conspicuous 
 among the jiortraits possessed by the Society, was purchased by the subscription of several 
 of the members. 
 
 1876. The writer of these pages has not found it consistent with his feelings to often 
 make personal reference to his own part in the proceedings of the Society. To avoid 
 doing so altogether would be manifestly unjust to those who have been his supporters 
 during his long service as chief executive officer, and to the reader who asks for truth and 
 not its obscuration. An event occiu'red at the meeting prior to that of the annual elec- 
 tion which can not be passed over in silence with due regard to others than, himself, and 
 it may be added with justice to his own feelings of gi'atitude for some of the happiest 
 moments of his official life. He had determined to resign the position he held, really 
 desiring relief from responsibility, and fully satisfied that the Society would suffer no det- 
 riment from a change. To his surprise he was called upon at his house prior to the meet- 
 ing by one of the most honored members, the President of another institution, who, 
 speaking for himself and others, lU'ged that the resignation should not be tendered. The 
 writer had, however, too long considered the matter to readily yield, and went to the 
 meeting firm in purpose to do as he had proposed. To his greater surprise he found 
 there not only a very vmusual number of members, but many who had not been in the 
 habit of attending. What was read as a valedictory was listened to with gi'eat attention, 
 after which a call to proceed to the business of the meeting was made. Instead of res- 
 ponding to this call, one after another of those whom the writer most respected, addressed 
 him in such terms of affectionate remonstrance against his resignation, as to induce him 
 not only to withdraw it, but to feel that henceforth what had been regarded as a burden 
 would be a joy, that the performance of the duties of his office would be sweetened as 
 never before by the recognition that the respect and regard which he felt towards all the 
 members were fully reciprocated by them. 
 
 The \evy laudatory remarks made by the Custodian upon this matter the writer cannot 
 present here. He does not feel at liljerty to refrain from giving one paragraph from his 
 Report. 
 
 " An event, which in its results was very satisfactory to the officers of this Society, 
 occurred at the meeting when the President offered his resignation. 1 nllude to the 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 181 
 
 approbation of the policy which had governed the Society during his presidency, expi'essed 
 by many of our most influential members. The officers of the Society felt themselves to 
 be identified with the President in this matter ; and consequently, the ovation which he 
 received, and the absolutely unanimous vote of a large and select meeting of the Society, 
 requesting him to withdraw his resignation, were peculiarly grateful to them." 
 
 At the annual meeting in May, very important alterations were made in the Constitu- 
 tion and By-laws, which were primarily suggested by the desire on the part of many that 
 women should be eligible as members of the Society. Others objected to this, partly 
 because of the necessity* that sometimes arose to speak upon matters not appropriate to 
 discuss in the presence of ladies. Independently of considerations affecting the admission 
 of women, a large number favored the creation of a new grade of members, to be known 
 as Associate iVIembers, who should be admitted to its meetings and take part in scientific 
 discussions, but who should not be entitled to vote for the officers of the Society, or parti- 
 cipate in its business management. All those hitherto known as Resident Members to 
 constitute a higher grade to be known as Corporate Members. New admissions to this 
 grade only to be by election from Associate Member's of at least a year's standing and who 
 either were professionally engaged in science, or had aided in its advancement. 
 
 The views of those favoring an additional grade of members finally prevailed. They had 
 been embodied in the proposed alterations to the Constitution, and the amendments had 
 received the requisite three fourths vote of the members present at two consecutive meet- 
 ings. They were finally adopted by a nearly unanimous vote. In the proposed alteration 
 of the By-laws made, the article relating to the election of Corporate Members had been 
 made to express, by a vote of the Society at the previous meeting, that only male Associ- 
 ate Members should be chosen. When final action was called for, Mr. Cummings moved 
 that the word male be omitted. After much discussion the motion prevailed by a vote of 
 forty-eight to twenty. The amendments to the By-laws were then adopted. 
 
 Thus after much deliberation and warm discussion, the Society finally by decisive action 
 ceased to make any sexual discrimination in the admission of members. 
 
 At the election of officer's no changes were made, all serving the previous year having 
 been reelected. 
 
 The report of the Custodian was as usual full of interest to the members. Of the Min- 
 eralogical collection, it was said that accessions had been made by the purchase of some 
 desirable specimens from the Jackson collection and that there were in all belonging to 
 the department 3230 trays and single specimens on exhibition, 347 of which were in the 
 New England collection. 
 
 In referring to the Botanical collection, it was stated that the New England collection 
 of specimens had been completed, poisoned and catalogued by Miss Carter, and that it 
 contained nearly every species found within the New England States, there being 11)84, 
 comprising 8227 specimens. Much work had also been done upon the general collection. 
 
 The preparation of the leaves and stems of New England trees and shruljs had been 
 placed on exhibition by the donor, Mr. Edward T. Bouve, filling, with the accompanying 
 wood sections and specimens of fruit, one entire gallery. With these had been placed a 
 series of plates from the last edition of The Trees and Shrubs of Massachusetts, presented 
 by Mr. George B. Emerson, showing the natural colors of the leaves, flowers and (ruit. 
 
182 , HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Altogether, the Custodian remarked, this collection must be considered one of the most 
 attractive and instructive in the Museum. 
 
 The Bailey Microscopical collection had had much labor devoted to it by Miss Wash- 
 burn, who had spent the greater part of the winter in cataloguing it. Dr. Henry Codman 
 had continued his work upon the Burnett collection of mounted parasites. In the Com- 
 parative Anatomy department, Dr. Thomas Dwight had finished the incorporation of the 
 Wyman Anatomical collection with that of the Society, and had prepared many sections 
 showing the structure of bones for the cabinet. There had been an accession of the 
 skeletons of a large sea-lion and of two fur seals, through the liberality of Captain 
 Charles Biyant, the superintendent in charge of the Fur Seal Islands. 
 
 A collection of sponges had been acquired by purchase and would form the beginning of 
 a collection of Protozoa. Very valuable though small collections of Australian sponges had 
 been received from Dr. W. G. Farlow and others, making the dried collection of these ani- 
 mals the finest in this country. 
 
 The collection of New England Fishes had been considerably enlarged through the facil- 
 ities afforded the Custodian by the kindness of Prof. S. F. Baird of the U. S. Fish Com- 
 mission. 
 
 In the department of Mollusca, considerable work had been done upon models by the 
 assistants in the Museum, and Dr. Brooks had Ijegun the preparation of an accompanying 
 suite of anatomical preparations for each model. An important addition had been made 
 in the shape of suites of models showing the principal stages in the development of the 
 characteristic types of the Mollusca. Dr. P. P. Carpenter had continued the work of class- 
 ifying and labelling the shells. 
 
 All the Annelids had been reviewed, sorted, and the Entozoa named by the Custodian. 
 
 The Insects had received much attention from Mr. Henshaw, who reported that the en- 
 tire collection was free from Anthroni. To the collection of the Mammalia, a fine Polar 
 bear had been jjresented by Bishop Williams, the skin of a fine grayhound by Mr. Addison 
 Child and a specimen of the celebrated breed of Ancon sheep by Mr. George William 
 Bond. 
 
 The Custodian mentioned that considerable assistance had been received during the 
 year from the voluntary laljors of Mr. Edward G. Gardner. 
 
 During the year another room had been fitted up with improved cases for the reception 
 of New England fishes, reptiles, birds and mammals, and much had been done in jirovid- 
 ing for the protection of the Museum against fire. A large service pipe had been intro- 
 duced, which would give an ample supply of water, and every workroom was provided with 
 screw faucets. One large fiiucet with hose attached would be always ready in the cellar, 
 and three sets of hose had been distributed about the building for use in any emergency in 
 the work-rooms. On the roof two faucets, one on eacli wing, had been placed, to which 
 hose could be attacheil. Buckets of water, with a Johnson jDump had also been placed 
 in each workroom, and three i)atent gas machines in dilferent parts of the building. 
 
 The Custodian spoke of continued impi'ovement in tlie condition and work of the Lab- 
 oratory under tlie management of Mr. Crosby. There had been four female students, 
 besides the usual number of students from the Technological Institute. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 183 
 
 Tlie Teachers' School of Science had been carried on through the liberahty of 
 Mr. Cnmmings. The statement of the results is given almost verbatim from the Report 
 of the Custodian as follows : Fourteen lectures or practical lessons in Lithology had been 
 given by Mr. L. S. Burbank, during the winter, at which the average attendance had been 
 about 90 out of 100 members. This was a remarkable fact, considering that the class inclu- 
 ded a large number of the busiest teachers, the masters of the public schools of Boston and 
 the vicinity. Each member of the class was provided with tools, consisting of a small 
 hammer, magnet, file, streak stone of Arkansas quartzite, a bottle of dilute acid with 
 ru1>ber stopper and glass rod, and the scale of hardness previously used in the Mineralog- 
 ical class of the preceding winter. All these were purchased by the members of the class 
 except the scale of hardness, reserved for future use. One hundred sets of rock speci- 
 mens were distributed gratis, aflfording each of the teachers a series. Most of these were 
 large enough for cabinet specimens, and many of the sets had been placed in the collec- 
 tions of the city schools, and used ui the instruction of the pupils. The sjaecimens were 
 largely collected in Massachusetts. The course was supplemented by a series of excur- 
 sions for field work in the vicinity of Boston. 
 
 Of the Lowell free lectures given under the direction of the Society by the generosity 
 of John Amory Lowell, Trustee, four courses were given during the winter. These 
 courses consisted of six lectures, by Prof E. S. Morse, on six New England animals and 
 their nearest allies ; six by Pi'of G. L. Goodale on Botany ; six l)y Prof T. Sterry Hunt 
 on Ancient Eocks of North America; and two by Mr. L. S. Burbank on Mineral Veins and 
 Ores. The course on Botany was the best attended, the numbers present averaging 192. 
 
 The additions to the Library during the year had been 327 volumes, 1108 parts of vol- 
 umes, 217 pamphlets and 67 maps and charts. 
 
 Of the Publications there had been issued two parts of each of the seventeenth and 
 eighteenth volumes of the Proceedings, and three numbers of the Memoirs. A second 
 volume of the Occasional papers had also been published, of 171 pages and 21 plates. 
 
 The Report of the Treasurer exhibited an excess of expenditures over receipts of 
 $522.39. 
 
 At the election of officers, L. F. de Pourtales was chosen on the Committee of 
 Radiates, Crustacea and Worms, and Jules Marcou on the Committee of Palaeontology. 
 
 Walker Prizes. The subject for which the annual prizes were offered for this year was 
 " An original investigation of the structure, development, and mode of life of one or more 
 of the fungi whicli injuriously attaclv useful plants, such as the potato, the onion, the 
 cranberry, etc., to be prefaced by an exposition of our present knowledge of the struc- 
 ture and development of the lower fungi." No essays were offered on this subject. 
 
 At a meeting of the Council in May, a vote was passed, upon the motion of Prof Shaler, 
 that no existing Council shall formally or informally pledge any j^art of the Society's 
 income for a future year. 
 
 During the summer recess this year, there passed away by death one of the original 
 founders of the Society, Dr. Walter Channing. 
 
 Dr. Channing was not only one of the original auembers of tliis Society, but he was 
 also one of the founders of the Linnean Society which preceded it. He took an active 
 part in the early formation of both. Upon the organization of the Boston Society of 
 
184 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Natural History, he was elected one of its Curators, and subsequently became one of its 
 second Vice-Presidents. He was born in Newport, R. I., on the 15th of April, 178G. The 
 celeljrated Dr. William Ellery Channing was his eldest brother, and Edward T. Channing, 
 who long and ably fdled the chair of Rhetoric in Harvard College, was a younger 
 brother. Walter entered Harvard College in 1804, but did not graduate from there, a 
 great rebellion among the students having led to his leaving the institution and devoting 
 himself to the study of medicine in Boston. He afterwards pursued this study with great 
 zeal in the schools of Philadelphia, Edinburgh, and London. In 1812 he established him- 
 self in the practice of his profession in Boston, and in the same year was appointed Lec- 
 turer in Obstetrics at the Medical College. Three years later he 1)ecame Professor there 
 of that branch of medical practice, the duties of which j^osition he performed for nearly 
 forty years. 
 
 In the practice of liis profession Dr. Clianning exhibited marked ability, especially in 
 the deijartment to which he gave particular attention. In the reform movements of his 
 day he took great interest, and his pen and voice were very active in advocating them. 
 In social life he was genial, and had the rare gift of being aljle at all times to interest lis- 
 teners by the brilliancy of his conversation, enlivened as it ever was by ready wit. 
 
 A characteristic anecdote is, that when asked by a stranger who wished to see his more 
 eminent brother, if he was the Dr. Channing who preached, he replied, "No! it is my 
 brother who preaches ; I practice." 
 
 Dr. Channing died iu Brookline, Mass., on the 2Tth of July, 187G, at the age of 90 
 years. 
 
 In October the attention of the Council being called to the fact that at the meetings of 
 the section of Microscopy the attendance had become very small, a vote was passed to 
 discontinue the notification of them. 
 
 Edward Pickering. 
 
 At the meeting, December Gth, President Bouve addressing the members, remarked ; 
 " The Society is called to deplore the loss of a valuahle member and officer in the death of 
 our late Treasurer, Edward Pickering. Previously to our last meeting, Mr. Pickering had 
 been ill for a day or two from a trouble in his throat affecting the vocal organs, and 
 making it painful for him to converse freely, but he kept aljout his usual occupations until 
 a few hours before we met, when feeling unable to l)e with us, he sent to me his regular 
 financial statement for presentation to the Council in the evening. The trouble with him 
 seemed sunilar to that he had before experienced, and there appeared no reason to 
 anticipate its sad result. 
 
 " All, I am sure, were surprised and shocked to learn on the following Tuesday that he 
 had passed away early that morning. Mr. Pickering, though not strictly speaking, a scien- 
 tific man, was much interested in whatever conduced to the education of the community, 
 and he consequently felt great interest in tlic well being of the Society. He became a 
 member in 1860, since which, he has always been a regular attendant on our meetings, 
 and I think, from his highly appreciative mind, enjoj-ed much the proceedings. In 1865, 
 he was elected Treasurer of the Society and he became also ex-officio one of the Trustees, 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 185 
 
 meeting the requirements of these positions with great devotion and efficiency. Our de- 
 parted friend acquired the high respect of all who knew him, by his general intelligence, 
 his marked integrity, and his faithfulness to all the duties of the various offices he was 
 called upon to fill, and he won the love of all who knew him intimately by his kindly 
 sympathy and his Christian gentleness." 
 
 On motion of Messrs. Scudder and Hyatt, it was voted that the Secretary send a copy of 
 Mr. Bouve's remarks to the family of Mr. Pickering, as an ex pression of the Society's re- 
 spect and regard for him. 
 
 In December a very fine cast from the bust of Prof Louis Agassiz, by Preston Powers, 
 was presented to the Society by the Rev. R. C. Waterston . 
 
 In Council a vote was passed allowing the use of the Laboratory of the Society to the 
 Boston University for instruction in Zoology ; the lessons to be given by Mr. Hyatt, as 
 Professor of the Technological Institute, or his assistant Mr . Crosby, and a suitable rent 
 to be paid the Society. 
 
 1877. In January of this year, the death of Mr. F. B. Meek of Washington, a Corre- 
 sponding Member, and one of the most eminent of American palaeontologists, was an- 
 nounced by the Secretary. At the next meeting the following resolutions were passed 
 by the Society. 
 
 " Resolved, That the members of the Society have heard with the deepest regret of the 
 decease of one of the most highly esteemed of their Corresponding Members, Mr. F. B. 
 Meek of Washington. Their admiration can add but little to his reputation, which is 
 secured by the numerous works of which he has been the author. They feel, however, 
 that a testimonial is due from them to the memory of a man whose knowledge of the whole 
 field of American palaeontology was unsurpassed, and whose life was a model of laborious 
 special investigation and therefore unrewarded by public commendation. As students of 
 natural history, they desire also to record their respect for a life of such modest simplicity 
 and devotion to science for its own sake, that it merits, and will, it is hoped, receive the 
 highest praise from the hands of Mr. Meek's fellow laborei's. 
 
 " Resolved, That this resolution be recorded in the Proceedings of this Society and that 
 copies be forwarded to the friends of the deceased." 
 
 At a meeting of tlie Society February 2d, Charles W. Scudder was elected Treasurer. 
 
 In Council a vote was passed to procure a crayon of the late President, Dr. Jeffries 
 Wyman, of life size, with a suitable frame. This was subsequently done, and the fine 
 portrait obtained may now be seen in the Library room of the Museum. 
 
 This body also upon hearing that another attempt was to be made to obtain a license 
 for the exhibition of Jourdain's anatomical collection, again successfully remonstrated 
 against one being granted, on the ground that it would be subversive of public morals. 
 
 In March, the President announced the death of Mr. Edward Bicknell, the well-known 
 Microscopist, and for several years a member of the Council of the Society. 
 
 A petition having been presented to the Conned that the Museum of the Society should 
 be opened to the public on Sunday's, a committee was appointed to take the matter 
 into consideration and to report upon the subject. This committee consisted of three, 
 the President being of the number. At the next meeting, the committee reported 
 adversely, on the ground mainly that the Society could not aff"ord the additional expense 
 that would be incurred by compliance. The report was approved unanimously. 
 
 In March also of this year. Dr. B. Joy Jeffries called the attention of the Society to the 
 
186 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 necessity of action on the part of the United States Government to prevent accidents by 
 reason of color blindness in the army, navy and merchant service, and the need of the 
 State governments also taking measures to prevent casualties on the railroads from the 
 same cause. Whilst the possible danger arising from color blindness had been mentioned 
 before, this was the fii'st time in this country that the necessity of control on the part of 
 the authorities was brought forward and urged. The action of the government. State and 
 National, and of tlie railroad corporations since, has proved Dr. Jeffries' position correct. 
 
 In April, the Legislature of the State having authorized the licensing of such persons to 
 shoot birds for scientific purposes as the Society might designate, a committee was ap- 
 pointed, consisting of the Custodian, Mr. Hyatt, Dr. Thomas M. Brewer and Mr. J. A. Al- 
 len, to issue certificates to such persons as they deemed, upon due enquir3-, proper to 
 receive such license. 
 
 Many persons desiring admission to the Museum on other days than public days, the 
 Council voted to admit such as the Custodian judged proper, upon the payment of a small 
 entrance fee, to cover such additional expense as might be incurred thereby. 
 
 At the annual meeting in May, the reports of the Custodian, and of the Secretary, made 
 in accordance with a new provision in the By-laws, were presented. An abstract from 
 these follows. 
 
 During the year one additional room had been fitted up with new cases and brackets, for 
 the reception especially of the birds and mammals of the systematic collection. For fur- 
 ther protection against loss by fire, telegraphic communication had been established with 
 the fire engine house on Dartmouth Street by which, in case of necessity, engines could 
 be had for service at the building within a few minutes after giving an alarm. 
 
 The Teacers' School of Science was continued, as in previous years, by the liberality of 
 Mr. Cummings. The only course of lessons given, was by Prof. Goodale of Harvard Col- 
 lege, but this was a very comprehensive one, comprising twenty-one lectures on Morpho- 
 logical, Physiological and Systematic Botany. The lessons were, as usual, illustrated by 
 specimens which were distributed to the puj^ils. By the use of blank forms, which were 
 given with the flowers, each teacher was enabled to analyse the specimens independently 
 and record his observations, thus preventing confusion and allowing the instructor to 
 cover more ground than would otherwise have been possible. The analysis of the 
 flowers for the determination of the peculiarities of the floral structure by each teacher, 
 was regarded by Prof. Goodale as an important element in the instruction given. The 
 attendance was large, averaging one hundred. 
 
 In the Laboratory much work had been done of a satisfactory character. The collec- 
 tions for the use of students had been largely increased, and it was hoped they might be 
 made complete before another year. The room and the collections had been profitably 
 used by students of the Institute of Technology and of the Boston University. 
 
 The condition of the collections was reported to be good, and the pi-ogress made in 
 arrangement, labelling, etc., quite satisfactory. 
 
 In the Mineral department the only change made was by the addition of new specimens, 
 the greater portion of which had been presented by the President. 
 
 In the Palaeoutological department under the charge of Mr. Crosby, much had been 
 done by Miss Carter and Miss Washburn, for whose very valuable services the So- 
 ciety was indebted to the generosity of Mr. John Cummings. The former had mounted, 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATUKAL HISTORY. 187 
 
 catalogued, labelled and placed on exhibition, all the fossils of the Triassic and the Cre- 
 taceous periods, together with the larger part of the European Jurassic ; whilst the latter 
 had re-arranged, catalogued, and re-labelled all the fossils from the Devonian to the Cre- 
 taceous periods inclusive. A great amount of work too had been done in identifying the 
 new specimens, the additions to the collection having been very numerous. The Jurassic, 
 Triassic, and Carboniferous plants of North America had been tripled in number and 
 value by accessions from the Rogers collection, and the Devonian and Cretaceous fossils 
 much increased by additions from the Hale and Cleveland collections. 
 
 The Botanical department, under the charge of Mr. Cummings, had received much at- 
 tention, and great progress had been made in the revision of the general collection by Miss 
 Carter. 
 
 The collection of the department of Comparative Anatomy had had much labor bestowed 
 upon it by Mr. Van Vleck. More work was necessary upon this collection than antici- 
 pated, and there yet remained much to do before its arrangement would be completed. 
 
 The cataloguing of the Microscopical collection had been tiuished by Miss Washlmrn 
 early in the year. The whole was reported as consisting of 26U(J slides and preparations ; 
 of these, 567 were preparations of parasitic insects acquired by purchase from the Burnett 
 estate ; 1838 were received in the bequest of Professor Bailey, and consisted largely of for- 
 aniiniferae and diatoms; 135 were miscellaneous preparations of worms, Crustacea and 
 embryos of various kinds, prepared by Mr. J. H. Emerton when assistant in the Museum, 
 and 113 were preparations of the anatomy and skeletons of sponges, prepared by Mr. 
 Crosby and the Custodian. Besides these, there was reported a great quantity of un- 
 mounted material. Subsequently to the close of Miss Washburn's work, the collection 
 was enriched by the presentation to it of 477 slides prepared by Mr. William Glen, for- 
 merly of the Museiun of Comparative Zoology of Cambridge. These were purchased and 
 given to the Society by Mr. R. C. Greenleaf and Dr. A. D. Sinclair. This collection was 
 especially rich in sections of the spines of Echini and the tongues of MoUusks. Including 
 this accession and some specimens of miscellaneous character presented by Messrs. E. Sam- 
 uels, C. S. Busch and others, the Society collection was reported as containing, exclusive 
 of duplicate material, 3356 slides and preparations. 
 
 The collection of Corals and Echinoderms was reported as undergoing revision by Mr. 
 Van Vleck, who was likewise prej^aring the specimens for labelling. The Poriferae were 
 receiving the same attention from the Custodian. 
 
 In the MoUuscan department valuable work had been continued by Dr. W. K. Brooks 
 upon the models of the animals, anatomical preparations of them, and in explanatory out- 
 line drawings. He had also completed the re-arrangement of the shells. Much to the 
 regret of the Society, Dr. Brooks removed to Baltimore, having been appointed assis- 
 tant professor in the Johns Hopkins University. After his departure the work upon the 
 collection of the MoUusca was continued under the direction of Mr. Van Vleck, who re- 
 ported that about one third of the specimens on exhibition had been re-labelled by Miss 
 Washburn. Dr. P. P. Carpenter of Montreal had continued the work of identification 
 and had completed a large part of the terrestrial shells. 
 
 In the Entomological department Mr. Henshaw had continued his valuable labors. 
 The New England collection of the Coleoptera had been completed, and the Neurop- 
 tera, Orthoptera, Hymenoptera and Lepidoptex-a re-arranged. Very important additions 
 
188 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 to the collection of Coleoptera had been made from the collection of Mr. Spragne, the 
 late assistant of the Museum. The Society was permitted, in accordance with the 
 verbal request of Mr. Sprague, to select from the specimens left by him all that might 
 be valuable to its collection, and thus additions were made to it of GOO species and 2000 
 specimens. 
 
 A revision of all the New England collections at this time showed them to consist of 
 Hymenoptera, 157 species; Lepidoptera, 711 species; Coleoptera, 1810 species; Orthop- 
 tera, 59 species ; Neuroptera, 65 species. 
 
 To Dr. Hagen the Society was indebted for a revision and identification of all the Neu- 
 roptera, and to Mr. Biu-gess for the revision and identification of the Diptera of the Harris 
 collection. The entire Harris collection had been transferred to the new style of boxes, 
 and was considered safe from the ravages of Antlu'eni. It is due to Mr. Henshaw to state 
 that he voluntarily gave professional labor in the dejaartment of Entomology, equal to 
 about seven hovu"s daily during the year, the means of tlie Society not enabling it to ade- 
 quately compensate him for his services. 
 
 The alcoholic collection of Reptiles had been sent to the Museum of Comparative Zool- 
 ogy for identification by Mr. Garman, who had kindly consented to examine and name 
 them. It was understood too, that under the instruction of Mr. Alexander Agassiz, the 
 director, he would add such species from the duplicates of the Museum as were needed in 
 the collection of the Society. Mr. Garman had already been instrumental in increasing 
 our collection of fishes in the same manner, and the Society had to some extent I'ecipi'o- 
 cated the favor by sparing specimens from its duplicates. 
 
 The Custodian closed his remarks i;pon the collections of the Museum by stating that 
 there was now a New England collection in every department, and that there was a great 
 need of a new gallery around the main hall, which should be devoted exclusively to the 
 New England departm ent, so that a visitor coidd see arranged in one continuous series all 
 the natural products of New England. It is certainly a matter to be deeply regretted that 
 the Society has not since been able to put up such a gallery as suggested by the Custodian. 
 
 Fi'om the Secretary's Eeport, the following is given: to the Library there had been 
 added of volumes, 357 ; parts of volumes, 977 ; pamphlets, 188 ; maps, charts and pho- 
 tographs, 98; making 1(320 accessions in all. Nothing had been done in binding for want 
 of the necessary means. The use of the Library seemed to be regularly increasing. Dur- 
 ing the year 1019 Ijooks had been borrowed by 119 persons. 
 
 The publications of the Society had been considerably less than during previous years. 
 Two parts, concluding Vol. XVIII, of the Proceedings, had been issued, and the first part 
 of Vol. XIX was in press. Of the Memoirs, the second part of Prof. Hyatt's Revision of 
 North American Poriferae was in pi'ess. 
 
 The meetings of the Society had been well attended, and the interest in the commun- 
 ications presented well sustained. In consequence of the formation of the Boston Micro- 
 scopical Society, the section of Microscopy had been given up. The section of Entomol- 
 ogy had held monthly meetings, with a small but regular attendance. 
 
 The Section of Botany formed within tbe year had held bi-monthly meetings, and these 
 liad been fairly attended. 
 
 During the year four Corresponding Members, six Resident, under the old Constitution, 
 and twenty-five Associate Members under the new Constitution, had been elected- 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 189 
 
 Of the Lowell free courses of lectures, there had been given under the direction of the 
 Society ; six on Comparative Embryology, by Dr. Chas. S. Minot ; four on North Amer- 
 ican Archaeology and Ethnology, by F. W. Putnam; three by Maj. J. W. Powell on the 
 Gallons of the Colorado, Indian Life in the Rocky Mountains, and Indian Mythology ; 
 six by Prof. N. S. Shaler, on the Geological problems of Boston and its vicinity ; and 
 five by S. H. Scudder on the Organization and Metamorphoses of Butterflies. The 
 courses were very interesting and well attended. 
 
 From the report of the Treasurer there was an excess of receipts over expenditures 
 of $1081. 12, the most of which, however, it was necessary to reserve for Prize pur- 
 poses in accordance with the conditions of the Walker bequest. 
 
 At the election of officers for the ensuing year the only changes made were as follows : 
 
 In the department of Microscopy, Samuel Wells was chosen on the Committee, in 
 place of Edwin Bicknell deceased, and in the department of Fishes and Reptiles, S. W. 
 Garman was chosen in place of Richard Bliss, Jr. 
 
 It is pleasant to observe the persistent efforts made to prevent the expenditures of the 
 Sociefy from exceeding its income. At the first meeting of the Council, after the annual 
 meeting of the Society, the Trustees reported that after a careful examination of the 
 invested funds, they estimated the income for the year then commencing, applicable to 
 the general purposes of the Society, as not likely to exceed $8500. " To all who are 
 conversant with the state of affixirs in the business world," they said, "the estimated reduc- 
 tion from the income of the past year will not be surprising, though most unwelcome. 
 Let us be thankful it is no larger, and by a wise and careful economy endeavor to dis- 
 charge the manifest duty of keeping our exjjenditures within the limits of our income." 
 The following appropriations were recommended : 
 
 For salaries and wages, |6000 ; gas and fuel, |400; general expenses, $900 j cabinet, 
 |300; publications, |900. 
 
