2 NATURE-STUDY REVIEW 



several years a valued contributor. He was born in South Scit- 

 uate, Mass., November 29th, 1881. He is a descendant of William 

 Bradford, Governor of Plymouth Colony, and of Peter Sears, 

 a Captain in the war of the Revolution. His grandfather was 

 Captain Abel Vinal, master of a fishing vessel which sailed many 

 years from the port of Cohasset. His parents lived on a farm 

 in South Scituate (now Norwall) and like most farmers of that 

 region were hardly in circumstances that would be termed affluent. 

 As a child he was weak and sickly but he had a mother who knew 

 how to give him the right kind of care, and he grew into a strong 

 stalwart man. His parents were both fond of the out-of-doors 

 and he had their companionship and interest in his many boyish 

 enterprises. He kept hens, ducks and pigeons and raised wild 

 geese for decoys for a rich shoe manufacturer; he had to mow 

 fresh grass every day for the geese and at the end of the season 

 he received a pair of shoes for this labor. He made pets of his 

 chickens and taught them many interesting tricks; but his 

 special pet was a Spitz dog called Dandy, who was his insep- 

 arable companion. Dandy would slide down hill with his master 

 and play hide and seek with him, never starting until the signal 

 was given; he also was a help in getting the cows, catching chickens 

 and in hunting. Among young Vinal's poultry were "frizzled 

 fowls," a rare breed that always took first prizes at the County 



Fairs. 



His education began in "district school" but he graduated from 

 a high school in 1899; later he entered the Bridgewater Normal 

 School and graduated there from a four year course in 1903. 

 He received the degree of S. B. from the Lawrence Scientific School 

 in 1906 and the degree of A. M. from Harvard in 1907. During 

 his entire school career he earned money in various ways; while 

 he was at Bridgewater he was librarian for four years; while at 

 Harvard he waited on table at Randall Hall and was assistant in 

 various laboratory courses. 



One of the most interesting phases of Mr. Vinal's school 

 life is what he did with his vacations. Each year he chose to 

 do something different from the work of the preceding years 

 in his efforts to earn money for school expenses. In 1898 he work- 

 ed on a neighboring farm at 7j^ cents an hour. The next year 

 he drove a vegetable cart to Nantasket Beach, starting at four 



