SKETCH OF ALP HE US SPRING PACKARD. 265 



In 1878 Dr. Packard received the appointment of Professor of 

 Zoology and Geology in Brown University, at Providence, R. I., 

 a position which, he holds at the present time. Here, besides his 

 duties as teacher, he has found time to conduct various investi- 

 gations, besides writing three text-books of zoology, all of which 

 have met with an extensive sale. In the spring of 1885 he found 

 time to take an extensive trip through the Southern States and 

 Mexico, " doing " the latter country in a manner not common 

 since the completion of the Mexican Central Railway. He cut 

 loose from the steam-horse and trusted himself to the old-fash- 

 ioned diligence, traveling thus across the country in a more lei- 

 surely manner, and seeing far more of it and of its inhabitants 

 than can be seen by the ordinary excursionist from the window 

 of a railway-car. 



In 1867 Dr. Packard was married to Elizabeth Derby, the 

 daughter of the late Samuel B. Walcott, of Salem, Mass. He 

 has four children. 



Such in outline is the life of Prof. Packard. Of his writings 

 we have said but little, chiefly from inability to choose from 

 their number. That their merit has been recognized by scien- 

 tific men is shown by the numbers of societies which have con- 

 ferred the distinction of honorary membership upon him. A 

 complete bibliography of his writings has recently been prepared ; 

 but, in addition to those already mentioned in the present article, 

 we may call attention to a few of the more prominent works. 

 In 1873 and 1876 respectively he published " Our Common In- 

 sects " and " Half -Hours with Insects," two popular works on en- 

 tomology. In the latter year he also published " Life Histories 

 of Animals," which was the first compendium of all the known 

 facts in the development of the animal kingdom, a work which 

 has, however^ been largely superseded by the more extensive 

 " Comparative Embryology " of the late Prof. F. M. Balfour. In 

 1883 appeared his monograph of the " Phyllopod Crustacea," an 

 account of a small group of animals which reach their greatest 

 development in America. For several years he contributed the 

 zoological notes to the scientific departments of " Harper's New 

 Monthly Magazine," and of the " New York Independent." Of 

 late years his studies have taken a turn in the line of the philos- 

 ophy of zoology rather than in that of the description of species 

 and the identification of specimens. He is now more interested 

 in the structure and growth of animals, and the principles which 

 underlie their distribution in space, than in the details of mu- 

 seum work. 



Personally, Dr. Packard is a very pleasant and entertaining 

 companion, and not least among his good qualities is the interest 

 he takes in all who show any predilection toward scientific work. 