 These appropriations allowed of no contingences, but it seemed impossible to lessen any 
 of them. 
 
 Walker rrizes. In October of this year the first prize of sixty dollars was awarded to 
 Mr. C. Riley, for his essay upon the subject proposed for this year, viz. : A complete 
 life history of the army worm, Leucania unipunctata, and its parasites. 
 
 In November the Laboratory of the Museum w\as rented to the Technological Institute 
 for a course of thirty lectures, upon the payment of ninety dollars. 
 
 1878. In March of this year occurred the death of Dr. Charles Pickering, a greatly re- 
 spected member of the Society, whose interest in its proceedings had been for many years 
 manifested'by constant attendance at the meetings and often by taking part in them. A 
 man of very remarkable scientific acquirements, and of personal chai'acter corresponding 
 to his intellectual attainments, he merits more than a passing notice. 
 
 Dr. Charles Pickering. 
 
 Dr. Charles Pickering was born at Starucca, Susquehanna County. Pcnns^dvania, No- 
 vember 10th, 1805. His fixther, Timothy Pickering, Jr., was born in Philadelphia, Octo- 
 ber 1st, 1779, graduated at Harvard College, entered the navy, served creditably as mid- 
 shipman under Decatur, and resigned in 1801. His grandfather was Colonel Timothy 
 
190 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Pickering of the Eevolutionary Army, a friend of "Washington, and a meml^er of his Cab- 
 inet. The Colonel had acquired large tracts of '" wild land " in western Pennsylvania, 
 and after retiring from the Cabinet, removed thither with his son, whose wife, Mrs. 
 Lnrena Pickering, subsequently became the mother of the suljject of this notice and his 
 brother Edward. 
 
 In the year 1809, Timothy Pickering, Jr. died, and his flxther afterwards returiied to 
 Massachusetts, settling in Wenham, near Salem. He brought with him his son's wife and 
 her two boys, and it was under his supervision and that of their mother, an admirable 
 woman, that they were brought up. 
 
 Charles early showed a taste for natural history, roaming about the country in search of 
 birds, eggs, insects, plants and quadrupeds, with specimens of which he would return from 
 his excursions loaded. He entered Harvard College in 1823, but did not graduate with 
 his class, subsequently taking the degree of M. D. at the Medical School in 1826. His 
 love for natural science increased with his years, and while living at Salem, he was asso- 
 ciated with William Oakes in botanical investigation, and it is thought that the two first 
 explored the White Mountains together. 
 
 He was elected a correspondent of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 
 November 28th, 182G, in the twenty-second year of his age; and the next year he removed 
 to Philadelphia, and became a member of that Society. The scope of his various scientific 
 attainments, even at that early period of his life, may be estimated from the fact that he 
 served on the Zoological Committee for ten years (from December 25th, 1829); on the 
 Botanical Committee for eight years, half this time as chairman ; on the Publication Com- 
 mittee four years; on the Library Committee a year; as Librarian five years, and as Cu- 
 rator for four years, discharging all the duties of these several positions with the utmost 
 faithfulness and efficiency. 
 
 He prejiared a Catalogue of American Plants in the Academy's collection, in 1834, 
 and was intrusted with the transfer of the great collection of plants bequeathed to the 
 Society by Von Schweinitz. His great services in collecting and arranging the extensive 
 herbarium of the Society, merited and received its thanks, presented through a resolution 
 unanimously passed on motion of Prof. Henry D. Rogers. He also was made the recip- 
 ient of the grateful thanks of the Society on motion of Dr. Samuel George Morton, for 
 his services in selecting from Mr. Maclure's library the 2300 volumes designed for the 
 Academy. 
 
 He was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society, January 15th, 1828, 
 having previously (Oct. 19th, 1827), read before this Society his paper '' On the Geograph- 
 ical Distribution of Plants." He was a member of the Yale Natural History Society, and 
 read, conjointly with James H. Dana, before that Society the " Descrijition of a Crustaceous 
 Animal, Ijclonging to the genus Caligus, C. Americanus," published in Silliman's Journal, 
 Vol. XXXVlll. He served as Recording Secretary of the Pennsylvania Horticultural 
 Society, from February 1830, till Sej^tember 1837. 
 
 On the organization of the U. S. Exploring Expedition under Lieutenant Charles 
 Wilkes, Dr. Pickering's reputation was such that he was at once selected as chief zoolo- 
 gist, and placed on board the flagship Vinceunes. The expedition sailed from Hampton 
 Roads, Aug. 19th, 1838, and on its return reached Sandy Hook, June 10th, 1842. Dur- 
 ing the four years' voyage, Dr. Pickering turned his attention to anthropology and to the 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 191 
 
 study of the geological distribution of animals and plants ; especially to the latter, as 
 affected by, or as evidence of, the operations, movements and difiusion of the races of man. 
 To the collections and investigations of Dr. Pickering and Professor Dana, the scientific 
 fame of the expedition is principally due. 
 
 In October, 1843, Dr. Pickering again went abroad, visiting during his tour Egypt, 
 Arabia, India, and eastern Africa, more particularly for the purpose of verifying obser- 
 vations made while with the Exploring Expedition. On his return he settled in Boston, 
 and occupied himself in preparing his " Races of Man and their Geographical Distribu- 
 tion," published in 1848, being Volume XT, of the Exploring Expedition. In 1850, 
 appeared in the " Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal," his " Enumei'ation of the Eaces 
 of Man." 
 
 In 1854, his work "The Geographical Distribution of Animals and Plants," was pub- 
 lij^hed. This work constituted Volume XV of the Exploring Expedition. 
 
 The proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, contain the following 
 articles by Dr. Pickering : Observations on the Egyptian Computation of Time, appearing 
 in October, 1849; on the Egyptian Astronomical Cycle, in May, 1850 ; on Sulpliur Vapor, 
 in December, 1856 ; on the Coptic Alphabet, in March, 1859 ; on the Geographical Distri- 
 Ijution of Species, in March 1859, and December I860; and on the Jewish Calendar, in 
 October, 1864. 
 
 In June, 1867, he prepared a paper " On the CJliddon Mummy case in the Museum of 
 the Smithsonian Institution," published in Volume XVI of the Smithsonian Contributions 
 to Knowledge. 
 
 In 1876, was published at Salem the "Geographical Distribution of Animals and Plants; 
 Part II ; Plants in their Wild State." 
 
 The great work of his life was " The Chronological History of Plants." This truly 
 remarkable production, to which he had devoted sixteen years of indomitable industry 
 and lal:)orious research, was going through the press at his own expense at the time of 
 his death. While the form in which it is cast will prevent its use as a book for popular 
 study, to the thorough student and teacher it must ever be unequalled as an exhaust- 
 ive authority on the subjects of which it treats. 
 
 Dr. Pickering was elected a member of the Boston Society of Natural History, Marcli 
 3d, 1858. As a member, his attendance upon meetings was constant, and his communica- 
 tions, whether elaborately written out, or merely remarks upon the subject at the time 
 before the Society, were always indicative of thorough knowledge and acquaintance with 
 the matter. The range of his general information was very extensive, and whether he 
 was speaking of Feejeau pottery, or rare botanical forms found in the mountains of New 
 England ; of the character of the alluvial deposits of South American rivers, or the origin 
 of the Esquimaux ; whatever he might have to say was interesting and instructive in a 
 high degree. Most of the present members of the Society will recall his controversy 
 with the late Dr. Thomas M. Brewer, relative to the introduction of the European spar- 
 row, in which Dr. Pickering took very strong ground adversely to the naturalization of 
 the bird, quoting a formidable array of authorities in support of his position, and predic- 
 ting very undesirable results in case the proposed experiment should be attempted — anil 
 prove successful — as to the ability of the sparrow to exist in this climate. 
 
192 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Dr. Pickering, while it could be truly said of him by one of his biographers, that there 
 was jjrobably not a more learned naturalist in the world, was yet one of the most modest 
 of men. His simplicity of character, inflexible integrity, loyalty to truth, tranquillity 
 of temper, and kindly though somewhat reserved disposition, were thoroughly consistent 
 with his great and extremely accurate acquirements, and that love of knowledge which 
 was his grand passion. The following extract from a biographical notice published with 
 his " Chronological History of Plants," speaks thus of him : 
 
 " We doubt if any one naturalist ever united in himself so fixr as he did, the qualities of 
 an exact original observer on the most enlarged scale, and of an inquirer into all that had 
 been learned before. His minute, laborious and extended explorations into all possible 
 records of past ages, seemed of themselves more than enough for the work of a lifetime. 
 * * * He not only visited every quarter of the earth, but went through the whole range 
 of history, wherever it could bear upon his subject, in quest of anything that might help 
 him better to understand " The Races of Man and their Geographical Distribution," 
 " The Geographical Distribution of Animals and Plants," and '' The Chronological History 
 of Plants." 
 
 Dr. Pickering married in 1851, Sarah S., daughter of the late Daniel Hammond, Esq. 
 He died of pneumonia, in Boston, March 17th, 1878, leaving a widow but no children. 
 
 In April the death of Prof C. F. Hartt, a highly valued Corresponding Member of the 
 Society, was announced. As he was for some time an active member of the Society, it 
 is due to the eminence attained by him as a scientific explorer and investigator, to give 
 some account of the great work achieved by him in the short time of his active life. 
 The sketch here presented is drawn entirely from an elaborate and excellent paper pre- 
 pared by Mr. Richard Rathbun and published in the nineteenth volume of the Society's 
 Proceedings. 
 
 Professor Hartt was born in Fredericton, New Brunswick, August 23d, 1840. 
 He graduated from Acadia College in 18(30. At an early age he manifested much 
 interest in the study of natural history, and whilst in college labored zealously in 
 exploring geologically the Province of Nova Scotia, in doing which he made large collec- 
 tions. Subsequently he gave much attention to the study of the rocks in the vicinity of 
 St. John, New Brunswick, and it was by his researches there that he first became exten- 
 sively known to the scientific world. The discovery there of fossil insects in the Devon- 
 ian shales, led to Professor Agassiz' knowledge of hun, and to his being invited to become 
 a student in the Museum of Comparative Zoology, where he passed much time during 
 the succeeding four years, making great progress in science and preparing himself for 
 future usefulness. During this period he made excursions to his native province and 
 to Nova Scotia, making investigations of im^jortant character. To him, the scien- 
 tific world is indeljted for very much of the knowledge possessed by it of the ancient 
 strata of New Brunswick. Mr. Hartt was appointed by Professor Agassiz one of the two 
 geologists who accompanied the Thayer expeiUtion to Brazil in 1865, and it was whilst en- 
 gaged in this service, that he became so much interested in the geology of that empire as 
 to lead to his extensive work there in after years. He made a second trip there in 1867. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 193 
 
 In 1868 he was appointed Professor of Natural History in Vassar College, which position 
 he soon resigned to take the head of the department of Geology in Cornell University, 
 which he held until the time of his death. 
 
 Whilst at Cornell, when not engaged in the duties of his position, he prepared his report 
 as geologist of the Thayer expedition. This embraced so much of value upon the subject 
 treated, as to lead to its being published in a volume by itself under the title of '' The Ge- 
 ology and the Physical Geography of Brazil." It formed a large octavo volume of over 
 six hundred pages. 
 
 In 1870, Prof. Hartt organized another expedition to Brazil, taking with him Prof. 
 Prentice and eleven of the students of Cornell University. This party, after exploring in 
 the vicinity of Para, proceeded to the Amazonas where were found the first Devonian fos- 
 sils east of the Andes in South America. Prof Hartt soon after made another trip to the 
 Amazonas in company with Mr. O. A. Derby, with unportaut results. He returned to 
 Ithaca in 1872, where he remained from two to three years, giving such time as he could 
 spare to studyino; up the material obtained in his Amazonian trips, aided by two assistants, 
 Mr. 0. A. Derby and Mr. Richard Rathbun, and in preparing papers for publication. 
 These appeared in various scientific journals. 
 
 In 1875, the government of Brazil, appreciating' the labors of Prof. Hartt, invited him 
 to sul^mit a proposition for the systematic geological exploration of the Empire. He 
 accordingly proceeded to Rio Janeiro, where he was received with great enthusiasm. 
 The suggestions made in his proposition were not fully complied with from economical 
 considerations, which is much to be regretted, considering his early death. In May, 1875, 
 Prof. Hartt was made chief of a commission for the geological survey of Brazil with 
 six assistants, among whom was Mr. Rathbun, also a member of the Boston Society of 
 Natural History. The party was soon in the field, and its active work continued almost 
 uninterruptedly until the close of 1877. The amount of work done during this period 
 was immense, and the investigations made of the most important character. No wonder 
 that the Emperor upon his return from a visit to the Museums of North America and the 
 old world, should have expressed his astonishment when he found that the small party 
 which he had left eighteen months before working hard among the rocks of a portion of 
 the Empir-e, had created a large Museum containing the collections made, and having con- 
 nected with it biological, chemical and photographic laboratories. 
 
 This brief notice of Professor Hartt will be closed by a few words given in abstract from 
 the paper alluded to, prepared by Mr. Rathbun. 
 
 " In order to judge of the real character and value of his investigations, we must refer 
 to his publications. These, however, give us but a glimpse of the vast store of knowledge 
 he had accumulated. He has left a number of volumes in manuscript, which when pub- 
 lished, will add greatly to his scientific standing, by making known to the world the vari- 
 ety and excellence of the work he had accomplished. Judging from his brilliant begin- 
 ning, we are confident in asserting that had he lived, he would have won for hmiself a 
 place by the side of- such investigators as De le Beche, Murchison, Logan and others, like 
 whom, he was a pioneer in the special field of research he had entered." 
 
194 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 The reports of the Custodian, Secretary and Treasurer were looked forward to with 
 much interest, the members generally realizing the difficulty of accomplishing the neces- 
 sary work of the Society within the means at its disposal, without incurring debt or lessen- 
 ing its funded property. When listened to at the annual meeting, they gave great satis- 
 faction, showing as they did much progress in several depax'tments of the Museum, con- 
 tinued growth of the Library, a fair amount of publication, and good attendance at the 
 meetings. It will be borne in mind that the period was one of prolonged business depres- 
 sion, rendering the income from the Society's funds quite uncertain, and that the Council 
 at the beginning of the year had decided to limit the expenditures to the least possible 
 sum consistent with the Society's future welfare. The Custodian commenced his report 
 by deploring that this decision, though necessary, had prevented continued improvement 
 in the cases, and thus arrested work, the accomplishment of which alone could render the 
 collections secure from damage by dust and insects. 
 
 From the remarks of the Custodian upon the state of the collections, the following is 
 presented. 
 
 The Minerals remained in the good condition of the previous years and had received val- 
 uable accessions from the President. 
 
 The Palaeontological collections had had much labor bestowed upon them by Mr. 
 Crosby, the assistant in the Museum, and by Miss Washburn and Miss Carter, who had 
 aided him in mounting and labelling the specimens. The whole department was stated to 
 be divided into sections according to locality, and collections of it arranged entirely to 
 illustrate the stratigraphical relations of fossils. There were of the North American col- 
 lection on exhibition, 1040 genera embracing 2034 species, and 7834 specimens. These 
 had been derived from the following sources : Mass. Institute of Technology, 2223 ; 
 C. S. Hale collection, 1013; Cleveland collection, 627; various, 3971; making a total of 
 7834. 
 
 The most valuable parts of this collection are specimens of Paradoxides from Braintree, 
 embracing the original from the Jackson Cabinet ; a fine suite of Crinoids from Mr. J. M. 
 Barnard ; the coal plants of the Eogers Cabinet; the fine animal impressions on stone 
 from Turner's Falls; the reptilian bones from the red sandstone of the Connecticut 
 valley, presented by Prof W. B. Eogers, and the fossils from Attlcboro, Mass. 
 
 Of the Eser collection of European species, there were on exhibition 130G genera, em- 
 bracing 25G3 species, and 8809 specimens. 
 
 The Botanical department under the charge of Mr. John Cummings had been steadily 
 progressing. Three-fifths of the flowering plants had been revised, and work had only 
 been suspended awaiting the reception of a further number of the " Genera Plantarum." 
 Miss Carter had been engaged much of the time in assorting, condensing and properly 
 arranging duplicates. She had also sorted, mounted and labelled a large and valuable col- 
 lection of lichens vmder the direction of Mr. C. J. Sprague, who reported that " this 
 formed the Lichen-herbarium of Dr. Thomas Taylor, an Irish botanist, to whom Sir W. J. 
 and Sir Joseph Hooker comnuuiicated the whole of their extensive collections of lichens 
 gathered during many exploring expeditions. Dr. Taylor published descriptions of these 
 plants in the London Journal of Botany, 1844-4G, and many of the specimens are the 
 originals of the descriptions. Mr. John Amoi'y Lowell purchased the collection of 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL KISTORY. 195 
 
 Dr. Taylor's heirs, and afterwards presented it to the Society, with the rest of his herba- 
 rium. 
 
 The knowledge of the structure of lichens has advanced much since Dr. Taylor's day, 
 and the nomenclature has undergone extensive changes, so this herbarium, though contain- 
 ing over a thousand species, might have remained comparatively useless to the American 
 student had it not been for the voluntary services of Prof. Edward T. Tuckerman. 
 He examined and named very nearly the entue series, a work which no one else in this 
 country could have done, and has given it an authentic value, otherwise unattainable. 
 
 The decease of Dr. P. P. Carpenter of Montreal, to whom had been intrusted the work 
 of naming the collections of shells, had prevented its final completion. Fortunately for 
 the Society, not much remained undone. At the time of Dr. Carpenter's death, he had in 
 his possession at Montreal a very large portion of the collection belonging to the Museum. 
 The specimens were subsequently received in admirable condition, not one having been 
 lost, and all had been unpacked and arranged in the cabinet by Mr. Van Vleck. Miss 
 Washburn had been engaged in re-mounting, labelling and cataloguing them. 
 
 The Systematic collection of MoUusca, consisting of 6.30 genera, represented by 2600 
 species and 9000 specimens, had been completed by Mr. Van Vleck, and placed on exhibi- 
 tion. 
 
 The alcoholic collections of Reptiles and Batrachians had been in large part revised and 
 named by Mr. Garman of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. Considerable additions 
 had been made to them by the kindness of Mr. Garman, who selected from the duplicates 
 of the Museum by permission of Mr. Agassiz, the director, such specimens as were needed 
 for the collection of the Society. 
 
 The New England collection of birds had been much increased by donations from 
 various parties, and by exchange. Eighty sjiecies had been added, some of which were 
 of great rarity. The donors were Messrs. Weeks, E. A. & 0. Bangs, C. B. Corey, F. B 
 Loring, W. B. Greene, H. D. Morse, Wm. Brewster, Arthur Smith, Geo. A. Boardman, 
 and H. 0. Ryder. 
 
 The Entomological collection had been enriched by valuable donations received from 
 Messrs. Smith, Bryant, Thaxter and Mrs. Moring. Mr. Henshaw's labors in this depart- 
 ment had been continued. 
 
 To the Anatomical collection a number of preparations had been added by the assis- 
 tant, Mr. Van Vleck, and by Dr. Thomas, a student in the Museum. 
 
 To the collection of Echinoderms had been added a suite of Ophiurans received from 
 the Museum of Comparative Zoology. These having been identified and named by 
 Mr. Theodore Lyman, the labelling may be relied upon as correct. 
 
 Of the Laboratory, the remarks of the Custodian are presented in full, as they give 
 briefly a good idea of the practical means taken to advance the knowledge of natural hist- 
 ory in the community. '* 
 
 "The work in this department has greatly increased. The educational collections, if 
 they continue to be improved at the same rate, will, within a year or two, be entirely 
 completed, with of course, the exception of those rarer preparations and specimens which 
 never seem to be within the reach of moderate means. They embrace typical zoological, 
 
196 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 palaeontological and geological collections, already sufficiently perfect for the ordinary 
 purposes of general instruction. 
 
 " The room and the collections have been used by the Institute of Technology for a class 
 in Palaeontology ; by the Boston University for a class in Zoology and another in Botany ; 
 and by the Teachers of Boston, for a class in Zoology. This last was composed of the 
 teachers of natural history in the High Schools of Boston, and other teachers, numbering 
 about thirty in all. 
 
 " The lessons are necessarily given on Saturday, and are limited to two hours, though 
 the laboratory is open throughout the day for those who wish to remain. 
 
 " This course was instituted in order to support the movement made by the School Com- 
 mittee to introduce the teaching of Zoology into the High Schools. Miss Crocker, the 
 supervisor having this branch under her charge, applied to the Custodian for assistance, 
 and the Council of the Society assenting, the laboratory and its facilities were placed at 
 her disposal. The course will not be finished until the spring of 1879, and will comprise 
 nearly one hundred lessons, illustrated in the usual way by the study and dissection of 
 specimens. The instruction so far, has consisted of a series of practical lessons, given by 
 Messrs. Crosby and Van Vleck, interspersed with lectures of a more general character, by 
 the Custodian." 
 
 The Teachers' School of Science was continued, as in previous years, through the liber- 
 ality of Mr. John Cummings. One course of twenty lectures was given by Professor 
 Goodale of Harvard University. The teachers were provided with printed synopses of the 
 lectures as aids in taking notes, and with dried and named specimens of native plants. 
 About one hundred and fifty sets of these were distributed during the course. The aver- 
 age-attendance was about one hundred and twenty. 
 
 From the report of the Secretary, Mr. Edward Burgess, it was shown that the condition 
 of the departments under his charge was satisfactory. 
 
 Of the Library, he stated that the increase was very constant. The additions during 
 the year had been in slight excess of the previous year, and were as follows : volumes 255, 
 parts of volumes 9G6, pamphlets 236, maj)s and charts 1999. From lack of the necessary 
 means, no binding had been done. 
 
 Of the Publications, two parts of the Proceedings of the Society had been issued and a 
 third was nearly ready. The second volume of the Memoirs had also been concluded. 
 
 Of the meetings, there had been sixteen general ones of the Society, at which the aver- 
 age attendance had been forty persons ; nine of the section of Entomology and eleven of 
 the section of Botany, at each of which the average attendance had been about ten. 
 Nearly forty papers read at these several meetings had been puldished. 
 
 From lack of means, the Society was not enabled to give any public lectures during the 
 winter. 
 
 Of members, four Honorary, seven Corresponding, and twenty-two Associate, had been 
 elected during the year. 
 
 The Report of the Treasurer showed an excess of receijDts over expenditures of 
 $1336.73, a considei'able portion of which could only be used for specific purposes. 
 The receipts available for general purposes had been $9098.75, and the expenditures for 
 general purposes, $8903.82 ; leaving a balance of $194.93, showing that the Society 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 197 
 
 through great, economy had succeeded m accomplishing its purpose of limiting expen- 
 hture within its income. 
 
 At the election of officers for the ensuing j^ear, Theodore Lyman was chosen on the 
 Committee for Fishes and Reptiles in ])\ace of Dr. Samuel Kneeland, resigned, and Jules 
 Vlarcou was left off the Committee on Palaeontology, by reason of prolonged absence 
 tbroad. 
 
 Previous to the adjournment of the annual meeting, Mr. Charles J. Sprague, in view of 
 ;he great aid given him by Prof Tuckerman, in enabling him to put on exhibition a very 
 ;onsiderable portion of the Cryptogamous plants of the Society, offered the following res- 
 olution, which was passed unanimously: 
 
 " That the thanks of the Society be conveyed to Pi'of. Edward Tuckerman, for the 
 v'oluntary, generous and invaluable service he has rendered it by elaborating and naming 
 the Lichen herbarium of Dr. Thomas Taylor, now forming a part of its collection ; a 
 5ervice which no one in this country but he could have performed, and w'hich gives to the 
 herbarium an authentic value it could not otherwise have possessed." 
 
 At the Council meeting subsequent to that of the annual meeting of the Society, the 
 Trustees reported that they had made an estimate of the probable income of the Society 
 ;br the year entered upon, showing that not much over |9000 could be relied upon as 
 ivailable for general purposes. Considering, however, that there w^ould be a call for the 
 sayment of insurance on projserty for five years, amounting perhaps to one thousand 
 lollars, they advised that appropriations be made to the extent of $9500 in order to cover 
 .his item. 
 
 The Society being at considerable expense of time and money in carrying out the inten- 
 tion of the legislature of the State in giving it authority to designate persons who should 
 have the right to kill birds for scientific purjjoses, voted to charge for the certificates so 
 issued, the sum of two dollars each. 
 
 Walker Prizes. The subject proposed for the Walker prizes was the same practically 
 as that of 1876, two years before, and upon wdiich no essay had been presented, viz : 
 " An original investigation of the structure, development and mode of life of one or more 
 of the fungi which injuriously affect useful plants." 
 
 This second attempt to interest writers in treating upon this subject was not successful 
 in eliciting essays, as none were presented. 
 
 In August of this year, the Society lost a young member by death, to whom it seems 
 fitting to pay a tribute of affectionate remembrance by a brief mention of his life, and of 
 the interest manifested by him in natural history. 
 
 Gurdon Saltonstall, the son of Henry and Georgiana C. Saltonstall, was born in Salem, 
 on the 15th day of August, 1856, soon after which the fiimily made Boston their winter 
 residence. Being obliged, hy trouble in his eyes, to leave school, and having at a very 
 early age exhibited a strong inclination to acquaint himself with objects of natural history, 
 he was led, in January 1871, when but fifteen years of age, to become a member of the So- 
 ciety, in the work of which he was exceedingly interested, proffering his services in aid of 
 the Custodian and the working members, and identifying himself with their labors in 
 almost every department. In turn, he was aided by them in the acquisition of the knowl- 
 edge he sought, and thus the association was of advantage to both himself and the Society. 
 
198 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 The summer of 1872 he passed at Eastport with the United States Fish Commission, 
 studying and preparing specimens for the Societ}^, and in a subsequent year he worked 
 with this Commission at Noank, with Professor Hyatt. 
 
 In 1873 he was able to return to school, where he rapidly and thoroughly mastered the 
 necessary studies and entered Harvard College with honor in the Freshman class of 1874, 
 in which he passed one year with great credit, taking high rank as a scholar and gaining 
 the respect and affection of his associates and instructors. But early in his second year his 
 health suddenly gave way and he was obliged to leave home. Passing part of one winter 
 at Nassau, he sent valuable specimens and information to the Society, his association with 
 which was always one of his greatest pleasures. In this association he exhiljited such 
 kindly and lovaljle traits of character as served to endear hun to all the working members, 
 and they sadly deplored the necessity of his leaving home for his health, and still more 
 sadly learned of his early decease. 
 
 He died at Pan in France on the 21st of Ma}^, 1878, beloved by all who knew him, and 
 happy in the assurance of immortal life. 
 
 At a meeting of the Society held Oct. 2d, Mr. Scudder, being in the Chair, alluded feel- 
 ingly to the death of Prof. Henry, a distinguished Honorary Member, which had recently 
 occurred, and at the close of his remarks introduced Dr. Asa Gray, who addi'essed the 
 Society upon the life and character of " that eminent man whose death, full of years and 
 honors, had been so sensibly felt throughout the country and the scientific world." 
 
 Leaving to others the duty of portraying his great scientific services and researches, 
 Dr. Gray gave a brief sketch of Prof Henry's life, mentioning his birth at Albany, N. Y., 
 near the close of the last century, his restricted opportunities for early educatioii, his 
 becoming a pupil at the Albany Academy, and afterwards receiving an appointment as 
 Professor of Natural Philosophy at that institution. He then spoke of his brilliant dis- 
 coveries in electricity and magnetism, which made his name prominent throughout the 
 scientific world, and his acceptance in 1846, of the office of Secretary of the Smithsonian 
 Institution. Referring to this, Dr. Gray remarked, that to the simple sense of duty which 
 impelled Prof. Henry to interrupt a career of research of almost unequalled brilliancy, by 
 an undertaking which was sure to absorb his best years in administrative and perplexing 
 cares, was to be attributed the result that the noble bequest of Smithson " for the 
 increase and dillusion of knowledge among men" was rescued from waste and misapj^ro- 
 priation. Dr. Gray insisted that the great benefits which the scientific world at large, and 
 science in America especially, are receiving from the Institution, were mainly owing to 
 the practical wisdom, the catholic spirit, and the just conception of the founder's intent, 
 and the indomitable perseverance of its first Secretary and Manager. In concluding his 
 remarks, of which this notice gives but a brief abstract. Dr. Gray spoke of " the serene 
 simplicity and loftiness, as well as kindliness of spirit, shown by Prof Henry, of his devo- 
 tion to what he deemed his duty, often exhibited in the extreme patience with which he 
 attended to the applications of projectors and crotchety discoverers who sought his 
 advice." Much of the prominent influence which he wielded at Washington, was attrib- 
 uted "to his transparent and spotless character, the complete subjection of all consider- 
 ations of personal advantage, or even of personal ambition, and the atmosphere of purity 
 in which his official as well as ju'ivate life ever moved, and upon which never fell even the 
 shadow of a shade." 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 199 
 
 The fall and winter of this official year were characterized by a degree of work done in 
 direct instruction by the Custodian, and other officers of the Society and assistants, so un- 
 exampled in character as to call for special and full notice. 
 
