1911] Morse — Orthopterological Work of Mr. S. H. Scudder 187 



THE ORTHOPTEROLOGICAL WORK OF MR. S. H. SCUD- 

 DER, WITH PERSONAL REMINISCENCES. 



By Albert P. Morse, 

 Wellesley, Mass. 



In March, 1861, there appeared in the Proceedings of the Boston 

 Society of Natural History a brief paper of nine pages "On the 

 genus Rhaphidophora Serville, with descriptions of four species 

 from the caves of Kentucky and the Pacific Coast," by Samuel 

 H. Scudder of Cambridge and Boston. This was the first paper 

 on orthoptera published by Mr. Scudder. It was followed in 

 November of the succeeding year by an article of 80 pages in the 

 Boston journal of natural history entitled "Materials for a mono- 

 graph of the North American orthoptera, including a catalogue 

 of the New England species," which treated of 115 species, including 

 78 from New England. For forty years from that date, until 

 1902, when Mr. Scudder definitely abandoned scientific work 

 in consequence of increasing physical infirmities, he was facile 

 princeps of American authorities on orthoptera and one of the 

 foremost in the world, a position due primarily to great natural 

 ability and excellent equipment fortunately associated with 

 adequate time and means to seize the opportunities presented. 



I have been unable to learn what particular reason led him to 

 choose this group of insects for special study; but it is evident 

 from the preface of the "Materials" that even at that date he 

 had acquired considerable collections and had devoted much study 

 to the group. 



A few short papers on the order came from him during the next 

 five years and in 1868 appeared his "Catalogue of the Orthoptera 

 of North America described previous to 1867," a work of 110 

 pages including an extensive bibliography, prepared for and 

 published by the Smithsonian Institution; — this work formed 

 for many years a point of departure for students of the group in 

 America. From this time until 1880 his activity in study and 

 publication on the order was very great, papers appearing in 

 rapid succession, on a wide variety of topics — descriptive, sys- 

 tematic, anatomical, and biological, including stridulation and 



