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 welfare. Was tiiere 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 eftective. 



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 original members of the Society, 

 may well be considered such, as he became an associate with them immediately after its 

 formation, and in September of the 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, March 26th, 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. Hitchcock 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. Emerson, 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., Librarian 

 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 work. 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 

 has since remarked that he could scarcely at the time have told a flounder from any other 