 The study of natural history had been recently introduced into the public schools, and 
 it was thought by those who had been instrumental in effecting this, jDarticularly by Miss 
 Lucretia Crocker, the supervisor of that department, that the teachers generally of the 
 schools should have such instrviction in the several branches, as could be well given under 
 the auspices of the Society. An appeal to its officers was therefore made by Miss Crocker 
 for assistance, and as this was urged as essential to success, the call was cheerfully re- 
 sponded to. The opportunity of interesting the children of the pviblic schools in natural 
 history through lessons given to the great body of their teachers, seemed too much in the 
 line of the Society work to be lost, and strenuous efforts were at once made to do all that 
 was possible in furtherance of the object. 
 
 The Council appointed the President, Mr. Bouve, Vice President, Mr. Cummings, and the 
 Custodian, Mr. Hyatt, to take charge of the matter, giving them full authority to arrange 
 for the lectures, obtain specimens for illustration and distribution, and to approve bills for 
 such expenses as might necessarily be incurred, it being understood that, excepting the 
 time and labor devoted to the object, the cost should be defrayed by subscription. 
 
 The wonderful success that attended the movement will be presented in the annual 
 report of the Custodian at the yearly meeting in May. 
 
 Dr. J. B. S. Jacksok. 
 
 1879, January 15th. After calling the meeting of this date to order the President said: 
 
 Since we last met, Death has once again entered our circle and borne from us one of the 
 oldest and most highly respected of the active members of the Society, Dr. J. B. S. Jack- 
 son. 
 
 To those of you who have not been members for more than the last decade or two, 
 there can be but little appreciation of the feeling experienced by those of us who 
 were contemporary, or nearly so, with the founders and early members of the Society, 
 when one of their number passes the limit that divides the seen from the unseen. Among 
 these were men of noble characters and impulses, with whom to be associated was to be 
 impressed with such sense of their great excellence and purity of purpose as no subsequent 
 experience through life could obliterate. Claiming but little knowledge of natural his- 
 tory, but strongly appreciating the importance of its study both for themselves and the 
 community, they came together for mutual help in the acquisition of knowledge, and to 
 combine their efforts for its dissemination, modestly expressing in the preface to the first 
 number of the Journal " that having but small claims to the character of naturalists, they 
 nevertheless are desirous of contributing something to the common stock of information." 
 
 In the greater light of the present day, and reflecting upon the little aid attainable by 
 them through books or collections, we may well exclaim, Noble men ! Simple seekers of 
 truth, not only for your own good but for that of all others ; you grandly did your work ! 
 And so they did. The many volumes of their papers and proceedings attest this : the 
 State reports upon the geology; the iuvetebrate animals; the fishes; the insects injuri- 
 ous to vegetation ; the trees and shrubs of Massachusetts ; all by early members resident 
 
200 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 or corresponding, speak unceasingly of the value of their labors. And the magnificent 
 development of the Society until it has become what it now is, with its great collections 
 and its wide felt influence, — how much of this is due to their early strivings who shall 
 say ? Certainly all is but the fruition of their hopes and desires. 
 
 Among these early members were Dr. Benjamin D. Greene, an accomplished botanist and 
 the first President of the Society ; Dr. Augustus A. Gould, the author of the Report upon 
 the Invertebrates of the State, and who became one of the most able naturalists of New 
 England ; Dr. D. Humphreys Storer, the author of the very valuable Report upon the 
 Fishes of New England ; Dr. Amos Binney, an accomplished conchologist, afterwards 
 President ; George B. Emerson., author of the great work upon the Trees and Shrubs of 
 the State, and who also subsequently became President of the Society ; Dr. Martin Gay, an 
 able chemist ; Dr. Charles T. Jackson, well-known as an accomplished chemist, mineralo- 
 gist and geologist ; Francis Alger, the author of a valuable work on mineralogy ; the Rev. 
 Dr. F. W. P. Greenwood, who seemed more divine than human in the loveliness of his char- 
 acter ; Dr. T. W. Harris, author of the Report on Insects injurious to Vegetation, and last 
 mention, though by no means the least in his influence upon the afiairs of the Society 
 and its character, Dr. J. B. S. Jackson, whose loss we now deplore. 
 
 The particular investigations of Dr. Jackson were generally not of a nature to bring him 
 prominently before the Society as an instructor in any branch of natural history, his 
 labors being largely confined to a class of subjects more generally interesting to students 
 in pathology. Yet the Journal of the Society presents to us several papers of great value 
 to naturalists, and the Proceedings contain remarks made by him at various times embody- 
 ing much useful information. 
 
 Dr. Jackson was elected a member in the fall of 1831, the Society having been incoi'po- 
 ro.ted the previous February. 
 
 In 1837 he read before the Society a paper which was published in the Journal, giving 
 an anatomical description of the Gallapagos Tortoise, which was a valuable contribution. 
 
 In 1842 the Journal gives an account read by him of the dissection of two adult drome- 
 dai'ies, male and female. 
 
 In 1845 there is in the Journal a paper upon the dissection of a spermaceti whale and 
 three other Cetaceans. 
 
 Of his remarks made from time to time upon scientific subjects and published in the 
 Proceedings of the Society, may be found some of interesting character upon the teeth of 
 Delphinus glohicej^s, upon fossil bones of the Ilastodou cjhjanteus from Schooley's Moun- 
 tain, N. J., and upon bones from Indian tumuli. 
 
 As said before. Dr. Jackson's most important work was in pathology rather than natural 
 history. He became Professor of Pathological Anatomy in the Medical School of Harvard 
 University in 1847, and was ever after a most diligent laborer in its interests, investigat- 
 mg with great patience and with keenness of observation arising from constant experi- 
 ence, the morbid effects of disease upon the organs, and wi'iting out fidly and carefully 
 the results of his examinations, wdiich have been of invaluable service in the cause of 
 medical science. Much of his work for many years was in the building of the Cabinet of 
 the Society of Medical Improvement and its arrangement for study, and in the care and 
 arrangement of the Warren Museum. Of these two fine collections Dr. Jackson published 
 
BOSTON" SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 201 
 
 descriptive catalogues, containing much matter of great interest to students in medicine 
 and surgery. Others can write and speak more wisely and instructively of these great 
 services than can the Avriter, who has only been associated with him in the Society of Nat- 
 ural History and as a personal friend. His work for the Society has been spoken of, l)ut 
 what he did for it in labor and through publications was but a small part of tlie aid he 
 was able to render. No member ever felt more interest in its welfare, and if this was 
 not manifested to the same degree in actual devotion to work upon its collections and to 
 investigations in natural history subjects, it was only because his valuable time was preoc- 
 cupied by the duties owed to his official position. He was always in the habit of at- 
 tending the meetings of the Society, and always exhibited a strong desire that they should 
 be made as instructive as possible to younger members, to such particularly as were enter- 
 ing the paths of science. He was ever- urgent, too, that all the specimens of the collections 
 of the Society should be so distinctively and fully arranged and labelled that all visitors 
 might clearly undoi'stand their character and relations. He indeed sometimes felt impatient 
 that this was not already accomplished, so important did he regard it as a means of educa- 
 tion ; though he did not fail to recognize that with the means at the Society's disposal this 
 work must necessarilj^ be slow. He lived to see great progress towards the realization of 
 his wishes in this respect, and if his life had been spared a year or two longer his fullest 
 desire might have been satisfied. 
 
 One marked peculiarity of Dr. Jackson was his great interest in the advancement of 
 worthy members to positions of honor and usefulness in the Society. Entirely free from 
 any ambitious desire for office himself, he wished to gratify the feelings of those whom he 
 thought deserving and to whom position might be an inducement to exertion. It is pleas- 
 ant to dwell upon the special characteristics that made our departed friend a useful mem- 
 ber of the Society, but with what additional pleasure can we recall the traits that made 
 him the delightful companion, the beloved friend, the dear husband and father ; that led 
 all with whom he came closely in contact to regard him with affection and respect. Sim- 
 ple, unostentatious, true in all the relations of life, honest in the expression of his convic- 
 tions, and pure in heart, he lived amongst us a blessing to his friends and the community, 
 and has passed away leaving only the most tender memories. May we be helped by his 
 example to live and do our life's work so that it may be said of each of us when we like- 
 wise depart, what may be truly said of him : Those who knew him the best loved him the 
 most. 
 
 At the close of the President's address, Dr. D. H. Storer said : 
 
 Mr. President : — I rise merely to express my thanks for your fiiithful and most appro- 
 priate remarks respecting our departed friend. I should have regretted not to have heard 
 them. I rejoice that nothing ever occurred to alienate him from the Society — that he 
 continued to feel the same interest, and to evince the same zeal in its prosperity as long as 
 he was with us. 
 
 Jackson and Wyman I always associated together — in my heart they were one — ever 
 faithful and true. 
 
 Again I thank you, Mr. President, for your heartfelt tribute. 
 
202 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 At the anniTal meeting the reports of the Custodian and Secretary were as usual 
 interesting and gratifying. 
 
 The Mineralogical cabinet was stated to be in good condition and order. 
 
 The Geological collection had been undergoing re-arrangement, this being necessary by 
 recent advances in science, esi^ecially in Lithology. The principal accession to this 
 department consisted of a suite of 250 sj^ecimens of the rocks of New Hanipshii'e, col- 
 lected in the recent geological survey of that State, by Prof. C. H. Hitchcock. 
 
 The revision of the Palaeontological collections had been finished. To the North 
 American had been added forty specimens of Cambrian, Silurian and Devonian fossils, col- 
 lected by Prof F. H. Bradley and given by Mr. John Cummings ; nearly 500 sub-carbon- 
 iferous crinoids, obtained by exchange from Prof. A. H. Worthen, State geologist of 
 Illinois ; 125 specimens of Cretaceous fossils from Texas, obtained by purchase ; and 100 
 specimens of Cretaceous vertebrate remains from Kansas, purchased from the State geolo- 
 gist, Prof. B. F. Mudge. 
 
 The New England collection had received twenty specimens of fossiliferous rock from 
 the drift of Truro, Cape Cod, probably Eocene. 
 
 The North American collection, with the accessions reported, consisted of: 
 
 
 Genera. 
 
 Species, 
 
 Specimens 
 
 Cambrian .... 
 
 112 
 
 214 
 
 645 
 
 Silurian .... 
 
 136 
 
 241 
 
 656 
 
 Devonian .... 
 
 208 
 
 376 
 
 1127 
 
 Subcarbonif erous . 
 
 99 
 
 215 
 
 650 
 
 Carboniferous 
 
 79 
 
 288 
 
 1089 
 
 Triassic .... 
 
 35 
 
 29 
 
 51 
 
 Jurassic .... 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 40 
 
 Cretaceous .... 
 
 90 
 
 177 
 
 883 
 
 Tertiary and Post-tertiary . 
 
 306 
 
 548 
 
 3086 
 
 1070 2093 8227 
 
 The Triassic fishes and plants, and most of the foot-tracks, a good collection of Devo- 
 nian bivalves, and several other small lots of fossils wanting identification, were not 
 included. 
 
 The South American collection, including the West Indian, was mentioned as insignif- 
 icantly small, numbering but twenty-lour genera, twenty-eight species, and one hundfed 
 and seventy specimens, all Tertiary, or Post-tertiary, excepting one Cretaceous. The Afri- 
 can was said to be still more lacking, comprising only five genera, six species, and fourteen 
 S25ecimens, all Tertiary. 
 
 The Asiatic collection, including specmiens from the Malay Archipelago, Australia 
 and Oceanica, had been mounted during the 3'ear. This was stated to contain many large 
 specimens, chiefly casts of the Miocene Mammalia from the Sivalik Hills, also Cretaceous 
 fishes from Mt. Lebanon, casts of Carbonilerous shells from Australia, and casts of the 
 bones of the Dinornis and Palaeopteryx from New Zealand. The whole embraced 46 gen- 
 era, 84 species, and 170 specimens. 
 
 The principal work done on the European collection during the year had been to 
 mount the Palaeozoic fossils. There had been an accession to these of 380 specimens, 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 203 
 
 received frofa Mr. John Cumtnings in exchange. The European specimens at this time 
 numbered 13,655. 
 
 Tlie aggregate of the several collections of the Department was as shown by the follow- 
 
 ing table : 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Genera. 
 
 Species. 
 
 Specimens 
 
 
 From North America 
 
 1070 
 
 2093 
 
 8227 
 
 
 " South America 
 
 24 
 
 28 
 
 170 
 
 
 " Africa . 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 14 
 
 
 " Asia and Australia . 
 
 46 
 
 84 
 
 170 
 
 
 " Europe . 
 
 1631 
 
 3623 
 
 13655 
 
 2776 5834 22236 
 
 The Custodian in referring to the fact that the laborious work of the arrangement and 
 cataloguing of the Palaeontological collections was finished, justly ascribed, not only the 
 magnitude of these to the great liberality of Mr. John Cummings, but also their condition, 
 which was attributable entirely to the valuable services of the two assistants employed by 
 hmi. 
 
 In the Botanical department, the work of sorting the duplicates and supplying the 
 deficiencies in the general collection had steadily progressed under the direction of 
 Mr. Cummings. The specimens of wood, fruit, etc., on exhibition had been catalogued, 
 mounted on tablets, and labelled by Miss Carter. They numbered 2583 specimens, repre- 
 senting 304 genera, and 492 species. To Mr. Chas. J. Sprague this department was indebted 
 for 250 specimens of dried plants from Florida, collected by Mr. A. H. Curtiss, and for 50 
 rare New England species, collected by Mr. C. J. Pringle, of Vermont. Mr. E. T. Bouve 
 had continued his work on the trees and shrubs of New England, and added a number of 
 species to the collection. 
 
 In the Anatomical department, a new section had been established. In this sec- 
 tion had been brought together preparations made by Mr. Van Vleck, exhibiting the 
 general anatomy of the invertebrates and the typical forms of the different sub-divisions 
 of the animal kingdom. 
 
 The New England collection of Birds had been considerably increased through the 
 exertions of Dr. Brewer, thirty to forty species having been added. 
 
 The Entomological department had received several important donations, one from 
 Mr. F. C. Bowditch, of useful insects of all orders ; another from Dr. C. S. Minot of his 
 entire collection of insects, containing very desirable additions to the New England col- 
 lection. A part also of a collection made by the late Mr. Gurdon Saltonstall had been 
 received from his family, and several valuable specimens of which the Society stood in 
 need from Mr. Roland Thaxter. 
 
 The remarks of the Custodian upon the other collections do not call for repetition. 
 
 In the Laboratory there had been much activity. The room and the collections had 
 been used for the past year by a class in Zoology and Palaeontology from the Mass. Insti- 
 tute of Technology ; one in Zoology, from Boston University ; and one in Zoology com- 
 posed of the teachers of the Boston High Schools. This last class Avas })articularly men- 
 tioned in the report of the previous year. The course of instruction had been prolonged 
 and was not yet quite finished. 
 
204 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Reference was made on a preceding page to tlie great work accomplished, through the 
 instrumentality of the Society, in direct instruction during the last autumn and winter 
 months. The importance of what was done justifies the presentation of nearly the full 
 statement of the Custodian, though it involves some repetition. 
 
 "Teachers' School of Science. The Teachers' School of Science has this year attained 
 extraordinary size and importance. So sudden and unexpected was this development 
 that for the last six months it has almost completely arrested all efficient work in other 
 directions. The study of nature having been introduced in a definite form into the public 
 schools, and the supervisor of this department, Miss Lucretia Crocker, having assured us 
 that our assistance would be of great benefit, and was in fact essential, it was determined 
 to institute appropriate courses upon elementary Botany, Zoology, and Mineralogy, if the 
 means of paying the expenses could be raised. Mrs. S. T. Hooper and Miss Crocker un- 
 dertook and successfully completed this pai-t of the work, and also a considerable amount 
 of harassing clerical labor, which subsequently arose out of the success of their own exer- 
 •tions. Fortunately for their schemes these ladies met with substantial appreciation from 
 Mrs. Augustus Hemenway, who both subscribed most liberally, and also encouraged them 
 to accept the very considerable pecuniary responsibilities, which began to block their way 
 at the very beginning of operations. In fact, without these assurances of further su2:)port 
 and interest, we should nut have dared to begin. 
 
 " These obstacles arose from two causes, the number of applicants, and the necessity of 
 providing identical specimens for all. The specimens and materials for two hundred, 
 which was the maximum number anticipated at first, could have been readily furnished, 
 but when the applicants reached six hundred, it became exceedingly questionable whetlier 
 such a number could be provided for, and properly instructed by one person, all at the 
 same time. Feeling, however, that the cause of science demanded that these difficulties 
 should he met and supported, and relying on the hearty cooperation of Professor Goodale 
 and the ladies mentioned above, the course was begun. 
 
 " The association and sympathy of Mrs. Elizabeth Agassiz with the undertaking has been 
 particularly gratifying, since Prof. Louis Agassiz was the first naturalist who ever taught a 
 popidar audience in this country with the specimens in hand. 
 
 " The enterprise was in large part the work of Avomen and affords pleasing evidence of 
 the activity and usefulness of this new class of members in our Society. 
 
 " The following is a list of the donors : 
 
 Mrs. Augustus Hemenway 
 
 Mis. Quiney A. Sliaw .... 
 
 Mrs. John jNI. Forbes .... 
 
 Miss A. S. Hooi>er 
 
 Mrs. H. P. Kidder 
 
 Miss M. A. Wales 
 
 "Smaller sums were contributed by Mrs. Elizabeth C. Agassiz, Mrs. Samuel Hooper, Miss 
 S. Minns, Miss E. Mason, Miss M. C. Jackson, Miss Stone, Miss Abby W. May, Mrs. James 
 Freeman Clarke, Miss Cora H. Clarke, Miss Lucretia Crocker, Mrs. Thomas Mack, Mrs. A. 
 S. Farwell and others. 
 
 " Many of these ladies were very active in securing the success of the course and the 
 Society thanks them and others ; especially Mrs. E. D. Cheney, Miss J. M. Arms, Miss C. J. 
 
 11000.00 
 
 Mrs. Sarah S. Russell . 
 
 150.00 
 
 500.00 
 
 IMrs. John E. Lodge 
 
 50.00 
 
 100.00 
 
 Mrs. Richard C. Greenleaf . 
 
 50.00 
 
 100.00 
 
 Miss Anna C. Lowell 
 
 50.00 
 
 100.00 
 
 Mrs. E. W. Gurney 
 
 50.00 
 
 50.00 
 
 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 205 
 
 Ireland and Mrs. Samuel 'Wells for their personal efforts in behalf of the Teachers' School 
 of Science. 
 
 " The teachers themselves, at our solicitation, joined in making up the fund. The contri- 
 butions from this source amounted to $789. 
 
 " Notwithstanding this generous assistance, it would hardly have been possible to carry- 
 on the several courses without the friendly aid and direct assistance in various ways of the 
 following institutions and persons. 
 
 " The Institute of Technology, which most generously gave us the use of Huntington 
 Hall, upon the payment of a merely nominal sum for cleaning and heating. 
 
 " The Museum of Comparative Zoology, under the direction of Mr. Alexander Agassiz, 
 which, through Count Pourtales, Dr. Hermann Hagen, and Mr. E. C. Hamlin, at various 
 times assisted us by donations of specimens from the respective departments superintended 
 by these gentlemen. 
 
 " Mr. Henshaw, my right hand assistant in all the w^ork of preparation and distribution, 
 whose untiring energy contributed largely to secure the success of every lesson ; Miss 
 Hintz, of the Normal School, who drew with remarkable skill the diagrams used in the 
 Zoological course, and enabled the Custodian to illustrate fully all subjects ; Mr. Van 
 Vleck for aid in the preparation of models ; Mr. L. S. Burbank ; Miss Nunn, Professor of 
 Biology at Wellesley College ; Mr. Robert McCarthy, of New York ; Captain Horstall, of 
 Steamer Canopus ; Mr. Eugene G. Blackford, of New York ; and the proprietors of the 
 Parker House and Young's Hotel, for donations of specimens and assistance in various 
 ways. 
 
 " Mr. E. G. Gardiner, Mr. E. A. W. Hammatt and Mr. G. H. Barton of the Institute of 
 Technology, have also kindly assisted at the lectures in various capacities. To many of my 
 own students, teachers and others I am also indebted for assistance. 
 
 " Since the lectures were begun in 1871, they have been continued without interruption, 
 except during the winter of 1872-73, under the patronage of Mr. John Cummings ; and 
 previous to this winter about 75,000 specimens of minerals, plants, and animals had been 
 studied and distributed to teachers of the public schools. The ajjplications for tickets rose 
 during those years from an average of 55 to 166. 
 
 " The nvuuber of recorded applications for the course now approaching completion is 
 616, or nearly foiu" times as many as in previous years, and the numl)er of specimens 
 which will have been distributed during this winter alone cannot fall short of 100,000. 
 
 " After an introductory lecture in which the Superintendent of the Public Schools, the 
 President of the Society, and the Custodian delivered addresses appropriate to the occa- 
 sion, Professor Goodale completed a course of six lessons on Botany in which he instructed 
 the whole audience of five hundred with apparently as much readiness as if it had been 
 but fifty. Mr. Jackson Dawson, Mr. Watson and Mr. Greenleaf were of great assistance 
 to Professor Goodale in the procuring of the vast number of live plants and the great 
 amount of other material required for his lessons. Mr. Charles W. Spurr, 622 Harrison 
 Avenue, Boston, prepared, for the purpose of illustrating the subject of wood sections, 500 
 packages of excellent specimens of the following woods : tulip-tree or whitewood, rose- 
 wood, ash, oak, pine, mahogany, walnut, butternut, maple, cedar, birch, cherr}^, elm and 
 holly. Many of these were in duplicate, exhibiting Ijoth plain and figured texture. The 
 
206 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 specimens, more than ten thousand in all, were gratuitously presented to the class by Mr. 
 Spurr. 
 
 " The Custodian followed with twelve lessons on Zoology, which will be completed on 
 the 10th of this month, and Mr. Burbank is to continue with five on Minei'alogy. The 
 average attendance on fair days, so far, has been about five hundred. 
 
 " The course was supplemented by the publication of a series of small pamphlets, under 
 the general title of Science Guides, which were intended to assist the teachers in the ap- 
 plication of the knowledge imparted by the lectures. These are described in the Report 
 of the Secretary. 
 
 " Perhaps the most gratifying and encouraging facts are derived from an examination of 
 the statistics of the past seven years. Thus out of the 616 ajiplicants of this winter, 
 there are 155 who had attended at least one previous course,^ 119 who had attended two 
 or more previous courses, and 44 who had attended all of the courses. Some of these last, 
 I may add, are masters of public schools." 
 
 The Secretary's report was interesting, as he compared the condition and the worlc of 
 the departments under his charge during the ten years then closing. As in this volume it 
 will be better to present such comparisons at the close of another year, they are here 
 omitted. 
 
 Of members, twenty-four Associate, five Corporate, and fourteen Corresponding 
 had been elected. Of the meetings there had been sixteen of the general Society, seven 
 of the section of Botany, and eight of the section of Entomology. The average atten- 
 dance had been twenty-two at the general meetings, eight at the Botanical, and eleven at 
 the Entomological. The meetings of the last had been unusually interesting. 
 
 The history of the Botanical section begun, as stated by the Secretary, " under hopeful 
 auspices three years ago, is far from satisfactory." " With so much popular interest in 
 the study of Botany, the result was unexpected, and is to be regretted." 
 
 The condition of the Library was stated .to be good and its usefulness never to have 
 been so great — 1169 books having been taken out by 123 persons. 
 
 The Society was indebted to the Museo Civico of Genoa for a valuable and complete 
 series of its publications ; to Prof. Joachim Barrande of Prague, for a set of his extensive 
 works ; and to Prof J. 0. Westwood of Oxford, for a number of his papers. The addi- 
 tions to the Library are as follows: volumes, 252; parts of volumes, lOOo ; pamphlets, 
 214; maps and charts, 221; total, 1692. 
 
 Of Publications, two numbers of the Memoirs, and three quarterly parts of the Pro- 
 ceedings had been issued. 
 
 A new volume of Occasional Papers, the third, had been put in press, and would soon 
 be printed. Besides these, a series of Guides for Science Teaching had been prepared for 
 use in the courses of lectures to the teachers, three of which had been published and 
 distributed, the cost being defrayed by sales. The three already issued were. About Peb- 
 bles, by Prof Hyatt ; A few Common Plants, by Dr. Goodale ; and Commercial and other 
 Sponges, by Prof Hyatt. These Avere to be followed by other numbers. The Secretary 
 stated the exchange list as numbering 352 Societies or Journals, of which 50 were United 
 States and Canadian.' 
 
 'It ruiist bo remembered that the highest number of attcnihiiits at lessons reachel in previous years was ItiG. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 207 
 
 The Treasurer's account for the year showed that the income applicable for the general 
 purposes of the Society had not come up to the estimate made at its commencement, and 
 that the expenditures had been about three hundred dollars in excess of such income. 
 As, however, insurance on the property had been paid for five years in advance, the 
 spirit of the policy not to expend beyond the income had been adhered to. There had 
 been an excess of all receipts over expenditures of $835.90, all of which and probably 
 more it would be necessary to reserve for prize and other special expenses in accordance 
 with the conditions attached to the use of the Walker Fmid. 
 
 At the election of officers but few changes were made, and these only in the Com- 
 mittees on the departments of the Museum. M. E. Wadsworth was chosen on the Min- 
 eral Committee instead of L. S. Burbank, Rev. G. Frederick Wright on the Geological 
 Committee instead of T. Sterry Hunt, W. F. Whitney, M. D., was added to the Com- 
 mittee on Comparative Anatomy, C. 0. Wliitman was chosen on the Committee of Mol- 
 lusks, in place of L. Lincoln Thaxter, and E. L. Mark in place of Dr. J. B. S. Jackson, 
 deceased. 
 
 At the meeting of the Council following the general annual meeting of the Society, 
 the trustees presented their estimate of the probable income of the Society, applicable for 
 general purposes for the ensuing year, as |8538.16. As a portion of the income for 
 special uses, amounting to several hundred dollars, might be expended for general pur- 
 poses, they recommended that $8800 be appropriated for expenditure, not well perceiving 
 how less could be used without detriment to the interests of the Society. 
 
 Walker Prizes. The subject proposed for this year was " The structure, history, and 
 development of some cryptogamous plant." One essay was presented, but it was not 
 deemed worthy of a pi'ize, and no award was therefore made. 
 
 In October the Woman's Educational Association having requested the use of the lec- 
 ture room of the Society for botanical lectures on Mondays and Fridays, the Council 
 granted the request upon the condition that the expense of heating the room, and of the 
 janitor's services, should be paid by the Association. The Council appointed at this time 
 committees to act upon special matters as follows : On the grand Walker Prize, soon to 
 be awarded. Professor Wm. B. Rogers, Professor Goodale, and Colonel Theodore Lyman ; 
 on tablets to be placed in the entrance hall of the Museum, commemorative of its great 
 benefactors, Rev. Robert C. Waterston, Edwai'd Burgess, and Alpheus Hyatt. 
 
 The Council also voted that the President appoint a committee to consider and report 
 upon a plan for the reception of the American Association for the Advancement of 
 Science, that body having decided to meet in Boston the coming summer. 
 
 In November, the Council granted to Mr. L. S. Burbank permission to use the lecture 
 room of the Society for a course of geological lectures, he paying only such expenses as 
 might be incurred for janitor's services, etc. 
 
 In December, a vote was passed by the Council authorizing the Committee on Publi- 
 cation to attempt the publication of an illustrated quarto volume of the Memoirs as a 
 part of the Society's celebration of the semi-centennial anniversary of its foundation, 
 by soliciting subscriptions for such memoirs at ten dollars per copy. The committee was 
 also authorized to begin to prepare and arrange for the publication when five hundred 
 dollars were subscribed. 
 
208 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 In December, a petition to the Society having been presented for the formation of a 
 section of Microscopy, signed by Messrs. S. P. Sharpies, Samuel Wells, R. R. Andrews, 
 Edward Burgess, J. Frank Brown, David Hunt, Jr., Francis A. Osborn, E,. C. Greenleaf, 
 A. Hyatt, G. F. Waters, and W. F. Whitney, the consent of the Corporate Members was 
 given at two meetings in accordance with the By-laws, and the section was thus formed. 
 
 1880. Walker Grand Honorary Prize. In January, the Committee on the award of 
 the Walker Grand Honorary prize, having unanimously recommended Dr. Josejih Leidy, of 
 Philadelphia, as eminently worthy to receive it, for his prolonged investigations and dis- 
 coveries in Zoology and Palaeontology, as presented in publications made by him, it was 
 voted by the Council that the grand prize be given to Dr. Leidy, and that in conse- 
 quence of the extraordinary merit of his work that the sum awarded ha one thousand 
 dollars. 
 
