X OBITUARY NOTICES. 



examination of hemoglobin from the blood of over one hundred 

 species of animals and the preparation of 2,500 photomicrographs, 

 600 of which appear in the report along with upwards of 400 out- 

 line drawings. Briefly the investigation shows that the crystals from 

 the several species of a genus all belong to one crystallographic 

 group — those of the cats (Genus Felis) for instance, being iso- 

 morphous just as strictly as are the rhombohedral carbonates among 

 minerals. Specific characters are also evident in the differences in 

 the angles of the crystals. The importance of such facts in con- 

 sidering the relationship of species and genera and in the whole field 

 of phylogeny will readily be appreciated. An able review of the 

 work has been published by Dr. Leo Loeb" from which one can 

 obtain a good estimate of the value of the conclusions reached by 

 the authors, from the standpoint of the biologist. In his review 

 Professor Loeb also quotes opinions of several expert crystallog- 

 raphers, on this phase of the investigation. From these we may 

 quote the statement of Professor Edward H. Kraus, of the Uni- 

 versity of Michigan, that : " From the crystallographic standpoint 

 Professor A. P. Brown has done a remarkable piece of w^ork which 

 is deserving of the highest credit," and that of Dr. J. E. Pogue, of 

 the Smithsonian Institution, who says : " The actual crystallographic 

 and optical details are apparently determined with skill and ac- 

 curacy. The photomicrographs are excellent and the line drawings 

 good." 



The constant application incident to this protracted piece of re- 

 search and the severe strain which it entailed were too much for 

 Brown, and in the summer of 1909 he suffered a severe nervous 

 breakdown, which necessitated a complete rest from his duties at 

 the University, during the next college year. 



He took a trip to Jamaica in February, 1910, his first experience 

 in the tropics, and became so much interested in the natural history 

 of the island that he returned for another visit in April, passing on 

 this time to Panama, where he studied the geological formations 

 exposed in the canal cuts and discovered some interesting beds of 

 fossils from which he made valuable collections. The study of 

 these upon his return to Philadelphia showed them to be of such 



'^~ Sciotcc, XXXIII., pp. 147-150, January 27, 1911. 



