420 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF [1887. 



" The Republic of Natural Sciences has lost a generous friend and an 

 efficient workman by the death of Dr. Isaac Lea. His services to 

 the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, have extended 

 through seventy-one years from June 1815. He was one of the 

 founders of the Conchological Section, Dec. 1866, and was its first 

 Director. During a period of over fifty years he gave his time and 

 talents, his labor, influence and money in aiding the progress of 

 Conchology in its several dej^artments and especially in that of the 

 fresh water mollusks. . In this he was leader and master, and among 

 the first in authority. His name is conspicuous wherever Con- 

 chology is studied on account of the valuable services he has 

 rendered in this department of the Natural Sciences. 



His happy life was prolonged far beyond the common lot. We 

 sincerely deplore his loss. Our sympathies are with his family. 

 We place this record on our minutes in testimony of our sense of 

 his high and in every respect exemplary character and conduct." 



Mr. G. W. Tryon Jr., Conservator, reports as follows : 



"The presentation by Mi's. Susan D. Brown of Princeton N. J., 

 of the extensive and valuable collection of pulmoniferous land shells 

 made by her late son Albert D. Brown is the principal event in the 

 history of our section during the year. Mr. Brown, a well known 

 conchologist and one of the founders of this Section, by devoting 

 his attention to a single great group of the mollusca succeeded in 

 amassing a collection which, for the completeness of its suites and 

 beauty of arrangement ranked easily among the best in the world. 

 His mother, anxious to place these treasures where they would be 

 most useful, offered them to us subject to no restriction whatever. 



Upon consideration of the extent and condition of the collection, 

 your conservator decided that no portion of the mounted series 

 should be excluded from our cases; for although we already pos- 

 sessed a large proportion of the species, the localities were in most 

 cases different, and the specimens frequently much finer than ours. 

 Hundreds of the species were, however, new to us. The mounting 

 and labelling of the Brown shells was confided to Mr. Frank Stout, 

 and this duty, which has occupied his time for the major portion of 

 the year, has been very acceptably performed. The collection num- 

 bers 5404 trays and labels, containing 19,593 specimens. Mrs. 

 Brown also presented the fine microscope used by her late son. A 

 suitable inscription has been engraved upon this instrument, which 

 is intended for the use of members of the section and conchological 

 students generally. 