 In January, also, the Custodian reported to the Council that the Committee of the 
 department of Comparative Anatomy objected to his projDOsed re-arrangement of the col- 
 lection of that department, and asked that the question at issue might be referred to the 
 next meeting for decision. Tlius was brought before the Council the very important mat- 
 ter of determining whether the collection of Comparative Anatomy, like the other collec- 
 tions of the Society, should be arranged in subordination to the great plan proposed and 
 adopted at the commencement of the decade for the whole museum, or if tlie collection of 
 that department should remain an exception, not becoming a part of a series, the full 
 completion of which was essential to illustrate in the best manner the general laws of 
 science. 
 
 At the next meeting of the Council, which was held January 21, there was a very full 
 attendance, and a warm discussion took place uj^on the proposed action of the Custodian 
 in which Dr. D wight, representing the Committee of the department of Comparative 
 Anatomy, — Professors Hyatt and Shaler, Colonel Lyman and Messrs. Allen and Bouve 
 took part. 
 
 The great work that had l^een done by members of the committee upon the collection 
 in past years, demanded that all said by them against a change should be thoughtfully 
 and respectfully considered. There was therefore, no disposition to hasten a decision, 
 and accordingly a vote was passed referring the matter to a committee of three to be 
 appointed by the President. Colonel Theodore Lyman and Messrs. S. H. Scudder and Sam- 
 uel Wells were named as this committee, and instructed to report at a meeting to be held 
 a week later. Upon the Council again coming together a report was presented by the 
 chairman of the committee favoring the proposed re-arrangement, whereupon Dr. Dwight 
 said he would not further oppose the execution of the plan of the Custodian, though he 
 personally believed the collections would l)e injured by the change. 
 
 The Council then passed a vote with but one dissentient voice, approving the proposed 
 action of the Custodian in carrying out the plan of 1870, with regard to the department 
 of Comparative Anatomy. 
 
 Tluis was settled, not without much feeling, but amicably, a question, the decision of 
 which in favor of the proposed change, was regarded by the great majority as most 
 important for the welfare of the Society, whilst a number of members influential through 
 eminent service in its behalf, thought tlie proposed action uncalled for and detrimental. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 209 
 
 It may be conceded thot much worthy of consideration was said in support of their views, 
 but it is believed that all students of nature will finally concur in the opinion that the 
 decision made was a wise one. 
 
 Dr. Thomas Mayo Brewer. 
 
 At the general meeting of the Society on February the fourth, the President, Mr. T. 
 T. Bouve said : 
 
 Since we last met, the Society has lost one of its oldest and most valued members, Dr. 
 Thomas M. Brewer. 
 
 It grieved me as an old personal friend to learn when in a distant state, that the disease, 
 by which as I knew before leaving home he was prostrated, had terminated fatally, and 
 that I should not again receive his pleasant greeting on earth, or even have the sad satis- 
 faction of being present at the funeral services following his departure. The long inter- 
 course between us had always been of the most agreeable character, and I feel that I have 
 reason to mourn that it has so unexpectedly and mournfully terminated. This is not the 
 place, however, for me to indulge in the expression of personal bereavement, but rather 
 to dwell on the great loss the Society and community have met in the death of our beloved 
 associate. 
 
 Dr. Brewer was born in Boston, Nov. 21st. 1814. He arraduated at Harvard College in 
 1835, and in the Medical School in 1838. He labored in his profession for several years, 
 but his tastes and inclinations were stx'onger for other pursuits. He was fond of literary 
 labor, and, having strong political tendencies was early led to write for one of the lead- 
 ing Whig papers of the period, the Boston Atlas, and at length to become one of its edi- 
 tors, in which capacity he manifested marked ability both as a writer and close observer. 
 Subsequently he became interested in the firm of Swan and Tileston, a publishing house 
 which was afterwards changed to that of Brewer and Tileston. He retired from business 
 in 1875 and then visited Europe, where he remained two years. He had become well 
 known by his ornithological labors and received consequently very gratifying attention 
 from many distinguished scientific men whilst abroad. 
 
 In the cause of popular education he was very zealous, manifesting at all times great 
 interest in the public schools of the city. He was long a member of the Boston School 
 Committee, and served in this capacity with great devotedness. His last election to this 
 office was in 1879, for the term of three years. 
 
 Dr. Brewer was elected a member of this Society October 7th, 1835, and soon l)ecame 
 well known by his valuable contributions, mostly upon his favorite subject of ornithology. 
 It is jjleasant to recall the fact that his first communication to the Society was in defence 
 of Nuttall and Audubon, the distinguished naturalists, the latter his warm personal friend, 
 against some unjust attempts in a foreign magazine to detract from their well earned and 
 deserved reputation. Not long after he presented a highly interesting paper upon the 
 Birds of Massachusetts, in which he gave an account of over forty species not embraced 
 in the State report of Dr. Hitchcock upon tlie Geology and Natural History of the State. 
 From that early period, now nearly half a century since, he never ceased to manifest great 
 interest in the welfare of the Society, by frequent communications and in such other ways 
 as his health would admit. 
 
210 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Apart from what he performed for the Society, he accomphshed much for scientific 
 knowledo-e hy contributions to several publications of great value, and by articles which 
 he furnished for some of the popular magazines. 
 
 As these remarks will be supplemented by particular mention of Dr. Brewer's scientific 
 writin-^i-s in a sketch furnished by his friend Mr. J. A. Allen, it will not be necessary for me 
 to make further reference to them, and I need only add that, had he lived free from the 
 business cares that until recently absorbed most of liis time, much more might have Ijeen 
 looked for from him relative to the habits of Ijirds, particularly of such as find a home 
 permanently or temporarily in New England. 
 
 We of the Society will greatly miss his efficient labors in striving to complete the collec- 
 tion in the department of New England Ornithology, for the development of which he 
 manifested much and increasing interest. 
 
 In the death of Dr. Brewer our Society has lost a most valuable member, and the 
 community, a good and wise citizen, one of whom it may be truly said : He was always 
 foitliful to the duties of every position in which he was placed, and ever ready to work 
 where he recognized that his labors would promote the puljlic welfare. 
 
 The following notice of Dr. Brewer's scientific labors by Mr. J. A. Allen, was also con- 
 tributed. 
 
 The death of Dr. Brewer removes another of the older American ornithologists, of 
 whom there now remain two only whose period of scientific activity extends back to the 
 time of Audubon and Nuttall. Dr. Brewer's first formal contribution to ornithology, enti- 
 tled " Some additions to the Catalogue of the Birds of Massachusetts in Prof. Hitchcock's 
 Report, etc.," was published in 1837, in the first volume of the " Journal" of this Society. 
 These additions numbered forty-five species and increased by one-fourth the list of birds 
 previously known as inhabitants of this State. Previously, however, he had furnished val- 
 uable notes and rare specimens of birds to Audubon, who in his great work on North 
 American birds, makes frequent mention of liis indebtedness to " his young friend, Mr. T. 
 M. Brewer of Boston." 
 
 In 1840, he became more generally known as an ornithologist through his edition of 
 Wilson's " American Ornithology," — the only American edition of Wilson's work, except 
 Ord's, published prior to 1871. The " Brewer Edition," from its comparatively small cost, 
 placed this delightful work within the reach of a wide circle of readers, to Avhom the more 
 expensive original and Ord editions were inaccessible. It was enriched by the addition to 
 the original text of the s_ynonymy and critical commentary of Jardine's edition, and by a 
 very useful and carefully digested synopsis of all the birds at that time known as North 
 American. 
 
 In 1857 was published the first part of his " North American Oology," which forms part 
 of volume IX of the "Smithsonian Contiibutions to Knowledge." The full title of the 
 work — " North American Oology ; being an account of the geographical distribution of 
 the birds of North America during the breeding season, with figures and descriptions of 
 their eggs" — indicates very fairly its scope and character, but in addition to the topics 
 thus indicated, the work gives a pretty full exposition of the breeding habits of the spe- 
 cies treated, so fai- as then known, and also full tables of synonymy. Owing to the great 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 211 
 
 cost of the illustrations, the work was not continued beyond the first part, which treats of 
 the Birds of Prey, the Swifts, Swallows, Goatsuckers and Kingfishers. This work, until 
 witliin tlie last year, was the onl^^ special treatise extant on the subject to which it relates, 
 and will ever hold the place of a standard work. It is, moreover, a work which brought 
 to its author great credit, and through which he became widely known as an ornithologist 
 of liiech standing;. 
 
 In 1874 appeared " A History of North American Birds," under the joint authorship of 
 S. F. Baird, T. M. Brewer, and R. Ridgway, in three quarto volumes devoted to the '• Land 
 Birds." To this work the whole of the biographical part, forming probably two-thirds of 
 the letterpress, was contributed by Dr. Brewer, and throughout evinces his thorough 
 familiarity with the literature of the suljject, and shows the hand of the master in all that 
 relates to his special department of a worlv which marks an era in the history of North 
 American ornithology. 
 
 Dr. Brewer's minor papers appeared at intervals throughout the long period of forty 
 years, and embrace important contributions to our knowledge of American birds. 
 
 He has loft the manuscript for the completion of his share of the great work on North 
 American birds already mentioned, the final revision of which he had just completed ; also 
 material for the contemplated continuation of his "North American Oology." His collec- 
 tion of eggs — the accumulation of a long series of years, — is doubtless one of the best 
 private collections extant. 
 
 Dr. Brewer having been engaged during the larger part of his life in aljsorbing profes- 
 sional or commercial pursuits, his contributions to ornithology must have been largely the 
 work of such Ihnited time as could be spared from his business engagements, and only 
 within the last few years was he able to devote himself wholly to his favorite studies. Al- 
 though an authority of unsurpassed eminence in his special province, — that of North 
 American Oology, — his labors were mainly restricted to this field, taken, however in its 
 broader sense. Removed suddenly, apparently when there were years of activity and lei- 
 sure before him for scientific research, his loss is one not easily replaced, nor its impor- 
 tance readily appreciated except by those who knew him intimately and were familiar with 
 his conscientious manner of investigation, his warm sympathy, and the thorough loyalty of 
 his friendship. 
 
 At a meeting of the Council on the 17th of March, the President called the attention 
 of the members to the fact that the 28th of April would be the semi-centennial anniver- 
 sary of the formation of the Society, suggesting that a public celebration of the event 
 should take place. 
 
 After discussion it was unanimously voted, that the President should appoint a com- 
 mittee, including himself as cliairinau, to arrange for a proper celebration, with full pow- 
 ers to take such measures as they judged expedient. The committee as formed consisted 
 of the President, Mr. Jolni Cumiuiugs, Mr. S. H. Scudder, Mr. Charles W. Scudder, and 
 Mr. Edward Burgess. It will be remembered that the Council in December had passed 
 a vote in view of this year being the semi-centennial one of the foundation of the 
 Society, that there should be published an illustrated quarto volume of its memoirs as a 
 part of the Society's celebration of the event, if subscriptions could be obtained for copies 
 
212 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 that would jdeld five hundred dollars. As more than the necessary number of names had 
 already been secured, preparation was made for the issiie of such a vohmie. Subsequently 
 the President was solicited to write for the same volume a sketch of the history of the 
 Society, from its foundation to the close of the fiftieth year of its existence. This, after 
 much hesitation, he consented to do, recognizing the importance of having such a sketch 
 prejiai'ed, whilst yet some of the foiniders of the Society were alive and able to give 
 information concerning their early brother members, and fearing that otherwise it would 
 be left undone. 
 
 The committee appointed to take measures for the celebration of the semi-centennial 
 anniversary were faitliful to their trust, taking active measures to ensure success. It soon 
 became manifest that the occasion was to be one of great interest, all persons addressed 
 being found ready to cooperate with the committee in carrying out their plans. Cheer- 
 fully His Excellency Governor Long, His Honor Mayor Prince, President Eliot of Harvard 
 University, Dr. Samuel Eliot, Superintendent of the Public Schools, Mr. Agassiz, Direc- 
 tor of the Museum of Comparative Zofilogy, and the Eev. Robert C. Waterston, responded 
 to calls upon them to take jJ^ii't in the proceedings. The committee's labors were mul- 
 tiforious ; they had printed for use at the meeting and for distribution, an introduction to 
 the General Guide to the Museuui then in preparation by Prof. Hyatt ; they had moved the 
 elephant from his elevated position, and other large animals from their accustomed places, 
 and had erected across the north portion of the main hall a platform to accommodate the 
 speakers and distinguished visitors. This was carpeted and furnished with chairs, the rest 
 of the hall having settees over the floor. 
 
 At the general meeting of the Society, Ajoril 21st, the Nominating Committee having 
 reported a list of officers for election at the annual meeting, to take place on the 5th of 
 May, in which Mr. Bouve's name was mentioned for President, he addressed the meeting, 
 referring to his having consented four years previously, at the kind solicitation of mem- 
 bers, to withdraw his resignation then tendered, stating that there were several reasons 
 why he should decline re-election at the present time, and urging that the Society would 
 not ask him to reconsider his determination. 
 
 Mr. Scudder exjiressed the hope that the President's withdrawal was not imperative, 
 and dwelt upon the work done under his administration, which had resulted m the final 
 crystallization of the policy of the Society. 
 
 Remarks were also made by Mr. Hyatt, Mr. Burgess and Mr. Nathan Appleton, ex- 
 jjressive of regret at the contemplated action of the President. He, however, warmly 
 thanking the speakers for their kind expressions, reiterated his resolve to resign. It was 
 therefore voted to recommit the report to the nominating committee for reconsideration. 
 This being done they withdi'ew, and after consultation re-entered the meeting, and pre- 
 sented an amended report, nominating for President in the place of Mr. Bouve, Samuel 
 H. Scudder. The report was then accepted. 
 
 At this meeting the uiodels of the s\ni and the eartli were presented to the Society by 
 the Boston Scientific Society. These consist of a gilt ball i-epresentiug the sun, thi'ce 
 inches in diameter, and a white plate on which is a black .spot three one-hundredths of 
 an inch in diameter, which symbolizes the earth. These were placed one on the centre of 
 each arch at the side of the stairs in the niiiin hall of entrance to the Museum. They 
 
a'^Ao^ ^ "7^ // ^ ^ ^ ^ 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 213 
 
 I'cpresent approximately the proportionate size of the sun and the earth, and their dis- 
 tance from each other rehitive to size. The proportionate scale of the models and their 
 distance apart is about a foot to three millions of miles, or about one inch to two hundred 
 and fifty thousand miles. 
 
 A vote was passed, that the Presideiit appoint at leisure a committee of three to con- 
 sider the desirability of abolishing the Committees in the departments, and of devising a 
 different plan for organizing the Council, and to j^ropose the necessary change in the Con- 
 stitution and By-Laws for this purpose. The President subsequently appointed as this 
 conuuittee, S. H. Scudder, Dr. B. Joy Jeffries, and Edward Burgess. 
 
 TiiK Semi-Centennial Celebration of the Foundation of the Society; Afril 28. 
 
 The anniversary day was pleasant and all things conspired to render the occasion inter- 
 esting and joyous. The spacious platform which had been erected across the north portion 
 of the main hall was occupied by the President, the speakers, the officers of the Society 
 and a large number of ladies and gentlemen. . A large audience, composed of members of 
 the Society and very many prominent men and women of the city and State, filled the floor 
 of the hall and such portions of the galleries as were convenient to use. Amongst the dis- 
 tinguished persons present, were His Excellency Governor Long, President Eliot of Har- 
 vard University, Prof Asa Gray, the illustrious botanist, Alexander Agassiz, Director of the 
 Museum of Comparative Zoology, Count Louis Francois de Pourtales, Dr. Samuel Eliot, 
 Superintendent of the Public Schools, Miss Lucretia Crocker, Supervisor of the Public 
 Schools, Dr. D. Humphreys Storer, Judge G. W. Warren, Prof. F. W. Putnam, Rev. Robert 
 C. Waterston and Mrs. Waterston, Hon. Josiah Quincy, Prof E. S. Morse, Colonel Theo- 
 dore Lyman, Dr. J. C. White, Mr. Justin Winsor, Librarian at Harvard LTniversity, and Mr. 
 John Cumminti's. 
 
 At half past three, the time of commencement, the President, Thomas T. Bouve, after 
 calling the assembly to order, began his address as follows : 
 
 Mevibers of the Society, my Associates in its service, my Companions for many years in 
 its labors, its trials and its achievements : — I congratulate you. I think we have reason 
 to congratulate each other that we come here surrounded by a host of sympathizing 
 friends ; and ladies and gentlemen, whose names we have not the honor of having recorded 
 on our rolls as members, as a representative of the Society, I bid you a hearty welcome 
 here to commemorate its formation and to rejoice in its success. 
 
 With these very few words of greeting, for the time will admit of no more, I proceed at 
 once to present what I have prepared for the occasion. It is an account of the doings of 
 those who took an active part, before the Society was formed, in interesting the public in 
 natural history. I do this because their labors have not been duly appreciated, and because 
 the lessons which their experience is designed to teach certainly rec^uire that we should 
 take time to do it. What I hold in m}' baud is intended as an inti'oductory chapter in the 
 history of the Society of Natural History on which 1 am engaged, — a memorial volume 
 to be issued this year. 
 
 The President then proceeded to present the early steps taken to inculcate a love for the 
 study of nature in this community, particularly dwelling upon the formation of the Liia- 
 
214 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 naean Society, its history and its decline. He then gave a brief account of the movements 
 made towards the formation of a new Society, which cuhninated in the existence of the 
 Boston Society of Natural History. As nearly the whole address is embraced in the open- 
 ing pages of this volume, no further mention of it is necessary here. 
 
 At the clOjSe of the President's remarks a telegram was handed to him from Prof. Wil- 
 liam B. Rogers dated Washington, D. C, expressing regret that he could not be present, 
 and rejoicing in the prosperity of the Society. His Excellency Governor Long was then 
 introduced.^ 
 
 Address of Governor Long. 
 
 When I was invited to be present at this interesting anniversary, thorougldy grateful for 
 the courtesy, I felt at first that neither personally nor as an official of the State ought I to 
 take any other part in it than that of a looker-on. But 1 remembered that the seeds of 
 your noble institution, Mr. President, like those of so many of the best fruits of New Eng- 
 land, were sown not altogether by the scientists nor by any one profession, but by common 
 men who lifted up their eyes above the ordinary toil of life, and who for themselves and 
 their fellow-men reached out to higher levels of knowledge and usefulness. 1 remembered 
 too that your first great endowment came from a merchant — type of the unbroken line of 
 the peerless merchants of Boston — who was little known among scientific scholars, yet 
 contributed from the accumulations of his thrift to a higher culture than his own, and that 
 this was only the beginning of a series of generous contributions from citizen after citizen, 
 which culminated at last in ample revenues from your chief benefactor, who was not less 
 distinguished for his wisdom in affairs than for his professional acquirements. And 1 re- 
 membered more than all, that the Commonwealth, which from the days of her founders 
 until now never yet has failed the cause of education among her children, had from the 
 first been the steadfast friend of this Society, giving it incorporation, aiding it in its early 
 years with a modest but saving annual subsidy, and, in 1861, making to it the uumificent 
 donation of land on which its foundations now rest secure, — a donation that came not only 
 with the good will and the God-speed of the Commonwealth, but with all the sympathy 
 and inspiration of the soul of Governor Andrew, who, next to his devotion to human rights 
 and hate of human wrongs, cherished the love of that enlarging learning which he knew 
 is from the meanness of wrong to tlie nol)ility of right the slow but sure highway. 
 
 And so as one of the many citizens of Massachusetts, and also as one in official station 
 representing her, 1 am emboldened, at your request, Mr. President, to unite my voice in 
 the acclaim that hails this fiftieth anniversary of your existence. Memory and imagina- 
 tion, — those ex(|uisite poets of the liuiiian mind, — memory tliat looks tenderly back over 
 the jiast, and imagination that idealizes and yet in all its uu)unting knows that it fails to 
 picture or connnand the future — are making this occasion not the mere boast of fifty 
 years' success, but a tril)ute to what man has done, and a stimulus to what man yet a 
 thousand times more ;-hall do in behalf of tlie hapj^iness, the deliglit, the kuowk'dgc, the 
 ennobling of his ll'llow-men, unlocking from every nook and corner of the earth, and dis- 
 playing in every form and motion of life, the beneficence of God. What a stride from 
 those first small days, — that parlor sofa that once held you all, — those modest rooms, to 
 this splendid temple, which I trust is to Ije your permanent home, Avhere shall not only 
 gather your rare and beautiful collections, but cluster with them also the nieniories of the 
 
 1 Tlu'. aiMres?es .it tlii' Sunu-C'cntcniiial iiiei'lin;: ;is ])ro- lakcii frinii llu' n'purts iii.adc iS tlicni for tlie li.i!<ti)ii Daily 
 Kciitcil, widi tlie cxci'Jiticni (if (hat ol' Dr. Wntrrslcii. Wfi-f Ailvi.'1'ti.-cr. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OP NATURAL HISTORY. 215 
 
 zeal and devotion that have marked so many of your members. The birds of Bryfint, the 
 insects of Harris, the shells of Gould, the fossils from the Sivalik Hills, the contributions of 
 a thousand helpful hands from every quarter of the globe suggest something more than 
 their scientific value. For they are still alive with the generous love of science which 
 prompted their bestowal, and which, clinging to them still like the scent to the vase, 
 wreathes j^our walls, more beautifully than the chisel of the artist and in more enduring 
 material, with the names and the features of those of whom I have sjaoken. Yes, and of 
 Greene and Wyman and Jackson and Greenwood and Brewer and a hundred others. 
 
 If fifty years have wrought all this from such a slender beginning, what shall not fifty 
 years more achieve ? Everything, indeed, for science ; everything for the increase of 
 human knowledge. But more than all else, speaking for that Commonwealth which means 
 not a function of government, but means the common weal of the people and of all the 
 people of Massachusetts, her humblest, her weakest, her most dependent, those who sadly 
 and heavily bear the burdens, who hew the wood and draw the water, I love to think that 
 your labors, much as they delight you, will still more bear fruit for them, and that you 
 are fulfilling the time when the student of science, exulting in the treasures that come to 
 liis exploring, and touching at his fingers' ends the keys that turn every element of the 
 physical world into an agency of usefulness, not only finds his own cup full, but is the ben- 
 efactor of the whole human race, alleviating the weight of toil, shortening the hours of 
 the drayage of labor, enlarging the capacities and material of a brighter, happier, more 
 generous life for all alike, and letting every soul go freer and freer in its up-springing and 
 response to God. 
 
 The President next introduced Dr. Samuel Eliot, Superintendent of the Boston Public 
 Schools. 
 
 Address of Dr. Eliot. 
 
 In opening his speech Dr. Eliot observed that he did not understand why he was called 
 upon to represent the city of Boston in the absence of Mayor Prince. The only title, 
 said he, which I can so much as imagine entitling me to speak in behalf of Boston, is that, 
 to some extent, I am, for the time being, a rej^resentative of the public education of the 
 city. Boston has no brighter jewel in her crown, Boston has had no higher function in 
 all the long years of its past, than that which has made her the teacher and the mother of 
 so many thousands of her children. Indeed, this education given in the public schools of 
 various grades and names, and the work of such a Society as this, interests me very 
 deeply. I think, as I stand here, of the scenes that I have looked ujjon in this and the 
 adjoining building, where the teachers of our public schools have gone at the invitation of 
 this Society, and, through individual genius and the contributions of the friends of this 
 Society, have received lessons which they, in their turn, have given to their children. 
 And when I think of all that this involves of nearness to nature, which forms so true an 
 essential of education, and which, without such help as this Society has given, would be 
 to-day little more than a name among our teachers and our pupils, I feel that I have the 
 riglit, in behalf of the public schools of Boston and of the whole conuuunity, to thank the 
 Society of Natural History for the help which they have given us. Nearness to nature, 
 as I said, is one of the great essentials of education, but it has been one of the most diffi- 
 
216 niSTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 cult assentials to secure even in our comparatively late day. Anything that helps us to 
 secure it ; anything that brings nature closer to the schools, and the schools closer to na- 
 ture, is doing good far beyond the limit of the schools. Think, for a moment, of the 
 homes from which the pupils of our public schools come, of the absolute ignorance of 
 nature, of all the beauties connected with her, or of the mysteries which extend so com- 
 pletely over all. Think of the clouds that may hang heavily over house after house and 
 tenement after tenement within the limits of our city, and think how grateful the people 
 must be, that from this Society as its source, is flowing in streams through the schools 
 sweet and healing water, and is now reaching these homes ; that there is no home now so 
 far away but that nature is reaching it, and day by day will take possession of it. That is 
 the inestimable service, Mr. President, which I am here to acknowledge, and I do it with a 
 most glad and most grateful heart. It is not merely of the lessons and teachers of which 
 I have spoken. Here are these collections, whose founders are everywhere generously 
 commended. If the doors are oj^en the light goes out through them and lights the earth, 
 and we mav* be glad if we can even add a hundredth part to the radiance that is every- 
 where spreading abroad from them. As gratitude, Mr. President, is always a lively sense 
 of favors to come I want to express my gratitude for the help that is yet to be given by 
 this Society to those who come after us, and the next half-centmy will be even more fruit- 
 ful than the last half-century has been, in maintaining tlie highest interest in tlie schools 
 and homes which Boston claims as her own. 
 
 Address of Pkesidext Eliot. 
 
 President Charles Eliot, of Harvard University, upon being introduced to the audience 
 said : 
 
 This Society has two distinct objects — (1) the promotion of natural history "by stimu- 
 lating and aiding advanced study and original research, and (2) the enlightenment of the 
 common people concerning animate and inanimate nature. What I have to say touches 
 each of these two o^jjects. 
 
 It would carry us into a discussion too solemn for this occasion to attempt to state the 
 primary reasons which should induce men to study nature devotedly, although no tangible 
 benefits could ever flow from that study ; for I have never been able to find any better 
 answer to the question — what is the chief end of studying nature — than the answer 
 which the Westminster catechism gives to the question, what is the chief end of man — 
 namely, " to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever." 
 
 I shall ask your attention to a proposition which contains only a secondary, though suffi- 
 cient, reason for fostering tlie study of natural history — to the proposition that the 
 human race has more and groiiter benefits to expect from the successful cultivation of the 
 sciences which deal with living things than from all the other sciences put together. 1 by 
 no means forget what mechanics and physics have brought to pass within a hundred years. 
 They have already reduced the eartli to one-tenth of its former size, as regards the car- 
 riage of persons and goods, and for the transmission of thought, will, and feet, they bid fair 
 to make the whole surface of the globe as one room. Tliey have made it easy, on the one 
 hand, to concentrate population in dense masses, and on the other to reach new soils and 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 217 
 
 shores, and to distribute to all countries the peculiar productions of each. These wonder- 
 ful achievements of mechanics and physics, aided by chemistry, produce indirect effects 
 upon the well-being of man, some good effects and some bad, with a probable preponder- 
 ance of good; but their direct influence upon human character and happiness is not large. 
 The reduction in size of our earth, our country, or our town, which railways, telegraphs 
 and telephones have brought about is in itself no satisfaction. Rapid locomotion is not an 
 object in itself Does the average man get any more happiness out of his little span than 
 he did one hundred years ago ? or does he have a longer sjjan ? And if he does, have the 
 inventions of the past century in mechanics and physics been a direct cause of the im- 
 provement ? The answers to these questions are not ready and clear. We hesitate to 
 give an affirmative reply. The fact is, that mechanics and physics deal only indirectly 
 with human misery, — namely, climatic influences, not understood, and, therefore, not to 
 be guarded against, violent and unpredictable, extremes of heat or cold, wetness or dry- 
 ness, ravages of noxious plants and animals, diseases both of men and of useful animals 
 and untimely death. All these evils belong to the domain of natural history, and for ulti- 
 mate deliverance from them we must look to the student of natural science. 
 
 It is astonishing how littje progress has been made by the I'ace in discovering the means 
 of overcoming these evils. Civilized society to-day would be almost as helpless as Pharaoh 
 was against the plagues which afflicted the Egyptians, — the river water suddenly made so 
 foul that the fish in it died, frogs, lice, flies, a murrain upon cattle, boils, hail, locusts, dark 
 fogs and the dread pestilence which struck one race and spared another upon the same 
 soil. These are evils which, for the most part, we find resistless to-day. Every now and 
 then some city's water supply is rendered unfit for use by an extraordinary production of 
 multitudinous little plants or animals ; the plant-louse destroys the vines in a wine-produc- 
 ing country, and brings the whole population to want; pleuro-pneumonia kills the cat- 
 tle, now in this district, now in that ; an obscure fungus causes the potato to rot, and a 
 sudden famine is the result ; the Colorado beetle, once a rarity in the collections of ento- 
 mologists, swarms over a continent, devouring vast crops, and forcing the husbandman to 
 abandon, for a time at least, the cultivation of various useful plants ; in some of the West- 
 ern States the harvest depends, not so much on the foresight and skill of man as on the 
 favorableness or unfavorableness of the season to the development of grasshoppers. In- 
 deed, thus for, any single-minded and prolific worm is more than a match for man. Think, 
 too, of the diseases which afflict humanity, and are the source of by far the greater part of 
 the sufferings and sorrows of men ! There are the regular diseases to which we are so 
 accustomed that we consider them normal phenomena, the new diseases, which appear or ' 
 reappear at considerable intervals, and the occasional pestilences. Man is still so ignorant 
 of the causes and sources of these various disorders, of the conditions which develop them, 
 and of the means of eradicating and resisting them, that he is inclined to regard disease 
 as a part of the order of nature, over which he can win no control. 
 
