DELAWARE VALLEY ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. O 



Holmes, of Cape May Court House, N. J., a locality which he, 

 in company with all the other ornithologists of the day, visited 

 in pursuit of water birds. Frequent trips were later made 

 by him and Wm. Baird to the Holmes establishment, from 

 which they scoured the swamps and marshes for ducks, white 

 herons, shore birds, and other species of interest. 



His experiment as a dentist does not seem to have been a 

 success, and in 1851 his health failed. His family attributed 

 this to the effects of arsenic, and Dr. Mahlon Kirk, his brother- 

 in-law, in a recent letter tome, writes: "I often saw John when 

 employed by the government to mount specimens in Washing- 

 ton, bending over a big tray of arsenic in what was then called 

 the Patent Office, now the Department of Interior, enveloped 

 in a cloud of the dust, which being a cumulative poison, 

 destroyed his health and ended in liis premature death." 



With the hope of recovering his health he engaged to go as 

 naturalist with Commodore Aulich on a government cruise to 

 the east coast of Africa. His sickness, however, so increased 

 that he was unable to sail with the expedition, and he died 

 soon after it left port, February 6, 1851, at the age of 42. Dr 

 Kirk adds: 



"Since his death over half a century has passed, but his lov 

 able qualities and scientific attainments are as fresh and green 

 now as I recall them in the first development of my manhood. 

 His personality was most attractive. His courtesy, kindness of 

 heart, and his brilliant conversational powers, fortified with a 

 vivacious intellect and a fund of knowledge covering almost all 

 subjects, made him a delightful companion and endeared him 

 to every one who came within his influence." 



