Memorial Meeting. 2 1 



a collection representing the methods of the fisheries and the habits of 

 the fishermen. Neglecting- neither the most trivial nor important objects, 

 branching ont into every collateral matter, he showed his grasp both of 

 principles and of details. 



His literar}^ bent and facility of written expression showed itself before 

 his graduation at Wesleyan in the College Argus, which contains seven 

 brief papers, including his first scientific article, prophetically entitled 

 Our Museum. He contributed to the American Naturalist in 1871 a 

 note upon The Billfish in Fresh Water, and in 1872 A Sea Bird Inland. 

 He published and presented before the American Association in 1873 his 

 first paper of importance, entitled Do Snakes Swallow Their Young? 

 These studies of real merit foreshadow two marked features of his later 

 work — first, his recognition of the importance of distribution, which cul- 

 minated in the preparation of his unfinished memoir upon the Geographi- 

 cal Distribution of Deep Sea Fishes; second, his close observance of the 

 habits of animals, which was of marked usefulness in his subsequent Fish 

 Commission service and treatises upon fish-culture. His Catalogue of 

 the Fishes of the Bermudas, from his visit in 1872, indicates how early in 

 life he had thought out a thoroughly philosophical method of studying a 

 local fauna: "In working up my notes," he says, " I have endeavored 

 to supplement previous descriptions by ( i ) descriptions of the colors of 

 the fishes while living, (2) notes on size and proportions, (3) observa- 

 tions on habits, (4) hints in reference to the origin and meaning of their 

 popular names, (5) notes upon modes of capture and economic value. " 

 He increased the number of recorded species from seven to seventy-five, 

 and gave a careful analysis of their probable geographical derivation. 



Many of his briefer papers deal directly with the biological problems 

 which attracted his interest, especially among reptiles and fishes, touch- 

 ing such questions as migration, coloring, albini.sm, mimicry, parasitism, 

 feeding and breeding habits, and the relation of forest protection to the 

 protection of fishes. 



It is difficult to classify the papers, long and short, which we find rap- 

 idly succeeding each other in the valuable bibliography prepared by Doctor 

 Adler and Mr. Geare. Of his 193 independent papers, 21 are biological, 

 9 treat of reptiles and amphibians, 38 are devoted to the structure, life 

 habits, and distribution of the fishes, in addition to 15 purely systematic 

 contributions upon the fishes. Among the former are his large memoirs 

 upon the Menhaden, his shorter treatises upon the Trunk Fishes, the 

 Pampanos, the Sword Fishes, and the Eel. The work of the Fish Com- 

 mission is described, and published at home and abroad, in 30 reports and 

 popular papers. The special branch of Fisheries Exhibits is treated in 

 8 papers, and of fish-culture in 12 papers. Besides his 14 reports as 

 Director of the National Museum he published, between 1881 and 1896, 

 13 papers developing the theory and practice of museum administra- 

 tion, leading up to his very notable articles, Museums of the Future, 