 But in view of all that science has accomplished within the lifetmie of this Society, shall 
 we not declare that this idea of nature and of man's relation to his environment is cow- 
 ardly, stupid and ungrateful ? Can we not clearly foresee that by the patient, thorough, 
 cumulative study of natural history in all its branches, men will gradually arrive at a 
 knowledge of plants and animals, and of the favorable and unfavorable conditions of life 
 
218 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 for all plants and animals, which will give them control over many evils which they now 
 find wholly mysterious and irresistible ? I can only touch very briefly upon some of the 
 grounds of this belief 
 
 The physician or surgeon of the last century was hardly wiser than Hippocrates or 
 more successful ; but any old physician or surgeon would tell us to-day that the means 
 and methods of observation, diagnosis and treatment have wonderfully improved during 
 his lifetime ; that many operations are now successfully performed which were formerly 
 supposed to be impossible ; that the whole subject of preventive medicine and public hy- 
 giene has been developed in his day ; and that he has seen the beginnings of the scien- 
 tific study of heredity, that most fruitful and promising field of scientific and philanthropic 
 research. Thanks in part to the progress in physics and chemistry, natural history j^os- 
 sesses new and powerful implements of research, and new methods of inquiry which are 
 of infinite promise. The morbid anatomist observes, not the gross external appearance^, 
 but the abnormal cellular changes which produce, or are, disease ; the physiologist studies 
 the processes of living animals ; the chemist is constantly making natural organic products 
 by artificial means ; the embryologist has become conversant with those slight difi'erentia- 
 tions in the egg which are the starting points of wide diversities ; substantial beginnings 
 of weather knowledge appear ; the whole earth has been explored, and now for the first 
 time the fauna of the ocean aliysses is made known. 
 
 Antiquity had its great students of nature, but they lacked the means of diffusing, pre- 
 serving and accumulating their discoveries. The past four centuries have had abundant 
 means of recording and transmitting from one generation to another all the scientific truth 
 which they became possessed of." It is in this steady, patient and orderly accumulation of 
 facts concerning living things that the hojje of winning for man new powers over the 
 gravest natural evils really lies. This Society has a part in making that pregnant record. 
 
 There is another aspect of your Avork which seems to me very important. You pi'opose 
 to maintain for the public an exhibition of all forms of vegetable and animal life in their 
 wondrous and endless variety. Hither people may come and see their fellow-beings in the 
 widest and truest sense. Moralists tell us that the best development of an individual man 
 is not to be reached through introspection, self-reference and an overweening anxiety about 
 his own salvation. They say to every man — look out and not in. The same exhortation 
 might well be addressed to the human race. Mankind needs to look out, and not in ; to 
 realize that it is but one, though a noble one, among countless races aud tribes of crea- 
 tures which inhabit or have inhabited this atom of an earth, and that its welfixre is not the 
 'sole end of creation, or the one absorbing interest of the Creator. A few years ago all 
 men believed that the whole boundless universe centred upon man. That delusion has 
 lost its hold, except perhaps within the well-protected domain of dogmatic theology. But 
 there are still many people who cling to the kindred conceit that this earth, at least, was 
 made for man. It is a belief which will not survive much acquaintance with the vast soli- 
 tudes of the earth which teem with other life than man's — the everglades, the jungles, 
 the mountains and seas. It is a belief which a thoughtfid man or child will be apt to qual- 
 ify or resign, as he studiously examines such a collection of natural history as this Society 
 strives to maintain. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 219 
 
 Address of Mr. Alexander Agassiz. 
 
 Mr. Alexander Agassiz was the next speaker. In the first part of his address he 
 mentioned the difficulties through which the Society had passed. An interesting extract 
 from his remarks is given below : 
 
 The scientific man should be without nationality, ready to welcome progress from any 
 quarter. Science is bound neither by country nor creed in its relation to new informa- 
 tion. An important publication, a new line of research, a brilliant hypothesis, should ap- 
 pcil to us, not because it is American, German, French or English, nor because it is on 
 the winning side in the questions of the day. It is, of course, natural that a country com- 
 paratively young in scientific culture should turn to older institutions for its standards, 
 should be constantly tempted to compare its own learned societies and their doings with 
 those of more ancient date and established influence. But while measuring our progress 
 by theirs with honorable emulation, let us not make the mistake of also measuring our 
 scientific men by a reflected light only, making our own recognition of them wait upon 
 that from the other side of the water. Every nation should be proud of its great men, 
 and may be excused for overrating them, but it should also add to an excusable national 
 vanity an independence capable of recognizing, appreciating and sympathizing with the 
 men who are raising the intellectual standard of their country to that of older ones. The 
 pioneers of science in this country were neither remote imitators nor simply commen- 
 tators ; they have not only laid the foundations of natural science in this country, but they 
 have extended its boundaries on many fields. Nor should we assume that they had need 
 of a kind word of recognition from the other institutions or individuals. Let me not, 
 however, be understood for a moment as disparaging the intelligent criticism of press or 
 colleagues at home or abroad. I only wish to distinguish between that and the noto- 
 riety so easily gained by constant appeals to the public either in person or through 
 scientific quacks. 
 
 Since, however, the true investigator rarely has either the time or the disposition to be- 
 come the expounder of his own work, it is not always possible for the public to draw the 
 line between those who speak from their own knowledge and the scientific Utterateur who 
 forages in any field where booty is to be gained. We have met to-day to honor the pio- 
 neers of science in this country by a grateful recognition of what has been accomplished 
 from the small beginnings of fifty years ago. Taking up some of the more prominent 
 names of the early days of the Natural History Society we must award the highest place 
 to men like Wyman, Harris, Bigelow, Gould, Storer and Binney, whose investigations 
 have paved the way for their successors of the present day. They were men of no ordi- 
 nary stamp. They were men who in any country would have been recognized as leaders 
 in science, and whose fame will live when many of us are forgotten. 
 
 The speech closed with a high tribute to the late President Wyman. 
 
220 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Address of Rev. Robert C. Waterston. 
 
 On a serai-centennial celebration like this, while we have reason to congratulate the 
 members of the Society of Natural History here assembled, on the great success which has 
 crowned our past efforts, and on the cheering prospects of the future, which dawn before 
 us like the morning of a yet brighter day, still we cannot but recall with feelings of sad- 
 ness and solemnity the ma.ny wlio have labored with us in the earlier history of the 
 Society, no longer here. Largely to their unwearied efforts are we indebted for the 
 prosperity we now enjoy. Constant inspiration comes to us from the remembrance of 
 their quickening zeal, their love of knowledge, and their generous desire to communicate 
 to others, what they so profoundly valued themselves. How heartily do we wish they 
 could be with us, on this eventful day. And yet, as we look around upon these walls, and 
 gaze upon the life-like portraits of the past officers and benefactors of the Society, it 
 seems as if, in very truth, they were actually here, participating with us in the privileges 
 of this occasion. 
 
 Before us, is our first President, Dr. B. D. Greene, with his calm expression of blended 
 sweetness and power. A love of nature pervaded his life. Extensively on this con- 
 tinent, in the tropics, and in most of the countries of Europe, he diligently pursued his 
 botanical researches. Blessed with ample means, he was able to make his investigations 
 under every advantage. Years which might have been given to luxurious repose, were 
 by him gladly devoted to earnest study. Thus did he acquire a knowledge seldom sur- 
 passed, and while constantly consulted by younger botanists, never did he decline to 
 impart from his abundant resources. We do not forget that his rare herbarium, contain- 
 ing the results of long personal industry, and the fruit of more than a quarter of a cent- 
 ury of intercourse and exchange with Sir William Hooker and other distinguished botan- 
 ists in every section of the globe, including plants gathered during the first Expedition of 
 Sir John Franklin, constituting in all an. invaluable collection for quality as well as quan- 
 tity, we do not forget that this he presented to the Society, together with between one 
 and two thousand volumes of botanical works from his library ; and that at the time of 
 his death, he enriched the Society by a munificent bequest. 
 
 And here by his side, is " the beloved physician," Dr. Augustus A. Gould, who from his 
 large professional labors, could always find time for the benefit of this Society. In the 
 department of conchology he was an acknowledged authority. The collections here bear 
 testimony to his zeal. I Avell remember the interest he awakened by one of his lectures to 
 teachers within these walls. Many of his hearers stopped and expressed their wish 
 to visit in his company the sea-shore, that they might gather shells on the sands and 
 listen to his instruction in the midst of Nature. He made arrangements with them on 
 the spot, and within a week they went together to a neighboring beach, and there 
 they passed such a day as they will never forget. 
 
 And here is our friend Professor Jeffries Wj'man, who shunned populai-ity, rather than 
 sought it, and who cared always to he and never to seem. His aim was ever Truth, simple, 
 absolute Truth. Indefatigable in his researches, he would never abandon any investiga- 
 tion until it was thoroughly completed, and would leave nothing for students who should 
 come after, but astonishment at what he had accomplished. While engrossed in his studies 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 221 
 
 I doubt if he would have been disturbed though an armed force had cannonaded the build- 
 ing. It was said of Constable the artist, that in the fields he would sit so calmly in his con- 
 templation of the landscape, that the field-mice would creep into his pocket. I think they 
 might have done the same with Professor Wyman, though I would not answer for it that 
 they might not become, under his hand, interesting specimens in Comparative Anatomy. 
 Unassuming in manner, and with a mortal aversion to pretentious conceit, no man valued 
 true merit more heartily than he did, or was more earnest to assist struggling endeavor. 
 His name is now honored as widely as science is known. 
 
 And here we look upon the face of Agassiz whose benignant smile is to-day, as it ever 
 was, a benediction. How absolutely with him the man of science became the acknowl- 
 edged Instructor. Whether in the halls of legislation or the popular assembly, or before a 
 convention of teachers, or in his own private lecture-room, he was the Educator. He 
 seemed born for this vocation. His gift of speech, his genial spirit, his sympathetic and 
 magnetic power, made all listen with avidity. He knew not only how to gather, but how 
 to impart. Whether he was discoursing upon glaciers or embryology, upon the structure 
 of animal life, coral-reefs, star-fish, or an oyster, he was alike able to arrest and rivet 
 attention, leading the mind from point to point, wondering and delighted, until rising 
 above the individual it grasped the universal, and seeing the hidden law, it recognized 
 through that, the Divine Intelligence. 
 
 With voice, manner, look, he held entranced the hearer, leading him onward from 
 stage to stage in the line of progress. In all he did, he was preeminently the teacher 
 of the individual, the community, the nation. " I have been," he said, " a Teacher ever 
 since I was fifteen years of age. I am so now, and I hope I shall continue to be all my 
 life." He did so continue, and so he still is ; through the memory of his life, and through 
 the words he has left us. he is emphatically the Educator ; kindling a desire for knowledge 
 and the love of progress. The increasing interest in the study of natural history, seen 
 everywhere, how much he did to awaken ! 
 
 While we look vipon that countenance, do we not all recall those words of Longfellow, 
 addressed to Agassiz on his fiftieth birthday, where Nature is represented as speaking : 
 
 " Come wander with me," she said, 
 " Into regions yet untrod ; 
 And read, what is still unread, 
 In the Manuscripts of God ! " 
 
 " So he wandered awny and away 
 
 With N;iture, the dear old Nurse, 
 Who sang to him night and day 
 The hymns of the Universe ! " 
 
 And even thus, by night and by day, to every true-hearted Naturalist, Nature pours 
 forth her celestial melodies : 
 
 " And whenever the way seems long, 
 And our hearts begin to fail, 
 She will sing a more wonderful song, — 
 Or tell a more marvellous tale ! " 
 
 The members of this Society know full well the deep joy that is awakened through 
 that harmony with Nature which comes from the study of her works. The vast collec- 
 
222 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 tions of wondei's treasured up within those walls, are infinitely more to the naturalist than 
 curiosities. They are revelations of eternal laws. They are the condensed history of 
 the ages. They converse, in a mysterious language, of things that were ; unfolding the 
 marvellous processes that are ever going on in the hidden laboratories of the earth. 
 
 According to our power of observation, the development of our faculties, the extent of 
 our knowledge, and the elevation of our own nature, will be what we shall hei-e find and 
 enjoy. Such collections as are within these walls will help us to ascertain whether the 
 works of the Almighty have a language which we can interpret. Here, according to our 
 susceptibility, will a love of knowledge be stimulated, the intellectual energies quickened, 
 and all that is best and noblest in our nature called into activity. 
 
 Not as a place for idle amusement were these walls erected. Not to gx'atify a vague 
 inquisitiveness were these collections gathered. Not for sjainning the gossamer threads of 
 fanciful speculation were these halls and lecture-rooms dedicated. But for the highest 
 culture of Avhich man is capable. For the acquirement of solid information. For the 
 opportunity of studjdng results gained by scientific explorers all over the globe. 
 We cannot personally accompany Sir Edward Parry and Sir John Richardson to the 
 Arctic regions, or with Humboldt climb Chimborazo, or penetrate the forests with Audu- 
 bon, or sail in "Her Majesty's ship" the "Beagle" round the world, but' we can come here 
 and study the result of such labors. All that is of deepest interest between the equator 
 and the two poles, is here brought together. In books of voyages and travels, in works 
 upon botany, zoology, and palaeontology ; throiigh specimens of rocks, ores, and fossils, 
 gathered from every zone : what branch of the natural sciences may not here be inves- 
 tigated ? Here is opportunity for observation and thought, analysis and comparison. 
 Who will affirm that such an institution is not an essential part of our whole educational 
 system, from the elementary School, u]) to the University ; yes, and onward tlu'ough that 
 continued education which shall extend to the utmost limit of life ? 
 
 This educational principle Avas recognized from the very commencement of the Society, 
 its avowed purpose being " the encouragement and promotion of the Science of Natural 
 History," which it was distinctly stated, the friends of the Society not only desired for 
 themselves, but that the interest might be extended far beyond their own circle. 
 
 They were, however, few in nximber, and with limited means ; a scant}^ library and a 
 meagre collection, with as yet but feeble response from the public. This now pop- 
 ulous city was then not much more than a village, and the very taste which the founders of 
 this institution sought to direct and foster, had first to l^e created. We can hardly know 
 how they surmounted the difficulties they had to overcome. Still they persevered until 
 at length they became established in a building of more adequate accommodation in Mason 
 Street. Through every stage, there was a recognition of the same educational principle, 
 and, as their opportunities were enlarged, this purpose became more and more prominent. 
 Not only scientific students and intelligent citizens availed themselves of its advantages, 
 but often entire schools, with their teachers, visited the Miiseum for a day's study ; the 
 curators and officers of the Society giving explanations in their several departments, thus 
 rendering the occasions of real service to both masters and pupils. 
 
 As the collections accumulated, and the beneficial influence of the Society became more 
 fully demonstrated, a larger field constantly opened ; and an appeal was at length made 
 to the Commonwealth for an appropriation of land upon which a more suitable building 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 223 
 
 might be erected. The motive urged was, that the institution would thus be established 
 " on a permanent basis of augmented usefulness." It was declared that the result of its 
 thirty years' efforts had been a rapid advancement of knowledge, with an almost uni- 
 versal dissemination of a love for the natural sciences, that now there was a general 
 recognition of its claims to an honorable rank in our system of public education, while it 
 was acknowledged that its labors tended to promote both the intellectual and matei^ial 
 prosperity of the Commonwealth. 
 
 Thus while it was well understood that scientific men and professional students were to 
 have every advantage within command of the Society, still it was also understood that 
 the classification of all the collections, and their entire arrangement, was to be such that 
 the public generally should have opportunity of gaining correct knowledge, and that 
 such practical aid should be rendered to our schools, as might be invakiable in its results. 
 
 My recollection of this Society goes back to the timC'when it had its rooms in the old 
 Athenamm in Pearl Street. The building in Mason Street I often frequented, and at the 
 time when the plea was made for aid from the Commonwealth, I had the privilege of 
 being one of the petitioners, and acted with the committee, addressing the members of 
 tlie Legislature at the State House. I recall, as if it werS yesterday, the interest of that 
 time. I had just returned from Europe, and dui'ing an absence of several years had 
 enjoyed opportunities of observing the working of such institutions abroad, and feeling 
 strongly that the educational principle was of the utmost importance, I dwelt upon it in my 
 statements. That this view had weight with the members of the Legislature, I have reason 
 to know, and upon this consideration the generous aid of the Commonwealth was granted. 
 
 I well remember an address by Professor Agassiz, at that time, in the House of Piepre- 
 sentatives, on which occasion he dwelt upon the desirableness of training the young, from 
 their earliest years, to observe and study the works of God in Nature, urging tliis as 
 among the l^est means of disciplining the intellectual powers, purifying the taste and ex- 
 alting the character. He insisted that the study of the phenomena of nature was one of 
 the most potent means of developing the human fixculties, and that such education should 
 be introduced into the schools as soon as practicable, and made an indispensable part of all 
 education; lie trusted tliat the time when the importance of this view would be fully 
 recognized was only so far remote as was necessary for the preparation of teachers capa- 
 ble of properly imparting this instruction. The only difficulty, he added, is to find 
 teachers equal to the task, and the task is no small one. The whole force of his argument 
 went to prove that an institution like this, to aid teacher,"? in their preparation, was of 
 inestimable importance. Here, as we may easily understand, those who have an aptitude 
 for such studies, may find materials, examples, illustrations, suggestions, all brought to 
 their hand arranged and classified. With such advantages the study of natural history 
 may be interwoven with the whole system of education, and become one of its most 
 essential features. 
 
 After this building was completed, additional funds were requisite, to carry out the work 
 contemplated. The Commonwealth had granted the land. Tiie building was erected by 
 generous contributions. Now, therefore, that forty thousand dollars in addition was to be 
 given by its earnest friends, it was not simply to render it more attractive to citizens and 
 strangers, but it was avowedly to make it " one of the first Educational Scientific 
 Institutions in the Country." 
 
224 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 This Society has not rested satisfied with making profession of this purpose. It has lived 
 up to its profession and its purposes have been faithfully carried out. Every promise has 
 been kept, and every reasonable anticipation realized. 
 
 Persons who are not thoroughly acquainted with this Society, can hardly understand 
 the amount of talent and labor which has been concentrated in this worli. What self- 
 sacrifice on the part of individuals, unremitting perseverance and toil have been necessary 
 to complete every arrangement. 
 
 No one knows better than yourself, Mr. President, that no money could pay for the 
 thought and labor which has been freely rendered here by the officers and friends of this 
 institution, while their love for the Society and the cause to which it is devoted, has been 
 in their estimation an ample reward. 
 
 After the dedication of the building, the work first inaugurated was a series of lectures 
 and addresses in this hall to the Teachers of the Schools of Boston. Between six and 
 seven hundred teachers availed themselves of the privilege. At the introductory meeting 
 the Governor of the Commonwealth, John A. Andrew ; the Mayor of the City, F. W. Lin- 
 coln ; the President of Harvard University, Thomas Hill ; the Secretary of the Board of 
 Education, Joseph White ; tl!e Superintendent of Schools, John D. Philbrick ; and 
 George B. Emerson, one of the earliest members of the Society, took part, making it a 
 memorable occasion. 
 
 After this there were lectures on successive weeks by Professor Jeffiies Wyman, 
 Dr. Asa Gray, Dr. Augustus A. Gould, Professor W. B. Rogers and others. These lectures 
 were amply illustrated, covering botany, conchology, and general zoology. The instructors 
 of over tliirty thousand children were present. The ablest scientific men in the country 
 on those days imparted freely of their knowledge, suggesting the best means of con- 
 veying instruction, and giving a fresh impulse to the educators assembled, who, on their 
 part, warmly appreciated the interest thus shown, and hailed it as one of the new instru- 
 mentalities for their improvement. 
 
 This hope on their part has not been disappointed. The Society has been consistently 
 faithful to its avowed purpose, and whenever their limited funds have been inadequate 
 to meet the necessary expenditure, generous assistance has been liberally furnished by 
 public-spirited friends. 
 
 To render the collections of the Society more instructive, a careful rearrangement has 
 been made throughout, involving immense labor. Thus through all the departments the 
 educational requirements have been recognized, and the successive stages in the history of 
 creation are visibly unfolded to the eye, exemplifying the actual results of scientific knowl- 
 edge and principles. The hasty observer can have but a feeble conception of the sublime 
 meaning embodied in this careful and scholarly arrangement, but the more fully it is com- 
 prehended the more profound will be the appreciation. 
 
 Teachers and pupils may often be seen together, thoughtfully pursuing their investiga- 
 tions from hall to hall. Some with artistic skill making drawings, others taking notes, and 
 many more lost in astonishment, and filled with admiration and delight. 
 
 But added to this, regular classes have been foruied to whom systematic instruction has 
 been given. The study of natural history having been definitely introduced into the pub- 
 lic schools, a new zeal has been awakened among the teachers. With some teachers, 
 additional knowledge is a necessity, while with all it is evidently a pleasure. The differ- 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 225 
 
 ent branches are pursued under the guidance of able professors in connection with this 
 Society. What is known as the " Teacliers' School of Science " has acquired positive im- 
 portance. Professor Hyatt, the Custodian, has been unceasing in his efforts, and has been 
 gratified at the extraordinary success which has followed his labors. This special work 
 has been going on for the last ten years, but never with such marked results as during 
 the past year. The number of applicants for admission to these lectures has been four 
 times larger than in any previous period. Over six hundred persons recorded their 
 names as students, while the average attendance on each pleasant day was five hundred. 
 There have been distributed among these students more than one hundred thousand speci- 
 mens. Yes, during the present year there has actually been given away — not one thou- 
 sand, or ten thousand, or fifty thousand, but — though one can hardly credit it — one 
 hundred thousand specimens, all of which may be studied by the teachers at their homes, 
 or used for illustration in their schools. 
 
 We talk of the wonders of the telephone ; yet here is a still more felicitous method of 
 communication; six hundred intelligent teachei's, going forth froni this place to convey 
 the knowledge gained to thirty thousand young people, full of life and eager to learn. 
 Thus has this Society become more emphatically than ever before — an educational power 
 in tlie community. 
 
 Still it would be unjust to infer, from the flicts wdiich have been considered, that the 
 larger portion of the attention of this Society has been given to teaching even instructors. 
 Accomplished naturalists, through its collections and its library, find ample material to 
 extend their investigations. Many come here to test their theories, or more fully to 
 establish their conclusions. Besides which, many of the members, in the course of the 
 year (on their individual account, and for professional purposes), visit distant parts of the 
 country, or take even a wider circuit. They may be found along the whole coast of New 
 England, searching her rocks and sands, or dredging in the deep-sea, or exploring the 
 Gulf-stream, or among the Florida reefs, or skirting the shores of the Great Lakes, or 
 passing down the Valley of the Mississippi, or climbing the Rocky Mountains and the 
 Sierra Nevada, or descending the Western slope, or threading the Pacific Coast, or pen- 
 etrating to Alaska, and China, and Japan. And when they return, they come to tell us of 
 their experiences, bringing additions to our collections, and recounting in addresses and 
 lectures the result of their scientific investigations. Has not one spoken of Iceland, and 
 another of Labrador ? One of Indian relics and Westei'n mounds ? One of Colorado 
 W'ith its extensive parks and prolific mines of silver and gold ? One of the Calaveras and 
 Mariposa groves with their colossal trees, the famous Sequoia gigantea, and the Yosemite 
 Valley with its unequalled waterfiiUs and stupendous granite domes ? One of Alaska, and 
 another of China and Japan? 
 
 It is certainly not claiming too mucli when we say that at the regular meetings of this 
 Society one may hear as interesting and instructive accounts as can be found recorded in 
 all literature. And thus to members, and to all who have the privilege of being present, 
 such opportunities are exceedingly attractive. These addresses and lectures are not the 
 less entertaining because they are instructive. The stories of the Arabian Nights are not 
 more wonderful than are often these narratives. Travellers' Stories i\\^y are, but none 
 the less true because stranger than fiction. Sindbad the sailor saw no greater treasures 
 than are those which at times are added to our collections. Some of these are as of yes- 
 
226 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 terday, while others take the mind back to that early time "-when the morning stars sang 
 together and all the sons of God shouted for joy ! " 
 
 Mr. President, I congratulate you on this interesting annivei-sary, and I am sure the 
 members will unite with me in saying that the time of your official connection with this 
 Society covers one of the l)riglitest periods of its history. 
 
 At the close of the address of the Rev. Mr. Waterston, the President, ex^iressing the 
 great satisfaction felt by the Society at such a large attendance on the part of its friends, 
 invited all present, with the aid of the "Introduction to a General Guide to the Museum," 
 which had been distributed among them, to look over the collections, either then or at a 
 more convenient time. The lateness of the hour prevented more than a very cursory 
 examination of them. 
 
 In the evening a reception was given by the President, at his residence in Newbury 
 Street, to the memljers of the Society and man}' ladies and gentlemen interested in its 
 work. Thus the day was appropriately closed in the enjoyment of social intercourse, and 
 all parted, feeling that the celel^ration of the Semi-Centennial Anniversary of the founda- 
 tion of the Society had been thoroughly successful. 
 
 The annual meeting of the Society was held on the fifth day of May, Vice-President 
 S. H. Scudder being in the Chair. 
 
 After the reading of the records of previous meetings the report of the Custodian, of the 
 Secretary and of the Treasurer were presented. From these, abstracts will l)e here given. 
 
 The Custodian commenced by stating that in some respects the official year just closed 
 was one of the most important in the histoi-y of the Society. It was marked not alone 
 by being the termination of the first half century of its existence, but by the fact that 
 the Museum had begun at last the career for which preparation had been making during 
 the past ten years. 
 
 Of the pulilications he remarked that they were very creditable, Init that it should not 
 be forgotten that paucity of resources had caused the frequent refusal of important 
 papers ; that this was greatly to be deplored, since properly illustrated publication is often 
 the only reward of scientific liibor, and the prompt issue of memoirs is essential' to the 
 successful attainment of the chief object of all scientific associations that seek to encour- 
 age the spirit of original research. 
 
 The material results, as exhibited in the collections, the lihi-ary, and the publications, 
 were very valuable as credentials of a prudent and economical administration. The Soci- 
 ety might rest well satisfied with the position which these had earned for it in the estima- 
 tion of a community which rightfvdly demands such guarantees of the proper use of trust 
 funds. These, however, were not the best fruits of its exertions. These seem to lie in 
 the fact that the community is beginning dimly to comprehend that an institution of this 
 kind creates an atmospliere around it which is beneficial to them and to their children, 
 and also that it works directly fi)r their intellectual improvement. 
 
 The celebration of the anniversary of the formation of the Society was dwelt upon at 
 some leno-th bv the Custodian, but as a full account of this has alreadvbeen (^ven it is not 
 necessary to repeat his remarks. Much was said by him also relative to the resignation of 
 the President which will be here omitted. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 227 
 
 The preparation of the general guide to the Museum, the numbering of the cases, the 
 lettering of the rooms and galleries, and the construction of two new floor cases were 
 mentioned as liaving been completed during the year. Synoptical collections for the 
 departments of Mineralogy, Geology and Palaeontology had also been made and were or 
 soon would be on exhibition. 
 
 In the department of Geology much had been done by Mr. Crosby, assisted by Miss 
 Carter. About 2500 specimens of rocks had been catalogued and nearly 2000 of these 
 mounted and labelled. These included a collection of specimens illustrating a synopsis of 
 the classiiication of rocks, a systematic or lithological collection, a collection illustrating 
 structural geology, and one of historical geology. 
 
 The important subject of dynamical geology, the Custodian stated, must remain unrep- 
 resented until floor cases could be furnished. The lack of means at present prevents this 
 from being done. The principal accession to the department of Geology consisted of four 
 hundred specimens contributed by Mr. Crosby. 
 
 The Palaeontological collection had been increased by a small but quite valuable series 
 of Crinoids purchased by the Laboratory fund. 
 
 The labelling and cataloguing of the Mollusca had been completed by Mr. Van Vleck, 
 assisted by Miss Washburn. To this department a very valuable addition had been made 
 by the purchase of the Blaschka models. These were made of glass and represented very 
 closely the living animal. There were 74 specimens in all, representing 17 genera and 44 
 species of the soft bodied Cephalopods and naked Gasteropoda. 
 
