° 1918 ] Richmond, In Memoriam: Edgar A. Mearns. 3 



When he was about ten years old he began to write out and 

 preserve his observations on birds, and some of these, written in a 

 very youthful hand, are still extant; but it was not until 1872, 

 when a boy of sixteen, that his efforts had crystallized into a plan 

 to prepare a report on the vertebrate fauna of his region, and he 

 set to work with all the energy and enthusiasm of youth to gather 

 material and information for this purpose. It was in the spring of 

 this year that he seriously began a collection, and he then formed 

 the habit of carefully labelling his specimens, noting any important 

 items connected with each object, such as its dimensions in the 

 flesh, the color of its eyes, and other facts of interest. This habit 

 was faithfully followed in after years, and in birds alone it is esti- 

 mated that over 60,000 measurements were recorded in his various 

 field catalogues. He did not confine his attentions to zoology, 

 but devoted himself to the flora as well, and unlike many young 

 students he was ambitious to learn something of foreign species, 

 for as early as 1875 he was in correspondence with one or more 

 European collectors, from whom he obtained many specimens in 

 exchange. 



His first published paper, on ' The Capture of several Rare Birds 

 near West Point, N. Y.', 1 appeared in January, 1878, and it is 

 worthy of comment that under the first species mentioned in this 

 paper he acknowledged some information received from his " friend, 

 Mr. Theodore Roosevelt," inasmuch as almost the last field work 

 he ever undertook was with this same leader of men. 



Three other notes followed shortly, while a paper on ' The White- 

 headed Eagles in the Hudson Highlands,' 2 presented at the meeting 

 of the Linnsean Society of New York, on April 6, 1878, was the 

 first communication read before that newly formed society, and 

 was appropriately published on July 4th. Toward the end of the 

 year he had made sufficient progress with his big undertaking to 

 look forward to a suitable medium of publication, and he wrote to 

 Dr. J. A. Allen for advice. This letter, a copy of which was found 

 among his manuscripts, is here reproduced, as it emphasizes the 

 importance he attached to specific, as opposed to vague general 



1 BuU. Nuttall Orn. Club, III, No. 1, Jan., 1878, 45, 46. 



2 Forest and Stream, X, No. Ill, July 4, 1878, 421; No. 113, July 18, 1878, 462, 463. 



