MERRILL SCHUCHERT 633 



attempt is being made to discover by actual experiment in the lab- 

 oratory the correctness or falsity of deduction or of inductive rea- 

 soning." (1924, 2)refaco.) 



Merrill also wrote Contributions to a History of American State 

 Geological and Natural History Surveys. (1920a.) 



In the course of his historical research, Merrill accumulated por- 

 traits and autograph letters, nut only of most of the American pio- 

 neers, but of a great many of the later American geologists as well, 

 and this very valuable collection has now been given to the Museum 

 in which he labored so long. 



mkurill''s honors 



Morrill was elected into the National Academy of Sciences in 1922, 

 thus receiving the greatest honor that can come to a num of science 

 in America ; and in that same year he was awarded the J. Lawrence 

 Smith gold medal of the academy for his work on meteorites. He 

 was a member of the American Philosophical Society, the Academy 

 of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, the Washington Academy of 

 Sciences, tlie Geological Society of America (vice president 1920), 

 ihe Geological Society of "Washington (president 1906-07), and the 

 Maryland Academy of Sciences; and a corresponding member of the 

 American Institute of Architects and several other organizations. 

 His fraternal affiliations were with Phi Ganmia Delta and Phi 

 Kappa Phi, and he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma 

 Gamma Epsilon. 



Of honorary degrees, he held an M. S. and a Ph. D. from the Uni- 

 Tersity of Maine, and a Sc. D. from George Washington University. 



A very great honor, and certainly a most enjoyable one, came to 

 Doctor Merrill on the evening of his seventy-fifth birthday, when 

 he was given a testimonial dinner by his many friends and colleagues 

 from scientific circles. At this love feast many nice things were 

 said of him and of his scientific career, and out of the report of the 

 dinner in Science (August 2, 1929:122-123) the following is 

 gleaned : 



[For nearly h.ilf a c<'iitury Merrill had been connected with the Smithsonian 

 Institution.] During this time Doctor Merrill ha.s won admlrnllon and high 

 ■esteem from his many friends and acquaintanoes in scientific and social sph«>res. 

 His career is indicated by his versatility. He Is a teacher, a critic, n public 

 sp«^aker, an executive, and a scientist. I>uriii}r his long and active life, 

 Doctor Merrill has done much for the advancctiK-nt of sclenc*', amont; his many 

 achievements beinjr several works which stand out as monuments, namely. 

 Stones for Building and Decoration, Rock-weatherlnj; and Soils. The First One 

 Hundred Years of American Geolofry, and his many highly enlightening works 

 on meteorites, for which In 192*2 he was awarded the J. Lawrence Smith medal 

 by the National Academy of Sciences. 