 The Corals and the Echinoderms had been rearranged, mounted and labelled during the 
 year, this work having also been done by Mr. Van Vleck, assisted by Miss Washburn. 
 
 In the department of Entomology, Mr. Henshaw had been engaged in selecting speci- 
 mens for the formation of a synoptical collection representing the anatomy of insects, and 
 considerable progress had been made by him in identifying and arranging the species of 
 the general systematic collections. 
 
 The depai'tment of Comparative Anatomy had been entirely rearranged so as to bring 
 it into harmony with the rest of the collections of the Museum. In the wall cases of ' 
 Room G, a synoptical collection had been placed illustrating the type characteristics and 
 anatomical peculiarities of the different classes of Vertebrates. A similar collection of 
 Invertebrates will occupy the two floor cases which had just been erected in the same room. 
 The osteological portion of the collection in the main hall remained nearly as before, but 
 the special homologies of the limbs and systems of organs, etc., among Vertebrates had 
 been placed in Room F. To Dr. W. F. Whitney, the Society is indebted for the entire 
 rearrangement of these last, and for much assistance in other portions of the work. 
 
 The identification and labelling of the New England collection of fishes had been com- 
 menced by Mr. Van Vleck. A large number of species obtained at Annisquam by the 
 efibrts of the Custodian, had been added to this collection. 
 
 Of the Amphibia, 75 species had been identified, arranged and catalogued. Of the New 
 England species, of which there are 25 in all, 23 were reported as in the collection. 
 
 In referring to the department of Ornithology, the Custodian alluded to the death of 
 the distinguished ornithologist, Dr. Thomas M. Brewer, and of the great service rendered 
 by him to the Society in this department, whilst in charge of its general collection. To 
 
228 , HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 his exertions also the Society owes its fine collection of eggs and nests, and also the New 
 England collection of birds. This last he would have undoubtedly made conij^lete had he 
 lived a year or two longer. 
 
 Some work had been done in arranging and labelling several of the groups of birds, by 
 Mr. Henshaw, assisted by Miss Washburn. 
 
 The terse remarks made by the Custodian upon the mammals need no abbreviation or 
 variation. They are therefore given verbatim : "The less said about the mammals the 
 better. They are a disgrace to the institution, but there is no way of getting a respectable 
 collection except by buying specimens, and this is impossible for us." 
 
 In the department of Botany the Custodian stated that considerable progress had been 
 made towards the foi'mation of a synoptical collection of plants, so that each order and 
 some of the sub-orders shall be represented by one species which will be mounted, framed, 
 and appropriately labelled. Already ninety specimens, representing eighty-five orders 
 and sub-orders had been finished. The arrangements of the general collection according 
 to Bentham and Hooker's Genera Plantarum had progressed under the direction of Mr. 
 Cummings, and much had been done towards supjjlying deficiencies in this collection. 
 
 It had been the habit of the Custodian during the vacation period of the summer 
 months to pass much tune in dredging and fishing ofl^ the coast, with the purpose of ob- 
 taining for the Society specimens necessary for the completion of the New England collec- 
 tions, and in this work he had been aided by assistants in the Museum and others. Of the 
 labors of the previous season he thus sjjeaks : " The summer of 1879 was spent at Annis- 
 quam by the Custodian and a party consisting of Mr. Van Vleck, Mr. E. G. Gardiner and 
 Mr. E. R. Warren. The collecting was more successful than during the previous season, 
 but still the need of a large boat and greater facilities is imperative." To sujDply this need, 
 the Custodian intended to have another and more capacious boat ready for use before an- 
 other summer. 
 
 The Laboratory. In this department there had been much accomplished of satisfying 
 character. Instruction had been given as usual to classes from the Boston University and 
 the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Besides these another class of twenty-six 
 persons, all teachers except four, had entered upon a course which is to last for two win- 
 ters, or about one hundred hours, two hours being devoted to it every Saturday morning. 
 A small class of advanced students have been taking a course in biology, given by the 
 assistant, Mr. Van Vleck. 
 
 Teachers School of Science. It will be I'emembered that at the time of the last annual 
 meeting of the Society, and when the report for the previous year was presented, the 
 very successful course of lectures to the teachers then in progress was not quite com- 
 pleted. Those given by the Custodian were soon after brought to a satisfactory close, and 
 a series of five on mineralogy followed, delivered by Mr. Burbank. These were very 
 instructive, and the interest in them was shown by the average attendance being kept up 
 to the last. A geological excursion by the lecturer and a jsart of the teachers was made 
 to Marblehead after the course was finished. 
 
 The report of the Secretary, Mr. Burgess, was very gratifying, giving as it did statistics 
 showing nmch activity and progress in the several departments mentioned. 
 
 Of members, twenty-six Associate had been elected during the year, but no Corporate, 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 229 
 
 Corresponding or Honorary. Five Associate or Corporate members had resigned, and 
 four had died. The whole number of Associate and Corporate members was stated to be 
 451. 
 
 There had been an average attendance of thirty-nine persons at the sixteen general 
 meetings of the Society. The largest number present at any one time was eighty-one, 
 the smallest nineteen. Eight meetings of the section of Entomology had been held, the 
 average attendance at which had been eight persons. The meetings of the botanical 
 section had been given up in consequence of the non-attendance of a sufficient number of 
 members to render them interesting. 
 
 In December of the past year, by consent of the Society, the section of Microscopy was 
 revived, and monthly meetings had since been held, though without a veiy promising 
 attendance. 
 
 Of the library, the Secretary stated that the additions to it during the year exceeded 
 those of any other in the Society's history. These were summarized thus : 
 
 Svo. 410. Fo. Tolah. 
 
 Volumes 348 69 2 419 
 
 Parts of Volumes 947 156 170 1273 
 
 Pamphlets 335 52 2 389 
 
 Maps aud Charts . . . . • 99 
 
 In all 2180 
 
 Besides the constant use made of the books by members and others at the Library, 
 there had been borrowed 1110 volumes during the year, by one hundred and twenty- 
 three persons. 
 
 Of the publications two parts of the twentieth volume of the Proceedings, and a third 
 article for the third volume of the Memoirs had been issued, the last being a revision of 
 the Palaeozoic Cockroaches of the world, by Mr. Samuel H. Scudder, 11.3 pages, 5 plates. 
 Of " Occasional Papers " a volume had been published, being the third of the series, con- 
 taining Mr. W. 0. Crosby's contributions to the Geology of Eastern Massachusetts, 266 
 pages, with 5 plates and a colored map. 
 
 In addition to these. No. 6 of the series of Guides for Science Teaching, by Professor 
 Hyatt, had been printed, also a pamphlet introductory to the general guide to the Mu- 
 seum, also by Professor Hyatt. Copies of this last publication were presented to the 
 audience at the celebration of the semi-centennial anniversary of the Society. 
 
 The Committee on Publications having suggested that a special volume should be pub- 
 lished commemorative of the fiftieth anniversary of the Society, the Council voted that 
 this should be done provided a sufficient number of subscribers could be obtained for such 
 volume at the rate of ten dollars a copy, to justify the necessary expenditure. To ensure 
 the success of this project the Rev. Robert C. Waterston, with characteristic generosity, 
 had already given one hundred dollars. It was understood that the volume should contain 
 a history of the Society, and a series of scientific papers, and be entitled " Anniversary 
 Memoirs of the Boston Society of Natural History." 
 
 Walker Prizes. Relative to the Walker Prizes, the Secretary stated that no essay had 
 been presented on the subject proposed for 1880, viz. : 
 
 " The evidences of the extension of the Tertiary deposits seaward along the coast of 
 Massachusetts." 
 
230 
 
 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 Mention was made of the award of the Grand "Walker prize during the year to Dr. 
 Leidj, but as this has been particuhxrly related on a former page, no further statement is 
 required here. 
 
 The Treasurer's report showed that there had Ijeen an excess of expenditures over the 
 receipts of |698.95. As, however, the payments included the $1000 awarded for the 
 Grand Walker prize, and as such prize is only payable once in five years, the spirit of the 
 determination that expenditures should be kept witliin the limits of receipts was not vio- 
 lated. 
 
 At the election, the officers chosen were as follows. The full list is here presented that 
 it may be seen in whose hands the destiny of the Society was entrusted at the close of 
 the first half century of its existence, and at the commencement of a new era. 
 
 PRESIDENT, 
 
 Samuel H. Scudder. 
 
 nCE-PRESWENTS. 
 
 John Cummtngs, F. W. Putnam. 
 
 CnSTODIAlf, 
 
 Alpheus Hyatt. 
 
 honoraut secretary, 
 S. L. Abbot. 
 
 SECRETAJtr, 
 
 Edwaed Burgess. 
 
 treasurer, 
 
 Charles W. Scudder. 
 
 librarian, 
 
 Edward Burgess. 
 
 Committees on Departments of the Museum. 
 
 IIINERAZS. 
 
 Thomas T. Bouve, 
 R. II. Richards, 
 M. E. Wadsworth. 
 
 OEOLOGY. 
 Wn.UAM H. NiLES, 
 
 G. Frederic Wright, 
 L. S. Burbank. 
 
 PALAEONTOLOOr. 
 
 Thomas T. Bouve, 
 N. S. Shaler. 
 
 BOTANY. 
 JOHX CUMMINGS, 
 
 Charles J. Sprague, 
 J. Amory Lowell. 
 
 MICROSCOPY. 
 
 Samuel Wells, 
 R. C. Greenlfaf,- 
 B. Joy Jeffries. 
 
 comparative anatomy. 
 Thomas Dwight, 
 W. F. Whitney. 
 
 RADIATES, CRUSTACEANS AND WORMS. 
 
 H. A. Hagen, 
 Alexander Agassiz, 
 l. f. pourtales. 
 
 moll uses. 
 Edward S. Morse, 
 J. Henry Blake. 
 
 INSECT.^. 
 
 Samuel H. Scudder, 
 Edward Burgess, 
 A. S. Packard, Jr. 
 
 FISHES AND REPTILES. 
 
 F. W. Putnam, 
 Theodore Lyman, 
 S. W. Garman. 
 
 BIRDS. 
 
 J. A. Allen, 
 Samuel Cabot. 
 
 MAMMALS. 
 
 J. A. Allen, 
 E. L. Mark, 
 Groege L. Goodale. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 231 
 
 On the announcement of the ballot the President elect said, " that in occupying the 
 position to which he had been called, he could only express the wish that the choice had 
 fallen elsewhere, for he felt he owed the Society any service he might be able to render. 
 Any one as long acquainted with its government as he had been, must be alive to the 
 responsibilities of its highest office, but knowing the hearty support which would be given 
 to one aiming to carry out the objects of our Society with singleness of purpose, he could 
 not foster such misgivings as naturally arose in undertaking them." 
 
 Mr. Scudder then sketched briefly the Society's work, more particularly dwelling upon 
 its chief aim, popular instruction. The highly complimentary remarks towards the writer 
 and compiler of this history which followed, not only made by Mr. Scudder but by many 
 others, and the action taken ])y the Society, were of too personal a character to admit of 
 his presenting them here. Nothing certainly could have been more grateful to his feel- 
 ings than such a manifestation at the close of his long official life as President of the 
 Society. 
 
 The Standing Committees elected by the Council for the official year 1880-81 were as 
 follows : Library, Edward Burgess, W. H. Niles, W. F. Whitney. FubUcations, S. H. Scud- 
 der, S. L. Abbot, Edward Burgess, Alpheus Hyatt, J. A. Allen. Museimi, Alpheus Hyatt, 
 S. H. Scudder, Thomas T. Bouve. John Cummings, Edward Burgess ; Walker prizes, 
 William B. Rogers, Alexander Agassiz, F. W. Putnam. Ilemhershlp, S. H. Scudder, M. E. 
 Wadsworth, B. Joy Jeffries, Edward Burgess, George L. Goodale. Lectures and meetings, 
 S. H. Scudder, M. E. Wadsworth, Edward Burgess, F. W. Putnam, W. H. Niles. Bird cer- 
 tificates, Edward Burgess, J. A. Allen. Trustees, Thomas T. Bouve, John Cummings, C. 
 W. Scudder. 
 
 The fifth decade had now passed. If it could be said of the fourth that it was a period 
 of great events in the history of the Society, the same could be said of. the fifth, thouoh 
 those of the latter were of a less striking character. During the fourth, large donations 
 and bequests were made, enaljling the Society to erect its magnificent museum and to 
 take a position among the leading institutions of the kind in the world, publishing freely 
 its Memoirs and Proceedings, and making exchanges with kindred societies, thus acquirino- 
 for itself respect at home and abroad. During the fifth, scarcely a donation or Ijequest 
 of any amount was received, though the lack of means was felt in every department. 
 This prevented such expansion of the work of the Society as was deemed desirable, and 
 made it dependent on the individual contributions of its members, mainly upon one of 
 them, to accomplish much that it was able to do. What particularly chai-acterized the 
 last decade was the great change effected in its plans and purposes, but more in its modes 
 of action and in the arrangement of its collections; not through revolution but by evolu- 
 tion, the result of advanced views in relation to museums and teachintr, crowinti- out of 
 the experience of the Society itself and of kindred institutions at home and abroad. No 
 longer would it suffice tiiat great collections should be made in the different departments 
 of natural history, however well arranged and labelled the specimens might be in each; 
 it was necessary that all shoiald be subordinated to a conqn-'ehensive plan, so that they 
 should bear a proper relation to each other, and, moreover, include synoptical series wliich 
 should furnish to those seeking knowledge a key to the proper understanding of the 
 whole. A further development of thought upon the Museum led to the formation of a 
 
232 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 separate local New England collection in each department. Now to accomplish this, and 
 to provide for the sal'ety of the fost increasing collections, it was ahsohitely necessary not 
 only to prepare rooms unfinished at the conunencement of the decade, but to reconstruct 
 all the cases first erected in the building because of their defective character, as has been 
 mentioned on an earlier page. This change alone, witli tlie necessary relabelling and 
 other work upon the specimens, was the laljor of years, but one of vast importance to the 
 future influence of the Museum as an educational instrumentality. This great work could 
 not have been done in the thorough manner it was. had not the more important change 
 been first made of placing at the head of the Museum a scientific man whose single duty 
 it was to act as a Custodian, and to furnish him with paid assistants to work upon the 
 collections. Fortunately for the Society, Mr. Alpheus Hyatt, a man of large natural 
 endowments and of broad comprehensive views, was elected to this office. To him was 
 due the conception of the plan finally carried out for the arrangement of the whole Mu- 
 seum. It was the good fortune of the writer to be associated with him in this work and 
 to give the influence of liis official position as President of the Society in having it fully 
 and faithfully done 
 
 The financial resources of the Society were somewhat impaired during the decade by 
 the fitting up of the rooms alluded to and the reconstruction of the cases. It also suf- 
 fered by the great fire of I87-J, having held a considerable amount of stock in insurance 
 companies which became worthless, and by being called upon to pay assessments to mutual 
 companies in which its property was insured. If thus for reasons not arising from any 
 fault or liad management the income of the Society was lessened, the Council may well 
 point with satisfaction to the fact, that the ordinary expenses were not allowed to exceed 
 the income. To prevent this from being the case, however, much was left undone that 
 ought to have been done, and it was only by the pecuniary aid of neighbors and friends 
 that the Society was recently able to enclose the grounds about its Museum with a suitable 
 curbing of stone, and properly grade them. 
 
 The Society lost by death during these ten years, many of its most highly valued and 
 honored members, Louis Agassiz, Dr. JeflTries W^mian, Dr. Charles Pickering, Edward 
 Pickering, Dr. John B. S. Jackson and Dr. Thomas M. Brewer, all of whom were conspic- 
 uous in its annals. It lost, too, by removal, some who in the early part of the decade 
 were prominent in its proceedings, one of whom was Dr. Sterry Hunt, the eminent geolo- 
 gist, and another. Dr. Samuel Kneeland, who for many years was a very efficient officer 
 and member, and often contributed specimens of considerable value to the collections. It 
 may truly be said of the latter that during his long connection with the Society he sel- 
 dom, if ever, left home without bringing back with him something for presentation. He 
 was almost a constant attendant too upon the meetings, and frequently took an active part 
 in them. 
 
 The memliers of the Society who took the most prominent part in the proceedings at 
 tlie general meetings and at those of the sections during the first five years of the decade 
 were S. H. Scmdder, Dr. Thomas M. Brewer, Alpheus Hyatt, Dr. H. A. Hagen, F. W. Put- 
 nam, N. S. Slialer, Dr. T. Sterry Hunt, Thomas T. Bouve, Dr. Samuel Kneeland, Dr. 
 Charles T. Jackson, W. H. Niles,*E. S. Morse, Dr. Charles Pickering, Edwin Bicknell, F. 
 G. Sanborn, Charles Stodder, Dr. Thomas Dwight, Jr., Dr. W. G. Farlow, Edward Burgess, 
 R. C. Greenleaf, Prof C. H. Hitchcock, Dr. C. S. Minot, B. P. Mann, Rev. J. B. Perry, L. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 233 
 
 S. Burb.ank and J. A. Allen. Tliose who took the most prominent part dnring the last 
 five years were S. H. Scudder, Alpheus Hyatt, F. W. Putnam, M. E. Wadsworth, Edward 
 Burgess, W. H. Niles, W. 0. Crosby, E. P. Austin, Dr. H. A. Hagen, Dr. Tlioraas M. 
 Brewer, Dr. W. G. Farlow, Dr. C. S. Minot, Thomas T. Bouve, Dr. T. Sterry Hunt, L. S. 
 Burbank, Dr. Samviel Kneeland, Dr. B. Joy Jeffries, Rev. George F. Wright, and Dr. 
 G. L. Goodale. 
 
 The average attendance each year during the decade at the general meetings was as 
 follows : 
 
 1870-71 18 meetings, an attendance of 40 1875-76 18 meetings, an attendance of 33 
 
 71-72 18 « « 32 76-77 19 " " 33 
 
 72-73 18 « « 26 77-78 16 " " 35 
 
 73-74 16 " « 54 78-79 16 " " 31 
 
 74-75 18 " " 57 79-80 16 " " 40 
 
 The average of all these is somewhat larger than during any previous ten years, being 
 thirty-eight. That of the previous ten years was thirty-six. The great increase of attend- 
 ance in the years 1873-74 and 1874-75 was due largely perhaps to the change made in 
 giving notices of the meetings, the custom being first adopted in the fall of 1873 to desig- 
 nate the subjects that were to be bi'ought before them. 
 
 The attendance at the meetings of the sections was as follows : 
 Of Entomology, 
 1870-71 5 meetings, average attendance, 10 1875-76 4 meetings, average attendance, 8 
 
 71-72 7 " " "11 76-77 1 « "8 
 
 72-73 7 " « " 9 77-78 6 " " " 9 
 
 73-74 6 " " « 12 78-79 9 " " " 10 
 
 74-75 5 " " « 8 79-80 7 " " " 8 
 
 Of Microscopy, 
 
 1870-71 5 meetings, average attendance, 11 1873-74 I meeting, attendance, 12 
 
 71-72 5 « " " 12 74-75 2 meetings, average . " 9 
 
 72-73 1 meeting, attendance, 12 
 
 The little interest manifested in this section led to its dissolution in 1875. Its revival 
 was authorized by the Council in 1879, and one meeting followed with an attendance of 
 nine persons ; it was the only one. 
 
 Of Botany, section formed in 1876, 
 
 1876-77 8 meetings, average attendance, 27 1878-79 6 meetings, average attendance, 7 
 
 77-78 2 " " " 18 
 
 Interest in this section was shown as long as able botanists appeared to address the 
 members. As soon as this ceased to be the case the attendance fell off". 
 
 The large and important part of the work of the Society done through the Committees 
 of the Council makes it proper to give the names of all such members as have served 
 upon these during the decade. They are as follows : 
 
 On the Library. C. K. Dillaway, J. E. Cabot, Dr. T. M. Brewer, William T. Brigham, 
 Dr. A. S. Packard, Jr., Edward Burgess, William H. Niles, Samuel H. Scudder, Alpheus 
 Hyatt, N. S. Slialer, J. A. Allen and S. W. Garman. 
 
 On Walker Frizes. Dr. Jeffries Wyman, C. J. Spi-ague, Thomas T. Bouve, Dr. Asa 
 Gray, Alexander Agassiz and William B. Rogers. 
 
234 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF. THE 
 
 On Lectures. Thomas T. Bouve, Rev. Joshua A. Swan, John Cummings, John D. 
 Runkle, Alpheus Hyatt, Edward Burgess, Dr. James C. White, F. W. Putnam, Dr. B. Joy 
 Jeffries, M. E. Wadsworth and William II. Niles. 
 
 On Publications. Thomas T. Bouve, Dr. Samuel L. Abbot, Dr. Thomas Dwight, Dr. 
 Thomas M. Brewer, Dr. A. S. Packard, Jr., Rev. Joshua A. Swan, Edward Burgess, Samuel 
 H. Scudder, J. A. Allen, Alpheus Hyatt and John D. Runkle. 
 
 On the Finance Committee and as Trustees. Charles J. Sprague, Thomas T. Bouve, 
 Edward Pickering, John Cummings and Charles W. Scudder. 
 
 On Meetinrjs. J. A. Allen, Dr. A. S. Packard, Jr., Dr. J. B. S. Jackson, Dr. H. A. 
 Hagen, Edward Burgess, Dr. James C. White, N. S. Shaler, L. S. Burbank. 
 
 On Nominations for Membership. Dr. S. L. Abbot, F. W. Putnam, Samuel H. Scudder, 
 Dr. B. Joy Jeffries, Edward Burgess, Dr. Thomas Dwight, Samuel Wells, Alpheus Hyatt, 
 Thomas T. Boiive. 
 
 On the Museum. Alpheus Hyatt, Thomas T. Bouve, John Cummings, Samuel H. Scud- 
 der, Edward Burgess and F. W. Putnam. 
 
 The publications of the Society daring the decade were, the second volume of its 
 Memoirs in quarto, -560 pages, containing twenty important papers read or presented at 
 its meetings, and three numbers of the third volume ; a part of the 13th volume of the 
 Proceedings of the Society, not issued at the time of the annual meeting in 1870, with 
 six full volumes from the 14th to the 19th inclusive, and three parts of the 20tli volume; 
 two volumes of its Occasional Papers, one, The Spiders of the United States, a collection 
 of the Arachnological writings of Nicholas Marcellus Hentz, M.D.; the other, Contribu- 
 tions to the Geology of Eastern Massachusetts, by W. 0. Crosby ; six numbers of a series 
 of Guides for Science Teaching ; also a pamphlet introductory to a general guide to the 
 Museum to be hereafter published. 
 
 The library had increased largely since 1870, when the whole number of its volumes 
 was g'ven as 9396, and of pamphlets as 2677. The number of volumes at close of the 
 decade, counting them as bound, whether containing more than one, as was often the case, 
 or not, and estimating the unbound parts in proper proportion, was over 14,000, and that 
 of the pamphlets including ma^js and charts, was but slightly short of 6000. 
 
 Before proceeding to express such general views upon the Society, as press them- 
 selves upon the mind after sketching its history, and in view of its present condition, it 
 will not be amiss to refer to the original members yet living, after the lapse of half a 
 century since they took part in its formation. Of these there are four, Theophilus Par- 
 sons, Dr. Edward Reynolds, Dr. D. Humphreys Storer and Mr. George B. Emerson, all 
 men who have distinguished themselves in their several walks of life, and whose associ- 
 ation would have conferred honor upon any Society. Two of these. Dr. Storer and 
 Mr. Emerson, were active members during many years, and both of them held high 
 offices in it. Of the former and of his services to the Society, a full notice has been given 
 in these pages. It is a pleasant duty to present here some account of the latter. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 235 
 
 George B. Emeeson. 
 
 George B. Emerson was born at Wells, Maine, then a part of Massachusetts, September 
 12th, 1797. His father was Dr. Emerson, a well known physician, and a man of culti- 
 vation and taste. He graduated at Harvard in 1784, and was an excellent Latin scholar, 
 besides being well read in history and English literature. His house was a favorite 
 resort for the judges and lawyers who attended the sessions of the Supreme Court of 
 Massachusetts, held semi-annually at York and at Portland, and young Emerson thus 
 early became acquainted with such men as Judge Jackson and the reporter, Dudley 
 Atkins Tyng, gentlemen distinguished for their ability, as well as the refinement of their 
 manners. 
 
 Dr. Emerson was chairman of the School Committee, and always was particular to see 
 that the master was a well educated man, and a proper person to have the charge of 
 children. His sons were sent to school during the winter season, but kept at home 
 during the summer, where the practical education that they received on their father's 
 farm, both in the knowledge which it imparted of common ways of country life, and 
 familiarity with conunon things, and in the information which they derived from acquaint- 
 ance with the vegetable and animal lil'e around them in the fields, woods, rivers and sea, 
 is spoken of by the subject of this notice as being of the most valuable character. The 
 father evidently evinced' great good judgment in his management of the education of liis 
 boys. 
 
 Young Emerson early familiarized himself with the trees, shrubs and plants of the 
 neighborhood, reading eagerly all books on botan}' which came in his way, and learning 
 what he could from his father relating to that science. He also was an interested reader 
 of books of travel and poetry, and at the proper time was led to the study of Latin and 
 Greek, becoming familiar in certain ways with the classics before entering Dummer Acad- 
 emy at Byfield, where he went to prepare for Harvard. He entered college in 1813, 
 being in the class with Caleb Gushing, George Bancroft, S. J. May, Samuel E. Sewall, and 
 other since well-known men. His experience in college was a pleasant and profitable one, 
 varied as it so often was in the case of boys from the remote country districts, by occa- 
 sional teaching of country schools during the long vacations. While at Harvard he very 
 nearly lost his life by the experiment tried both by himself and his chum, of cutting 
 down the term of sleep from the normal quantity to four hours a day ; devoting the time 
 stolen from needed rest to over-study. A severe illness and long consequent sojourn at 
 home were the price of this ill-considered action. 
 
 He graduated in 1817, and after recovering from another severe illness, the result of 
 overwork, accepted a position offered him of master of an excellent private school, at 
 Lancaster, Mass. Hei'e continuous trouble with his eyes, brought on by inattention to 
 general health and too much study previously, was a great annoyance to him ; still his 
 school was a great success, his ability as a teacher being fully exemplified. He continued 
 at Lancaster for two years, and then accepted an invitation from President Kirkland to 
 become a tutor in the mathematical department at Harvard. Here he was again thrown 
 on terms of intimacy with some of his early college friends, Caleb Gushing, Edward Everett 
 and others, besides meeting most agreeably George Ticknor, then a lecturer on French lit- 
 
236 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 erature, Professor Farrar, Dr. Bowditch, the great mathematician, Rev. Mr. Norton and 
 other prominent men of the time. 
 
 A trip to the White Mountains ahout this period, with a party of his college friends, is 
 most delightfully described in his little volume of " Reminiscences." 
 
 In 1820 was established in Boston the English Classical School, and Mr. Emerson was 
 chosen its fii-st principal. After a remarkabl_v successful experience as teacher in this insti- 
 tution, he in 182.3 organized his celebrated school for young ladies, which was for many 
 years regarded as unequalled in the educational advantages to be enjoyed by all who were 
 in it as pupils. 
 
 In the formation of the Boston Society of Natural History, Mr. Emerson took an active 
 part, and in 1837 he was chosen President. At that time the scientific survey of the 
 State was determined by the members to be of the utmost desirability, and Mr. Emerson 
 was deputed to memorialize the State government upon the subject. This he did, laying 
 his memorial before Governor Everett, by whom it was most cordially and graciously 
 received. In due time the Governor informed Mr. Emerson that the legislature, both 
 houses of Avhich justly appreciated his memorial, had authorized the executive to appoint 
 six proper persons to conduct the survey of tlie State, and had passed an appropriation to 
 cover the expenses thereof; and he reqviested that Mr. Emerson should suggest the names 
 of such scientific men as he thought competent for the work. The result was that the 
 gentlemen appointed Avere almost entirely those named by him. The Governor desired 
 that he should hold hhnself responsible for all the reports presented ; but his friends in 
 the Society, knowing his' ability, were not satisfied except by his taking a more active part 
 in the survey ; and he eventually divided the botany with Dr. Dewey, the doctor taking 
 all other plants and Mr. Emerson the trees and shriibs. The report which he subsequently 
 made to the legislature was not only admirable in its scientific features, but was most 
 charming from a literary point of view. It takes one out with the wi'iter into the fields 
 and woods, and makes the reader at once the interested student and the pei'sonal friend, so 
 to speak, of the tree or shrub which the writer may be describing at the time. This 
 report was made up from tlie observations and study of nine successive years, nearly three 
 months of each of which he gave to the work, visiting all parts of the State in its prose- 
 cution. 
 
