Vol. XXXVII 



1920 



Notes and News. 183 



him during 1919 and in previous years, the Editor of 'The Auk' extends 

 his thanks, with the hope that their support may continue during 1920, a 

 year which gives promise of being most notable in the field of ornithological 

 research. — W. S. 



Dr. Charles Conrad Abbott died at his home in Bristol, Pa., on July 

 28, 1919, age 76 years. He was widely known as a popular writer on 

 nature, as an archaeologist, and in his earlier years as an ichthyologist, 

 while throughout his life he was an ardent out door student of the habits 

 of animals. 



He was born on June 4, 1843, at Trenton, N. J., son of Timothy Abbott 

 and Susan Conrad Abbott, while his maternal grandfather, from whom he 

 apparently inherited his love for nature, was Solomon W. Conrad, some- 

 time lecturer on botany and mineralogy in the University of Pennsylvania. 

 From early youth he was deeply interested in natural history studies, and 

 showing no interest in business he decided to study medicine, as being the 

 profession most nearly akin to his hobbies. He graduated in 1865, but 

 never engaged in practice and acquiring the old Abbott homestead, "Three 

 Beeches," on the Delaware below Trenton, in 1874, he devoted practically 

 his whole life to the study of nature on its broad acres and in the surround- 

 ing woods and marshes. 



In 1884 appeared his first popular nature work entitled 'A Naturalist's 

 Rambles about Home' followed two years later by 'Upland and Meadow ' 

 probably his best effort, which was pronounced by James Purves, an 

 English writer, as the "most delightful book of its kind which America 

 has given us" adding that it closely approached White's Selborne. He 

 published a number of other works of the same kind, and also some novels 

 which were not very successful. He made some valuable contributions to 

 archaeology and was connected with the Peabody Museum at Cambridge 

 and for a time with the Museum of the University of Pennsylvania. At 

 the former institution his collection of some 20,000 specimens from the 

 Delaware Valley is deposited. He was also a voluminous contributor to 

 'Popular Science Monthly' and other similar journals. 



His most important ornithological contribution was the catalogue of 

 New Jersey birds in Cooke's ' Geology of New Jersey,' published in 1868. 

 This contained some remarkable errors of identification as did some of his 

 other ornithological papers of about the same time, which naturally brought 

 forth criticism. This was something that Dr. Abbott seemed unable to 

 tolerate and he stubbornly maintained the correctness of his assertions in 

 spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. 



lie was of a very peculiar temperament and caustic in his comments so 

 that he made enemies or rather drove away many who would have been 

 fast friends. To those who understood him he was a most interesting 

 companion and none could ask for a more entertaining host than he, when 

 at his beautiful home on the Delaware, he took his guests to his familiar 

 haunts and told them the traditions and happenings associated with them. 