 Mr. Emerson published, in 1875, a new edition of his Report on the Trees and Shrubs, 
 superbly illustrated by colored plates, a full set of Avhich, suitably framed, he presented to 
 the Society to be placed in the collection of New England Trees and Shrubs, and which 
 may now be seen in the botanical gallery devoted to that section. 
 
 The well-known " Memorial of the American Institute of Instruction to the Massachu. 
 setts Legislature," was prepared and j^hiced in the hands of the Governor by the Presi. 
 dent, Mr. Emerson ; and the result of this course was the formation of the Board of Edu- 
 cation with Horace Mann, then President of the Senate, as its secretary. The cause of 
 education took a new dejjarture from this time forth, and the good efiect of this action, in 
 which Mr. Emerson was prominent, was inestimable. 
 
 Mr. Emerson's zeal in the cause of good education sprang very largely from the aflfec- 
 tion for the young, which has idways during his lifetime kept pace with his great love of 
 nature. The influence which he exerted among liis pupils through this feeling of personal 
 

BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 237 
 
 interest has been very warmly spoken of by many of them. His religious tendencies 
 were very decided. He had wished in his boyhood to go to West Point, but his mother's 
 earnest desire to the contrary had dissuaded him from tliis course, and his subsequent 
 tastes led him to study with the intention of entering the ministry, for which profession 
 he would seem to have been particularly fitted by nature. The 3'oung ladies of his school 
 always looked to him as a friend and adviser, and have many of them alluded feelingly 
 to the few earnest words spoken by him in the morning service as of more value to 
 them than all the ordinary instruction in the school. 
 
 Mr. Emerson's interest in the Society has always been very strong ; manifested to a 
 greater or less degree by his presence at meetings and by occasional participation in the 
 proceedings. His last prominent appearance before the Society was in 1874, when he de- 
 livered the memorial address uf)on Louis Agassiz. 
 
 The history of the Society has now been traced from its formation to its present proud 
 position as one of the leading scientific institutions of the world. We have dwelt upon 
 the reasons that endangered its continued success in the early period of its existence, and 
 have witnessed the untiring devotion of its members, some of whom gave voluntarily, 
 years of life to its service. We have seen too that only by the large donations and 
 bequests of its great benefactors did it escape the late of the Linnaean Society which pre- 
 ceded it, and of many other similar societies not sustained by government aid, and de- 
 pending on the unpaid labor and contributions of their members. That these gifts were 
 mainly due to a recognition of the disinterested devotion of the members of the Society to 
 the work undertaken by them, and of the importance of that work as an educational and 
 elevating influence in the community, is unquestionably true, markedly in the case of the 
 largest benefactor of all. Dr. William J. Walker, who, through Dr. Jeffries Wyman, for 
 whom he had great regard, and othei's, made himself well acquainted with the leading 
 members of the Society, and with their designs and purposes in the matter of educating 
 the community in natural history, before making it the recipient of liis bounty. 
 
 It becomes the members of the Society, especially such as have been instrumental in 
 shaping its destiny, to ask whether it has met the reasonable expectations of its founders. 
 Have their hopes for its growth and its influence been fulfilled ? As an associate with the 
 original members, and as having been acquainted to a considerable degree with tlieir 
 thoughts and feelings, the writer unhesitatingly answers Yes ! far beyond their most san- 
 guine hopes and expectations. Not that they limited in their own minds the possibility of 
 achievement, but they simply had no conception that in the lifetime of any of them the 
 Society would have one of the best structures in the world for exhibition, with collections 
 of great magnitude in all the departments of natural history, unequalled in arrangement 
 for instruction ; or that it would carry on such educational work as has been done, and is 
 now doing, through the Teachers' School of Science and other instrumentalities. 
 
 Nor does it less become the members to ask, especially in view of the fact that for fur- 
 ther progress in the work carried on by them they will yet be obliged to rely on additional 
 aid, whether the Society has faithfully administered the trusts reposed in its care; and 
 whether the wishes of those who endowed it with means by which it has become what it 
 is, have been fully regarded in the use of the property placed at its disposal. 
 
238 
 
 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 To this the writer also responds unhesitatingly in the affirmative, sustained by the grat- 
 ifying fact that among the nearest representatives of the great donors may be found those 
 best pleased with all the Society has done. 
 
 For the better understanding, on the part of the members of future generations, of the 
 condition of the affairs of the Society at the present period, it may not be amiss to state 
 concisely what are its possessions, just what it is now doing, with what means, its present 
 needs, and what are the hopes and the aspirations of those who are now its active mem- 
 bers. First then as to its possessions. It owns the l)uilding known as the Museum, its 
 cases, furniture, library and the collections contained therein, free from all incumbrance. 
 The value of the building with cases may be estimated at the cost, $150,334.86, as it cer- 
 tainly could not be erected at the present time without a larger expenditure. The money 
 value of the library and collections cannot be given. The former embraces as before 
 stated, over 14,000 volumes and nearly 6000 pamphlets. 
 
 The collections may be said to be of inestimable worth not only to the Society, but to 
 the community, for a considerable portion of unique and type specimens in the several de- 
 partments could never be replaced. There is not on the part of the public an adequate 
 conception of the extent of these collections and of the great importance that they should 
 be properly cared for, scientifically arranged and fully labelled in order that they may con- 
 tinue in all the future to serve as they now do, to help in the education of those who seek 
 to know something of the works of the Great Creator of all things, and who are not able 
 to attend the scientific schools whex'e this knowledge is specifically taught. The following 
 statement will show the magnitude of the cabinet at this period. 
 
 Miner alogical Collection. 
 General collection . . . 5,660 specimens. 
 
 New England collection . . 679 " 
 
 Total 6,339 " 
 
 Geological Collection. 
 
 Catnlogued and on exliibition . 3,265 specimens. 
 
 Others yet uneatalogued . . 1,700 " 
 
 Totnl 4,965 
 
 The New England rocks are all included in the 
 1700 yet uneatalogued, and they amount, in round 
 numbers, to 1500 specimens. 
 
 Palaeontological Collection. 
 
 
 Europe ..... 
 
 1.3,691 ! 
 
 specimens. 
 
 North America, exclusive of New 
 
 
 
 England .... 
 
 7,678 
 
 (( 
 
 South America .... 
 
 170 
 
 (( 
 
 Asia and Australia . 
 
 170 
 
 1.1. 
 
 Africa 
 
 14 
 
 (.(. 
 
 New England .... 
 
 5.50 
 
 a 
 
 Unmounted, North America . 800 specimens. 
 
 " New England . 200 " 
 
 Anatomical Collection. 
 
 Skeletons, preparations and other 
 specimens . . . . 4,153 specimens. 
 
 Microscopical Collection. 
 
 Bailey collection . . . 1,839 specimens. 
 
 Burnett " . . . . 566 « 
 
 R. C. Greenleaf and Dr. A. D. Sinclair 
 
 collection .... 480 " 
 
 Rogers collection . . . 275 " 
 
 Received from Messrs. A. Hyatt an<l 
 
 W. O. Crosby ... 114 
 
 Received from Mr. E. Samuels 24 " 
 
 « " others . . 62 " 
 
 Total . 
 
 3,360 
 
 Mounted and arranged 
 
 22,273 
 
 Sponges. 
 
 A general collection not yet in a condition to deter- 
 mine numlier and species; also a large collection 
 of New England specimens not yet examined. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 239 
 
 Radiates. 
 
 Coelenterates. 
 
 General collection including New 
 
 Reptiles. 
 
 England species 
 
 EchinoJerms. 
 
 General collection 
 
 New England collection 
 
 Total 
 
 Worms. 
 
 General collection 
 New England collection 
 
 Total 
 
 Crustacea. 
 
 General collection 
 New England collection 
 
 Species. 
 
 200 
 
 Species. 
 
 120 
 25 
 
 Species. 
 
 150 
 150 
 
 Species. 
 
 400 
 150 
 
 Total 
 
 Insects. 
 
 General collection 
 
 Harris " 
 
 New England collection 
 
 Species. 
 
 10,000 
 4,364 
 3,000 
 
 Total 
 
 Mollusks. 
 
 General collection 
 
 New England collection . 
 
 Total .... 
 
 Jfishes.^ 
 
 General collection 
 New England collection 
 
 Total 
 
 Amphibia. 
 
 General collection 
 New England collection 
 
 Total . 
 
 Species. 
 
 5,400 
 160 
 
 Species. 
 
 700 
 115 
 
 Species. 
 
 70 
 14 
 
 Specimens, 
 
 1,000 
 
 Specimens. 
 
 1,000 
 700 
 
 1,700 
 
 Specimens. 
 
 400 
 400 
 
 800 
 
 Specimens . 
 
 1,000 
 1,500 
 
 2,500 
 
 Specimens. 
 
 35,000 
 
 11,023 
 
 7,600 
 
 53,623 
 
 Specimens. 
 
 32,000 
 3,000 
 
 35,000 
 
 Specimens. 
 
 2,500 
 2,000 
 
 4,500 
 
 Specimens . 
 
 324 
 100 
 
 General collection 
 New England collection 
 
 Species. 
 
 200 
 23 
 
 Specimens . 
 
 740 
 
 77 
 
 Total 
 
 817 
 
 Birds. 
 
 General collection of mounted birds . 
 New England collection of mounted birds 
 
 Total . 
 
 Bird skins about. 
 Eggs of birds about . 
 
 Mammals. 
 
 General collection 
 New England collection 
 
 Specimens. 
 
 11,801 
 527 
 
 12,328 
 
 5,000 
 5,200 
 
 Species. Specimens. 
 
 54 67 
 
 30 51 
 
 Total 118 
 
 Besides some alcoholic S]iecimens and skins. 
 
 Botanical Department. 
 Herharium. 
 
 General collection 
 
 Lowell " . 
 
 New England collection 
 
 Total . 
 
 28,885 specimens. 
 20,986 " 
 
 3,277 
 
 53,148 
 
 On Exhibition in glass cases. 
 General collection . . . 2,666 specimens. 
 
 New England collection 
 Total . 
 
 406 
 
 3,072 
 
 424 
 
 The New England specimens on exhibition consist of : 
 
 30 framed lithographs presented by Mr. George B. 
 
 Emerson. 
 182 mounted specimens of trees and shrubs, jire- 
 
 sented by Mr. Edward T. Bouve. 
 194 specimens of wood and fruit, presented by Mr. 
 
 Edward T. Bouve. 
 
 Besides the Museum Building, the Library and the collections mentioned, the Society 
 holds property in notes, bonds and stocks, amounting in value to $154,405, estimating the 
 bonds and stocks at their par value, which is below what they would now sell for in the 
 market. 
 
 ^ It has been stated in this history, and the statement has is happy to be able to say that a considerable number of 
 been repeated, that the specimens of Massachusetts fishes these, about one half, have recently been found in the gen- 
 presented by Dr. D. Humphreys Storer were nearly all al- era] collection, identified and placed on exhibition, 
 lowed to perish for want of care and attention. The author 
 
240 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 As to what it is now doing. It is engaged, through the constant and arduous work of 
 the assistants in the Museum, in perfecting the work that has been going on for several 
 years, of rearranging, placing upon tablets, rebottling and relabelling tlie specimens 
 according to their several needs in all the departments, and in exerting proper means for 
 their pi'eservation. None but those engaged in such work can understand the labor and 
 the watchfulness constantly required to prevent injury through many causes, but more 
 particularly through the destructive action of vermin, and from the evaporation of liquids 
 in which thousands of specimens are immersed. The modern cases, it is true, are gen- 
 erally secure from the admission of pests, but frequent examination of their contents is 
 not less necessary. The opening of a door for a moment may sometimes admit an anthre- 
 nus, the progeny of which it may require weeks to eradicate. Constant vigilance can 
 only preserve the perishable portion of natural history collections from ruin. 
 
 It is striving constantly to render its collections more educational, not only by such 
 arrangement as will facilitate their study, but by models and anatomical preparations giv- 
 ino; the internal structure and showing the habits of animals. 
 
 It holds meetings on the first and third Wednesday evenings of each month, except 
 during the warm season, at which scientific conuuunications, either written or verbal, are 
 made by members, followed often by discussions upon the matter presented. All important 
 communications and remarks are published in the Memoirs or Proceedings of the 
 Society, together with any business transacted. Besides the general meetings there are 
 others held of such sections as may be active. There have been three, those of entomol- 
 ogy, microscopy and botany, but only one of these, that of entomology, can be said to 
 exist at present, otherwise than nominally. 
 
 In its Laboratory it is doing much for those who seek knowledge in natural history. 
 Instruction is given to a class of the students of the Boston University in Biology and 
 Zoology ; to a class of the students of the Institute of Technology in Zoology and Pa- 
 laeontology ; and to a special class of teachers of the Public Schools in Zoology. The 
 laboratory room and the working collections therein are used also by other persons 
 engaged in teaching or studying. The accommodations of the room are inadequate for 
 all who give and seek instruction, not affording proper conveniences for either. About 
 seventy persons now make use of it. 
 
 Respecting the very important educational worlc the Society has done through the 
 Teachers' School of Science, it is a matter of great regret that lack of means pre- 
 vented its continuance through the past winter. Tlie maintenance of this has hitherto 
 entirely depended on contributions from individuals who, recognizing tlie great benefits 
 arising from the instruction of teachers, have voluntarily proffered aid. Whilst, therefore, 
 it cannot be said tliat just at the present period the Society is carrying on this worlc, it 
 may nevertheless, soon be the case, as it stands ready with its. unequalled facilities to 
 recommence the courses of instruction whenever it can have the necessary help.^ 
 
 ' Since the period at wliieh Uie liistorical slcetch closes, tiniiance of the Teachers' School of Science (luring the fol- 
 
 two ladies of Boston, to whom the city owes much, Mrs. lowing season. Several courses of lessons to the teachers of 
 
 Qnincy A. Shaw and Mrs. Augustus lienienway, with unso- the Public Schools are, therefore, being given at the time 
 
 licited cenerosity, tendered the necessary means for the con- of the publication of this volume. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATUKAL HISTORY. 241 
 
 In its publications the Society is doing a great work. The issues are of such character 
 as to constantly enhance its reputation at home ami abroad, and enable it through 
 exchano-e with foreio-n bodies to secure for the use of the members and others enQjaored in 
 the study of natural history, memoirs and journals indispensable to students, and which 
 the Society could not otherwise obtain. Exchanges are made at the present period with 
 three hundred and sixty societies and proprietors of scientific journals. To meet the call 
 for the various publications of the Society, its Memoirs, Proceedings, and Occasional 
 Papers, an edition of eight hundred of each issue is printed. 
 
 In addition to all that has been mentioned, the Society is sustaining its Library, which 
 is not only open to members but to all engaged in scientific investigation, upon proper 
 application, and under reasonable restriction. By an agreement with the Institute of 
 Technology, its students are allowed the privilege of consulting the books and taking them 
 out for study. The use of the Library is now much greater than at any former period, and 
 is constantly increasing. 
 
 Now what are the means at the present period upon which the Society can rely to go on 
 with its work ? They are manifestly not its ownership in what is visible, its beautiful 
 building, its growing library, and its grand collections. These are of inestimable value, 
 but the}^ are all of them sources of great expense, not of income. To sustain these, to con- 
 tinue pul)lication, without which there can be but little progress, and to do such educa- 
 tional work as is now called for, a much larger funded property is required than that now 
 held by the Society. This amounts, as has been stated, to |lo4,405 at the par value of 
 the stocks held by it, and from this an income can scarcely be looked for exceeding eight 
 thousand to nine thousand dollars per annum. Assessments on members increase this from 
 one to two thousand dollars more. 
 
 Now when it is borne in mind that from this income it is incumbent upon the Society to 
 pay on an average about three hundred dollars yearly for prizes ; to have in its employ an 
 accomplished scientific man in general charge of its Museum, with several able assistants ; 
 a secretary and librarian, also of scientific attainments, with assistants in the library ; and 
 a janitor to look after the building and contents ; to say nothing of the necessary repairs, 
 fuel, gas, etc., the question may well be asked how an income that will scarcely meet the 
 living expenses of many individual families in the community, can suffice for such 
 requirements. In truth it has only been by exceeding economy that these absolutely 
 necessary expenses have been kept within the income. All of extraordinary character 
 have been met by help from individual members and others. It has been found almost 
 impossible to spare any reasonable amount for additions to the cabinet, and consequently 
 the New England collections in the several departments which it is very important to 
 complete, are yet very far from being so. What was long since stated by the Custodian 
 of the New England collection of mammals yet remains true : " It is a disgrace to the 
 Society." This is the more imfortunate from the fact that some of the larger animals 
 may ere long become extinct in our borders. 
 
 Having now presented a statement of the possessions of the Society at this time, what 
 it is doing and the income upon which it depends to sustain^its work, a few words ujion its 
 requirements, its hopes and its aspirations, may be added. 
 
242 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 As to its requirements, these have partially been given in mentioning its means and 
 their inadequacy ; others equally necessary but not so pressing will be here referred to. 
 
 It needs to build another gallery in the Museum as originally designed, in order that the 
 New England collections in the various departments may be brought together. It needs 
 means to enable it to bind thousands of volumes in its library, periodicals received 
 by exchanges, and other works which it has hitherto l>een unable to do. Thanks to the 
 Huntington Frothingham Wolcott fund, it will henceforth be able to take care of books 
 received, but it requires a large sum to bind those obtained in the past and which suffer 
 from want of it. 
 
 Of its hopes, they are that it may not only be able to go on with its work, but that it 
 may progress, and that the requirements for this may not long be wanting. Doing 
 what it is in fostering the taste for a study refining and elevating in its tendencies, it feels 
 that its efforts should not be allowed to become futile through lack of necessary means to 
 continue its work without constant strua:2;le. 
 
 Of its aspirations for the future, they are such as all will commend who recognize that 
 progress is a duty, viz. : That it may be able to meet the increasing call from a growing 
 community for instruction in natural history, to such as cannot avail themselves of the 
 advantages afforded otherwise, by an expansion of its laboratory and other facilities ; that 
 it may, before a long period has elapsed, be able to add an aquaria! garden to its collections, 
 both for the study of the habits of a portion of the aniural kingdom and as an additional 
 attraction to visitors of the Museum ; and that as these desires cannot have full fruition 
 without more extensive accommodations, that the day may not be flxr distant when it shall 
 possess the ability to enlarge the Museum building so as to best serve its designs and 
 purposes ; that it may also be able to publish the increasing researches of its members 
 with the illustrations they require ; which it is now by no means able to do, many me- 
 moirs being diverted to other channels of publication which would naturally be ofl'ered to 
 the Society were it able to do more than at present. 
 
 The names of some of the most able naturalists of the country, including several of 
 the most distinguished of the age, are to be found on its roll of active members during 
 the half century, as Louis Agassiz, Jeffries Wyman, Asa Gray, Augustus A. Gould, Wm. 
 B. Rogers, Henry D. Eogers, Thomas Nuttall, Charles Pickering, D. Humphreys Storer, 
 George B. Emerson, Amos Biuney, Charles T. Jackson, Thaddeus W. Harris, Count Desor. 
 Others of its members if less illustrious as scientists have been men of such excellence of 
 life and character as to have endeared them to all the community. Who that knew in 
 life Dr. Benj. D. Greene, the Eev. F. W. P. Greenwood, Dr. John Ware, Dr. Martin 
 Gay, Mr. Thomas Bulfinch, and many others worthy of mention with these, will not 
 feel that its annals have indeed been sanctified by a spii-it of purity and simplicity 
 throughout all the years of the half century now closed. If anything has nuide the 
 writing of these pages a pleasing task to the author, it has been the contemplation of 
 such exalted worth as marked the lives and deeds of so many of his associates. This has 
 sometimes impressed him with a feeling that the atmosphere about him was hallowed by 
 their presence. 
 
 The writer in his concluding remarks cannot do better than to commend to the govern- 
 ment of the Society, the expressive words of its great benefactor, in bequeathing to it 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 243 
 
 the property, without which it could not have continued its work, and to express the 
 hope that the request so touchingly urged may not only be sacredly regarded through 
 coming years, but that the policy indicated may be observed in relation to all property 
 that the generosity of others may hereafter bestow upon the Society ; to the end that its 
 means of usefulness be not impaired, and that its elevating and beneficent influences be 
 continued throuo:h all venerations. 
 
 The words referred to are as follows : 
 
 " Finally, I request the recipients of the above bequeathed property to realize that no 
 inconsiderable portion thereof has been gathered as the fruits of a laborious vocation, 
 exercised through anxious days and sleepless nights ; that it is given to them, in tnist 
 nevertheless, to be expended so as to inure to tlie greatest advancement of sound educa- 
 tion in the departments as above specified, and the public good. I request that its invest- 
 ment may l)e safely guarded ; that its expenditure may be subject to the strictest econ- 
 omy ; yet that it may be appropriated liberally where the objects aimed at justify an open 
 hand, and cannot be afforded the cause of education and the public good at less expense." 
 
 With due regard to what is here expressed, the permanence of the Society is at least 
 secure, and it may reasonably be presumed that the means of progress will not forever be 
 wanting. 
 
244 
 
 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 PAST OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 rUKSIDESTS. 
 
 Thomas Nuttall, 
 Benjamin D. Greene, 
 George B. Emerson, 
 Amos Binney, 
 
 Elected. 
 May, 13, 1830. 
 Aug. 9, 1830. 
 May 3, 1837. 
 May 17, 1843. 
 
 Retired, 
 Aug. 9, 1830. 
 May 3, 1837. 
 May 17, 1843. 
 May 5, 1847. 
 
 John Collins Warren, 
 Jeffries Wyman, 
 Thomas T. Bouvt^, 
 Samuel H, Scudtler, 
 
 Elected. 
 May 5, 1847. 
 June 18, 1856. 
 June 15, 1870. 
 May 5, 1880. 
 
 Retired. 
 May 4, 1856. 1 
 May 4, 1870. 
 May 5, 1880. 
 
 George Hayward, 
 .lohn Ware, 
 F. W. P. Greenwood, 
 Anius Binney, 
 
 FIRST VICE PRESIDENT.S. 
 
 May 13, 1830. May 12. 1832. Charles T. Jackson, May 17, 1843. 
 
 May 12, 1832. May 4, 1836. Samuel H. Scudder, May 6, 1874. 
 
 May 4, 1836. May 6, 1841. John Cummings, May 5, 1880. 
 
 May 5, 1841. May 17, 1843. 
 
 May 6, 1874. 
 May 5, 1880. 
 
 SECOND VICE PRESIDENTS. 
 
 ,Iohn Ware, 
 Francis C. Gray, 
 F. W. P. Greenwood, 
 Walter Channing, 
 Amos Binnej', 
 0. T. Jackson, 
 
 May 13, 1830. 
 May 12, 18.32. 
 May 7, 1834. 
 May 4, 1836. 
 May 3, 1837. 
 May 5, 1841. 
 
 May 12, 1832. 
 May 7, 1834. 
 May 4, 1836. 
 May 3, 1837. 
 May 5, 1841. 
 May 17, 1843. 
 
 P. Humphreys Storer, 
 Augustus A. Gould, 
 Thomas T. BouvtS, 
 Eichard C. Greenleaf, 
 John Cummings, 
 Frederick W. Putnam, 
 
 May 17, 1843. 
 May 2, 1860. 
 Nov. 21, 1866. 
 May 3, 1871. 
 May 6, 1874. 
 May 6, 1880. 
 
 May 2, 1860. 
 Sept. 15, 1866.1 
 June 15, 1870. 
 May 6, 1874. 
 May 6, 1880. 
 
 CORRESPONDING SECRETARIES. 
 
 Gamaliel Bradford, May 13, 1830. May 7, 1834. Augustus A. Gould, May 17, 1843. May 1, 1850. 
 
 Amos Binney, May 7, 1834. May 3, 1837. J. Elliot Cabot, May 1, 1850. June 1, 1853. 
 
 Epes S. Dixwell, May 3, 1837. May 17, 1843. S. L. Abbot, Nov. 2, 1853. May 3, 1876. 
 
 Name of office changed. 
 
 S. L. Abbot, 
 
 May 3, 1876. 
 
 HONOKART SECRETARY. 
 
 RECORDING SECRETARIES. 
 
 Theophilus Parsons, 
 D. Huinphreys Storer, 
 Martin Gay, 
 Augustus A. Gould, 
 Jeffries Wyman, 
 Frederick A. Eddy, 
 T. Bulfinch, 
 
 May 13, 1830. 
 Sept. 2, 1830. 
 May 4, 1830. 
 May 2, 1838. 
 ^ray 15, 1839. 
 May 5, 1841. 
 May 4, 1842. 
 
 Sept. 2, 1830. 
 May 4, 1836. 
 May 2, 1838. 
 May 15, 1839. 
 Mar. 17, 1841. 
 April 20, 1842. 
 May 3, 1848. 
 
 S. L. Abbot, 
 Benjamin S. Shaw, 
 Samuel Kneeland, -Jr., 
 Samuel H. Scudder, 
 Joshua A. Swan, 
 Edward Burgess, 
 
 May 3, 1848. 
 Nov. 2, 1853. 
 June 16, 1858. 
 May 7, 1862. 
 May 4, 1870. 
 Feb. 21, 1872. 
 
 Oct. 19, 1853. 
 June 2, 1858. 
 May 7, 1862. 
 May 4, 1870. 
 Oct. 31, 1871.' 
 Mav 3, 1870. 
 
 Name of office changed. 
 
 Edward Burgess, 
 
 May 3, 1876. 
 
 SECRETARY. 
 
 Simon E. Greene, 
 Amos Binney, 
 Epes S. Dixwell, 
 Ezra Weston, Jr., 
 John James Dixwell, 
 Patrick T. Jackson, .Jr., 
 
 TREASURERS. 
 
 May 13, 1830. May 2, 1832. Nath.aniel B. Shurtleff, May 1, 1850. May 6, 1858. 
 
 May 2, 1832. May 7, 1834. Amos Binney, May 5, 1858. Sept. 4, 1861. 
 
 May 7, 1834. Dec. 7, 1836. Thomas T. Bouve, Sept. 4, 1861. May 3, 1865. 
 
 Dec. 7, 1836. May 1, 1839. Edward Pickering, May 3, 1865. Nov. 21, 1876.1 
 
 May 1, 1839. May 14, 1845. Charles W. Scudder, Feb. 21, 1877. 
 
 May 14, 1845. May 1, 1850. 
 
 Seth Bass, 
 Charles Aniory, 
 Charles K. Dillaway, 
 
 May 13, 1830. 
 May 2, 1832. 
 May 1, 1833. 
 
 May 2, 1832. 
 May 1, 1833. 
 May 4, 1864. 
 
 LIRRARIANS. 
 
 Samuel IT. Scuddc 
 Joshua A. Swan, 
 Edward Burgess, 
 
 May 4, 1864. 
 May 4, 1870. 
 Feb. 21, 1872. 
 
 May 4, 1870. 
 Got. 31, 1871.1 
 
 I By death. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 245 
 
 CABINET-KEEPERS. 
 
 Estes Howe, 
 Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, 
 T. M. Brewer, 
 Jeffries Wyman, 
 Samuel Cabot, Jr., 
 William I. Bowditch, 
 Samuel L. Abbot, 
 
 Elected. 
 May 7, 1834. 
 May 20, 18.35. 
 May 3, 1837. 
 May 2, 1838. 
 May 1, 1839. 
 Oct. 2, 1839. 
 Nov. 6, 1839. 
 
 Retired. 
 May 20, 1835. 
 May 3, 1837. 
 May 2, 1838. 
 May 1, 1839. 
 Oct. 2, 1839. 
 Nov. 5, 1839. 
 Deo. 30,1840. 
 
 Henry J. Bigelow, 
 Thomas T. Bouve, 
 Henry Bryant, 
 Heury .J. Bigelow, 
 Samuel Kneelaml, .Tr., 
 C. C. Sheafe, 
 Charles Stodder, 
 
 Elected. 
 Dec. 30, 1840. 
 May 5, 1841. 
 May 4, 1842. 
 Nov. 1, 1843. 
 May 6, 1847. 
 May 2, 1849. 
 May 5, 1852. 
 
 Retired. 
 Mar. 17, 1841. 
 May 4, 1842. 
 Oct. 4, 1843. 
 May 6, 1847. 
 May 2, 1849. 
 May 5, 1852. 
 May 4, 1864. 
 
 This office was abolished in 1864. 
 
 Samuel H. Scudder, 
 Samuel H. Scudder, 
 
 May 4, 1864. 
 Oct. 3, 1866. 
 
 CUSTODIANS. 
 
 May 3, 1865. 
 May 4, 1870. 
 
 Alpheus Hyatt, 
 
 May 4, 1870. 
 
 Benjamin D. Greene, 
 Francis C. Gray, 
 Walter Channing, 
 Edward Brooks, 
 Amos Binney, 
 Jos. W. McKean, 
 George B. Emerson, 
 Francis Alger, 
 J. S. Copley Greene, 
 Joshua B. Flint, 
 Augustus A. Gould, 
 
 CURATORS. 
 
 May 13, 1830. Sept. 2, 1830. Wiiislow Lewis, .Tr., May 2, 18.32. May 2, 1838. 
 
 May 13, 1830. May 2, 1832. William B. Fowlc, May 2, 1832. May 20, 1835. 
 
 May 13, 1830. May 4, 1831. Clement Durgin, May 2, 1832. May 1, 1833. 
 
 May 13, 1830. May 4, 1831. G. W. Otis, May 2, 1832. May 20, 1835. 
 
 May 13, 1830. May 2, 1832. Charles T. Jackson, May 1, 1833. May 2, 1838. 
 
 May 13, 1830. May 20, 1835. John B. S. Jackson, May 7, 1834. May 2, 1838. 
 
 May 13, 1830. May 3, 1837. Thaddeus W. Harris, May 20, 1835. May 2, 1838. 
 
 May 13, 1830. May 7, 1834. ' J. E. Tescheraacher, May 20, 1835. May 2, 1838. 
 
 Sept. 2, 1830. May 2, 1832. Martin Gay, May 20, 1835. , May 4, 1836. 
 
 May 4, 1831. May 2, 1832. D. Humphreys Storer, May 4, 1836. May 2, 1838. 
 
 May 4, 1831. May 2, 1838. N. B. Shurtleff, May 3, 1837. May 2, 1838. 
 The curatorships were assigned to special departments for the first time m 1838. 
 
 CUK.VTOR OF ETHNOLOGY. 
 
 Charles Pickering, Feb. 5, 1862. May 1, 1867. 
 
 The Curatorship of Ethnology founded in 1862, was .abolished in 1867. 
 
 Winslow Lewis, 
 
 Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, 
 
 Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, 
 Samuel Kneeland, Jr., 
 Jeffries Wyman, 
 John Green, 
 
 May 1, 1839. 
 
 CURATORS OF MAMMALS. 
 
 May 2, 1838. May 1, 1839. Jeffries Wyman, 
 
 CURATOR OF COMPARATIVE ANATOMY. 
 
 May 2, 1838. May 6, 1840. 
 
 CURATORS OF COMPARATIVE ANATOMY ANr> JIAMM.ILS. 
 
 May 6, 1840. May 2, 1849. James C. White, Dec. 1, 1858. 
 
 May 2, 1849. June 7, 1854. C. F. Folsoni, Nov. 18, 1868. 
 
 Jnne 7, 1864. May 6, 1857. Thomas Waterman, Jan. 5, 1870. 
 
 May 6, 1857. Nov. 17, 1858. 
 
 May 6, 1840. 
 
 May 6, 1868. 
 Oct. 6, 1869. 
 ilay 4, 1870. 
 
 The Departments of Mammals and of Comparative Anatomy were united in 1840, and again separated in 
 
 CURATORS OF BIRDS. 
 
 1870. 
 
 Thomas M. Brewer, 
 Marshall S. Scudder, 
 S. L. Abbot, 
 
 Thomas M. Brewer, 
 
 D. Humphreys Storer, 
 
 Jeffries Wyman, 
 Horatio R. Storer, 
 Jert'ries Wyman, 
 J. Nelson Borland, 
 
 May 2, 1838. 
 May 6, 1840. 
 Dec. 16, 1840. 
 
 May 6, 1840. 
 Dec. 16, 1840. 
 May 1, 1844. 
 
 Samuel Cabot, Jr., 
 Henry Bryant, 
 J. Elliot Cabot, 
 
 May 1, 1844. 
 May 3, 1854. 
 May 1, 1867. 
 
 May 3, 1854. 
 Feb. 2, 1867. 1 
 May 4, 1870. 
 
 July 2, 1851. 
 M.ay 2, 1838. 
 
 May 3, 1848. 
 May 7, 1851. 
 Jan. 4, 1854. 
 Deo. 6, 1854. 
 
 CUR.4TOR OF BIRDS (nosts and eggs). 
 May 4, 1870. 
 
 CURATORS OF REPTILES AND FISH. 
 
 May 17, 1843. Jeffries Wyman, 
 
 The Curatorship was separated into two divisions in 1S48. 
 
 CURATORS OP REPTILES. 
 
 May 7, 1851. Samuel A. Green, 
 
 Dec. 21, 1853. Francis H. Brown, 
 
 .June 7, 1864. Burt G. Wilder, 
 
 May 2, 1860. J. A. Allen, 
 
 May 17, 1843. 
 
 May 2, 1860. 
 May 1, 1861. 
 Oct. 18, 1865. 
 Nov. 18, 1868. 
 
 May 3, 1848. 
 
 May 1, 1861. 
 Oct. 4, 1865. 
 Oct. 7, 1868. 
 May 4, 1870. 
 
 ' By death. 
 
246 
 
 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 W. 0. Ayres, 
 Silas Durkee, 
 Samuel Kiieelaiid, Jr., 
 
 CURATORS OF FISHES. 
 
 Elected. Retired. Elected. Retired. 
 
 May 3, 1848. Jiily 16^ 1851. N. E. Atwood, Dec. 17, 1856. May 5, 1858. 
 
 July 16, 1851. May 21, 1866. Samuel Kneeland, Jr., May 5, 1858. May 4, 1859. 
 
 May 21, 1856. Sept. 3, 1856. F. W. Putn.am, May 4, 1859. May 4, 1870. 
 
 Thaddeus W". Harris, 
 Waldo I. Burnett, 
 Henry K. Oliver, Jr., 
 
 T. J. Waiittemore, 
 Augustus A. Gould, 
 A. E. Belknap, 
 Augustus A. Gould, 
 Edward Tuckerman, 
 John Bacon, Jr., 
 William Read, 
 
 Amos Binney, 
 William 0. A\Te3, 
 J. B. S. Jackson, 
 
 H. R. Storer, 
 Albert Ordway, 
 
 Theodore Lyman, 
 
 J. E. Teschemacher, 
 Charles James Sprague, 
 
 Silas Durkee, 
 
 Charles T. Jackson, 
 
 May 2, 1838. 
 May 3, 1848. 
 May 2, 1855. 
 
 June 5, 1839. 
 May B, 1841. 
 May 17, 1843. 
 May 1, 1S44. 
 May 14, 1845. 
 May 6, 1846. 
 May 3, 184S. 
 
 Feb. 3, 1841. 
 July 16, 1851. 
 May 18, 1853. 
 
 CURATORS OF INSECTS. 
 
 May 3, 1848. Silas Durkee, 
 
 July 1, 1854. 1 Alex. E. R. Agassiz, 
 
 Sept. 5, 1855. Samuel H. Scudder, 
 
 CURATORS OF MOLLUSKS. 
 
 May 5, 1S41. William Stimpson, 
 
 May 17, 1843. 
 May 1, 1844. 
 May 14, 1845. 
 May 6, 1846. 
 May 8, 1848. 
 Nov. 20, 1850. 
 
 T. J. Wliittemore, 
 Arthur T. Lyman, 
 Nathan Fnrrand, 
 Alpheus Hyatt, 
 Edward S. Morse, 
 
 CURATORS OF CRUSTACEANS AND RADIATES. 
 
 M.ay 5, 1841. John P. Reynolds, 
 
 May 18, 1853. 
 May 2, 1865. 
 
 Theodore Lyman, 
 
 Sept. 2, 1867. 
 May 4, 1859. 
 
 Sept. 2, 1857. 
 
 The Curatorship was separated into two divisions in 1857. 
 
 CURATORS OF CRUSTACEANS. 
 
 May 4, 1869. Alpheus S. Packard, Jr., 
 
 Dec 18, 1861. 
 
 CUR.tTORS OF RADIATES. 
 
 May 4, 1864. Addison E. Verrill, 
 
 May 2, 1838. 
 May 5, 1862. 
 
 June 3, 1857. 
 
 May 6, 1852, 
 May 3, 1865, 
 
 CURATORS OF BOT.ANT. 
 
 Horace Mann, 
 
 CURATORS OF MICROSCOPY. 
 
 May 2, 1860. B. Joy Jeffi-ies, 
 
 May 21, 1856. 
 May 6, 1858. 
 Mar. 16, 1859. 
 
 Dec. 4, 1850. 
 May 18, 1863. 
 May 2, 1860. 
 June 6, 1860. 
 Oct. 21, 1863. 
 May 1, 1867. 
 
 May 2, 1865. 
 May 6, 1867. 
 
 Dec. 2, 1863. 
 
 May 4, 1864. 
 May 3, 1865. 
 
 May 2, 1860. 
 
 Martin Gay, 
 
 CURATORS OF MINERALS AND GEOLOGY (State Collection). 
 May 2, 1838. May 6, 1841. T. Bulfinch, May 6, 1841. 
 
 CURATOR OF MINERALS AND GEOLOGY (SociCty CoUcCtlOn). 
 
 May 2, 1838. May 4, 1842. 
 
 May 6, 1858. 
 Mar. 2, 1859. 
 May 4, 1870. 
 
 May 18, 1853. 
 May 2, 1860. 
 May 16, 1860. 
 May 4, 1863. 
 May 1, 1867. 
 May 4, 1870. 
 
 May 6, 1857. 
 Sept. 2, 1857. 
 
 May 4, 1870. 
 
 May 4, 1870. 
 Nov. 11, 1868.1 
 
 May 4, 1870. 
 May 4, 1842. 
 
 The State Collection was withdi'awn fi-om the Society's Museum, and the Curatorship of Mineralogy and Geology divided, in 1842. 
 
 Martin Gay, 
 Francis Alger, 
 ■John Bacon, 
 
 Thomas T. Bouve, 
 
 May 4, 1842. 
 May 2, 1849. 
 May 21, 1866. 
 
 May 4, 1842. 
 
 CURATORS OF MINERALS. 
 
 May 2, 1849. William T. Brigham, 
 
 May 21, 1856. Thomas T. Bouv6, 
 
 May 4, 1863. 
 
 CUR.\TORS OF GEOLOGY. 
 
 May 4, 1863. William T. Brigham, 
 
 May 4, 1863. 
 May 3, 1865. 
 
 Jan. 2, 1867. 
 
 May 3, 1865. 
 May 4, 1870. 
 
 May 4, 1870. 
 
 The dep,artment of Palaeontology was added to th.at of Geology in 1863, and raised to a separate department in 1867. 
 Thomas T. Bouv^, May 4, 1863. 
 
 CURATOR OF GEOLOGY AND PALAEONTOLOGY. 
 
 Jan. 2, 1867. 
 
 CURATORS OF PALAEONTOLOGY. 
 
 Thomas T. Bouv^, Jan. 2, 1867. May 1, 1867. Alpheus Hyatt, May 1, 1867. May 4, 1870. 
 
 The office of Curator was abolished May 4, 1870 and Committees on the several departments were elected. 
 
 1 By death. 
 
BOSTOlSr SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 247 
 
 Thomas T. Bouv(', 
 Charles T. Jackson, 
 
 COMMITTEES ON DEPARTMENTS. 
 
 Geology and Minerals. 
 
 Elected. Retired. Elected. 
 
 1870. 1872. Willi.im T. Brigham, 1870. 
 
 1670. 1872. 
 
 The depai'tments of Geology and Minerals, united in 1870, were separated in 1872. 
 
 Retired. 
 1872. 
 
 William H. Niles, 
 William T. Briirliara, 
 Thomas T. Bouve, 
 John Cummings, 
 
 1872. 
 1872. 
 1872. 
 1873. 
 
 1873. 
 1873. 
 1874. 
 
 Geology. 
 
 T. Sterry Hunt, 1874. 
 
 L. S. Burbank, 1874. 
 
 Eev. G. Fred. Wright, 1879. 
 
 1879. 
 
 Thomas T. Bouv^, 
 
 1872. 
 
 Charles T. Jackson, 
 
 1872. 
 
 L. S. Burbank, 
 
 1872. 
 
 W. H. Niles, 
 
 1870. 
 
 N. S. Shaler, 
 
 1870. 
 
 William T. Brigham, 
 
 1870. 
 
 Charles J. Sprague, 
 
 1870. 
 
 Thomas Dwight, 
 
 1870. 
 
 Jeffries Wyman, 
 
 1870. 
 
 A. S. Packard, Jr., 
 
 1870. 
 
 A. E. Verrill, 
 
 1870. 
 
 Alexander Agassiz, 
 
 1870. 
 
 Edward S. Morse, 
 
 1670. 
 
 John Cummings, 
 
 1870. 
 
 Levi L. Thaxter, 
 
 1870. 
 
 F. G. Sanborn, 
 
 1870. 
 
 A. S. Packard, Jr., 
 
 1870. 
 
 D. H. Storer, 
 
 1870. 
 
 F. W. Putnam, 
 
 1870. 
 
 J. A. Allen, 
 
 1870. 
 
 Samuel Kueeland, 
 
 1872. 
 
 Thomas M. Brewer, 
 
 1670. 
 
 Samuel Cabot, 
 
 1870. 
 
 J. A. Allen, 
 
 1870. 
 
 Thomas Wateiman, Jr., 
 
 1870. 
 
 J. B. S. J.ackson, 
 
 1870. 
 
 Edwin Bicknell, 
 
 1870. 
 
 B. C. Greenleaf, 
 
 1870. 
 
 1874. 
 1879. 
 
 1675. 
 
 1874. 
 
 Minerals. 
 
 R. H. Richards, 
 M. E. Wadsworth, 
 
 Palaeontology. 
 
 Thomas T. Bouv^, 
 .Jules Marcou, 
 
 Botany. 
 
 J. Amory Lowell, 
 John Cummings, 
 
 Comparative Anatomy. 
 
 .James C. White, 
 1674.1 William F. Whitney, 
 
 Radiates and Crustaceans \and WormSf added in 1673]. 
 1875. H. A. Hagen, 
 
 1875. L. F. de Pourtalfes, 
 
 Bird's [7iests and eggs. Dropped from title in 1873]. 
 1880.1 J. Elliot Cabot, 
 
 J. A. Allen, 
 
 Mammals. 
 
 .1. H. Emcrton, 
 E. L. Mark, 
 George L. Goodale 
 
 1873. 
 1879. 
 
 1877.1 
 
 Microscopy. 
 
 B. .Toy JetlVies, 
 Samuel Wells. 
 
 1874. 
 1879. 
 
 1870. 
 1876. 
 
 1870. 
 1874. 
 
 1870. 
 1879. 
 
 1875. 
 1876. 
 
 1878. 
 
 1880. 
 
 
 Mollusks. 
 
 
 
 J. Henry Blake, 
 
 1873. 
 
 1873. 
 
 C. 0. Whitman, 
 
 1879. 
 
 1879. 
 
 Insects. 
 
 
 1873. 
 
 Edward Burgess, 
 
 1870. 
 
 
 S. H. Scudder, 
 
 1873. 
 
 Fishei 
 
 ! and Reptiles. 
 
 
 1873. 
 
 Richard Bliss, Jr., 
 
 1873. 
 
 
 S. W. Garman, 
 
 1877. 
 
 1672. 
 
 Theodore Lyman, 
 
 1878. 
 
 1878. 
 
 
 
 1680. 
 
 1877. 
 
 1870. 
 1871. 
 
 1873. 
 1879. 
 1880. 
 
 1870. 
 1877. 
 
 1871. 
 
 1876. 
 
 > By death. 
 
248 - HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Notice of the Linnaean Society, pp. 3-14. 
 
 Early publicntions and instrnction in natural history, 3. — Organiz.ation, Dec. 8, 1814, of the N. E. Society 
 for the promotion of Natural History, 3. — Members and rules, 4. — Change of name in 1815 to Lin- 
 naean Society of New EngLind, 6. — Collection of specimens and addresses, 6. — Division of the Museum 
 into departments, 7. — Sea-serpent Stories, 10.— Signs of dissolution, 10.— Attempts to unite with the 
 Athenaeum, 12. — Decision to dispose of the collections, 12. — Lessons taught by the failure of the Lin- 
 naean Society, 13. 
 
 The Boston Society of Natural History, Decade I, Mat 1830 — May 1840, pp. 14-36. 
 
 Formation of the new Society and election of officers, 14, — with Thomas Nuttall as President, who declined 
 to serve, and Benjamin D. Greene is chosen, 14. — Lectures arranged, 15. — Attempt to recover the col- 
 lections of the Linnaean Society, 16. — Character of the meetings, 17. — Quarters taken in Pearl Street, 
 17. — First Annual Meeting and reports, 18. — Geological survey of the State, 19. — Difficulties before 
 the early students of natural history, 20. — Removal to Tremont Street, 21. — Attempts to raise a ])er- 
 manent fond, 21. — Extent of collections, 23. — Gift from Ambrose S. Courtis, 23. — Publication of a 
 "Journal," 24. — Second Survey of the State, 25. — Death of Ambrose S. Courtis, his bequest and notice 
 of his life, 26.— Purchase of the Hentz Collection, 27.— Resignation of Mr. Greene and election of 
 George B. Emerson, second President, 28. — Financial troubles, 28. — Annual Meeting for 1838-39, 29. — 
 Settlement of the Courtis bequest, 30. — Aid given to naturalists, 30. — Death of Simon E. Greene, 30. — 
 Annual meeting, 1840, 31. — Review of the decade, 31. 
 
 Decade II, May 1840— May 1850, pp. 36-56. 
 
 Bequest of Simon E. Greene, 36. — Annual meeting, 1841, 37. — Meeting of the American Association of 
 Geologists and Naturalists, 38. — Annual reports for 1842,38. — Adoption of a Diploma, 39. — Annual 
 reports, 1843, 40.— Election of Dr. Amos Binney as third President, 40. — Death of the Rev. F. W. P. 
 Greenwood, 40. — Annual meeting of 1844, 41, — and of 1845, 43. — Endeavors to raise fonds for the 
 Society, 43. — Bequest of John Parker, 33. — The " Sea-Serpent" again, 44. — Annual reports 1846, 45. — 
 Death of Dr. Amos Binney, 46.— Annual meeting, 1847, 48. — Election of Dr. J. C. Warren, fourth Pres- 
 ident, 48. — Purchase of the Medical College and removal to Mason Street, 49. — Annual reports for 
 1848, 50, — and for 1849, 51. — Deposit in the Library of the books of "A Republican Institution," 52. — 
 Donation of Jonathan Phillips, 52. — Death of Dr. Martin Gay, 52. — Annual reports for 1850, 53. — 
 Early discoveries of gold in California, 54. — Review of the second decade, 55. 
 
 Decade III, May 1850 — Mat 1860, pp. 56-81. 
 
 Annual meetings 1851 and 1852, 57, — and of 1858, 58. — Purchase of the fossil foot-jirints from the Con- 
 necticut Valley, 59. — Death of James E. Teschemacher, 59. — Annual meeting of 1854, 61. — Death of 
 Dr. Waldo I. Burnett, 61. — Annual meeting of 1855, 63. — Death of James Brown, 63. — Death of Dr. 
 Thaddeus W. Harris, 64, — and of the Rev. Zadoek Thompson, 65. — Annual meeting, 1856, 66. — Elec- 
 tion of Dr. Jeffries Wyman, fifth President, 68. — First and only field meeting of the Society, 68. — De- 
 posit fl-om Dr. Binney's Library, 69. — Deaths of Corresponding Members, J. W. Bailey, W. C. Redfield, 
 and Michael Tuomey, 69. — Annual meeting of 1857, 69. — Formation of a Section of Microscojiy, an<l 
 bequest of the collection of Prof Bailey, 71. — -Donation of the B. D. Greene Herbarium, 71. — Annual 
 meeting, 1858, 72.— Deaths of Dr. James Deane and F. W. Cragin, 73.— Thoughts of a new building, 
 74._ Annual meeting 1859, 74,— and of 1860, 76.— Sketch of Dr. D. Humphreys Storer, 77.— Review 
 of the third decade, 80. 
 
BOSTON SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 249 
 
 Decade IV, Mat 1860-Mat 1870, pp. 81-138. 
 
 Bequest of Jonatlinn Phillips, 81. — Constmit exertions foi- a grant of land for a new building, 81. — First 
 donation from Dr. William J. Walker, S'2. — Grant of land to tlie Society and the JIassacliusetts Insti- 
 tute of Technology, 83. — Annu.al meeting 1861, 83. — Sale of building on Mason Street and temporary 
 removal to Bulfinch Street, 84. — Plans for the new building, 85. — Large osteological additions, s,'). — 
 Gift of ethnological collections from the Boston Marine Society, 87. — ^Successful eft'orts of the Building 
 Committee, subscriptions of $120,000 obtained and the second gift from Dr. W. J. Walker, 87. — Con- 
 tracts for the new Building, 87.— Annual reports for 18G2, 87.— Death of Dr. B. D. Greene, 8!^.— Gill 
 of the Megatherium cast, 91. — -Annual meeting of 1SG3, 91. — Deaths of Dr. George Ilayward and 
 Francis Alger, 92. — First meeting in the new building, 92. — Fin.ancial shadows, 94. — New offer of 
 $20,000 from Dr. Walker on condition of raising an equal amount, 95. — Death of Dr. Edward Hitch- 
 cock, 95, — of Dr. John Ware, 95. — Resignation of Mr. Dillaway, the Librarian since 1833,96. — An- 
 nual meeting 1S64, 96. — Office of Custodian created, and election of S. II. Scndder, 97. — Dedication of 
 the new Museum, 99. — Death of C. A. Shurtleff, 100. — Subscriptions to its Working Fund com])leted, 
 100. — Conditions as to use of the amount received from Dr. W.alker, 100. — Establishment of Walker 
 Prizes, 100. — Reorganization of a Section of Microscopy, 102. — First course of lectures to Teachers, 
 102.— Death of Dr. William J. Walker, and sketch of his life, 103.— Bequests of Dr. Walker, 105.— 
 Annual meeting, 1865, 105. — Cost of the Museum, 106. — Ravages of insects, 106. — Gift of the Lafres- 
 naye Collection of Birds by Dr. Henry Bryant,' 108.— Attempt to make Dr. Wyman Director, 109. — 
 Annual meeting, 1866, 109. — Establishment of tlie "Memoirs" as a new series of the "Journal," 109. — 
 Death of Prof Henry D. Rogers, 111. — Death of Dr. Augustus A. Gould, 111. — The Custodianship, 
 116. — P^rmation of a Section of Entomology, 117.— Bequest of Miss S. P. Pratt, 117.— Death of Dr. 
 Henry Bryant, 117. — Cooperation with ex)>lorations of the Smithsonian Institution, 118.— Discussion 
 on the House Sparrow, 118. — vVbolition of the Department of Ethnology, 119. — Completion of some 
 unfinished rooms, 119. — Bequest of Paschal P. Pojie, 119.— Annual meeting, 1867, 119. — Death of 
 Thomas Bulfinch, 120. — Public lectures, 121. — Annual meeting 1868, 121. — Admission of ladies to 
 meetings, 123. — Death of Horace Mann, 123. — Annual meeting 1869, 124. — Results of the Central 
 American explorations, 125. — Excessive expenditures, 126. — Celebration of the centennial anniversary 
 of Humlioldt's birth, 127. — Founding of a Humboldt Scholarshi]) in the Museum of Comparative Zool- 
 ogy, 128. — Formation of Committees in charge of the different collections, 129. — Annual meeting 1870, 
 129. — Resignation of Mr. Scudder from the Custodianship, etc., and of Professor Wyman from the Pres- 
 idency, 132. — Election of Prof. A. Hyatt, Custodian, and Rev. J. A. Swan, Secretary and Librarian, 
 133. — Review of the fourth decade, 133. — Part taken by members of the Society in the war of the 
 rebellion, 133.— Joseph P. Couthouy, 138. — Gift of the II. F. Wolcott Fund, 138. 
 
 Decade V, May 1870-Mat 1880, pp. 140-243. 
 
 Duties of the s.alaried officers, 141.— Election of Thomas T. Bouve, President, 142.— Plan for arranging 
 the Museum proposed by Professor Hyatt, 143. — Skeleton of a Fin-back whale secured, 145. — Ar- 
 rangement with the Trustee of the Lowell Institute for series of lectures under the Society's auspices, 
 145. — Establishment through John Cummings of the Teachers' School of Science, 145.— Bequest 
 from Sidney Homer, 146.— Annual meeting 1871, 146.— Death of the Secretary, Ri'v. J. .\. Swan, 
 148.— Election of Edward Burgess, Secretary and Liljrarian, 149.— Death of William II. Dale, 
 and his bequest to the Section of Entomology, 149. — Annual meeting 1872, 149. — .\nnual meeting 1873, 
 152.— Award of the first Grand Walker Prize to Alexander Agassiz, 154.— Death of Prof. Louis 
 Agassiz, 154. — Precautions against fire, and progress of the re-arrangement of the Museum, 164. — At- 
 tempt to induce the Legislature to authorize a new survey of the St.ate, 165. — Annua! meeting 1874, 
 165. — Gift of the Eser Paleontological Collection by Mr. John Cummings, 106.— Dr. Charles T. Jackson, 
 167. — Thoughts of the establishment of a Zoological Garden and Aqviarium, 160. — Death of Dr. Jeffries 
 Wyman, 169.— Pixrchase of the Wyman Collection of Comparative Anatomy, 177.— Annual meeting, 
 1875, 177.— Bequest of the C. S. Hale Collection of Fossils, 179.— President Bouve wishes to resign, but 
 
250 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 
 
 is lead to reconsiclcv it, 180. — Alterations in the Constitution, — Corporate and Associate membership, 
 181. — Annual meeting 1876, 181. — Death of Dr. Walter Channing, 183.— Death of Edward Pick- 
 ering, 184. — Death of Prof. F. B. Meek, 185. — Consideration of opening the Museum on Sundays, 185. — 
 Annual meeting 1877, 18(j.— Death of Dr. Cliarles Pickering, 189.— Death of Prof. C. F. Ilartt, 192.— 
 Annual meeting 1878, 194.— Death of Gurdon Saltonstall, 197. — Death of Prof. Joseph Henry, 
 198.— Remarkable work of the Teachers' School of Science, 199.— Death of Dr. J. B. S. Jackson, 199.— 
 Annual meeting 1879,202. — Teachers' School of Science, 204. — Vote to publish an Anniversary vol- 
 ume, 207. — Award of the second Grand Walker Prize to Prof. Joseph Leidy, 208. — Discussion relating 
 to the Collection of Comparative Anatomy, 208. — Death of Dr. T. M. Brewei-, 209. — Plans for a fiftietli 
 anniversary celebration, 211. — Resignation of Mr. Bouve from tlie Presidency, 212. — Fiftieth anniver- 
 sary celebi-ation, April 28, 1880, 213. — Address of Mr. Bouve, 213, — of Governor Long, 214, — of Dr. 
 Samuel Eliot, 215,— of President Eliot, 216,— of Mr. Ale.x;. Agassiz, 219,— of Rev. R. C. Waterston, 
 220. — ■ Close of tlie celebration, 226. — Annual meeting 1880, 226. — - Election of officers, with Samuel II. 
 Scudder as President, 230. — -Review of the fifth decade, 231. — Original members yet living, 234. — 
 Sketch of George B. Emerson, 235. — Present condition of tlie Society and the liopcs of its foumlers, 
 237. — Statistics of the Liljrary and Museum, 238. — Funded property, 239. — Present work, 240. — Inade- 
 quacy of means, 241. — Aspirations, 242. — Wishes expressed in Dr. W. J. Walker's will, 243. 
 
 List of past officers of the Society, 244. 
 
 Contents, 248. 
 
 List of portraits, 250. 
 
 PORTRAITS IN THIS VOLUME. 
 
 Benjamin D. Greene, M.D., First President of the Society. Ileliotype from a life-size crayon por- 
 trait in the possession of the Society. Opposite page 89. 
 
 George B. Emerson, LL.D., Second President. Ileliotype from an enlarged ]ihotogra]ih. Op])osite 
 page 236. 
 
 Amos Binney, M.D., Third President. Helioty|>e from a portrait in oil in possession of the Society. 
 Ojtposite page 49. 
 
 John Collins Warren, M.D., Fourth President. Steel engraving from a daguerreotype by J. A. 
 Whipple. Opposite page 66. 
 
 Jeffries Wyman, M.D., Filth Presiilent. Ileliotype from an enlarged photograph finished in cr.-iyon, 
 in the jiossession of the Society. O])jiosite page 169. 
 
 Thomas T. Bouve, Sixth President. Ileliotype from a crayon portrait in possession of his family. 
 Opposite page 212. 
 
 William J. Walker, il.D. Ileliotype from a crayon in possession of the Society. Opposite page 105. 
 
 Augustus A. Gould, M.D. Engraving by II. Wright Smith, from a daguerreotype by Southwoith & 
 Ilawes, originally published in the Annual of Scientific Discovery for 1861. Oi)posite page 112. 
 
 D. Humphreys Storer, M.D. Steel engraving, prepared for the "Biographical Encyclopedia of 
 
 Massachusetts of the Nineteenth Century," i)ublished in New York in 1879. Opposite page 80. 
 
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