510 The Smithsonian Institution 



except for his urgent wish and encouragement. If a per- 

 sonal word may be pardoned, "The Fishes of North and 

 Middle America," which closely followed " Oceanic Ichthy- 

 ology," would never have been written except for my friend's 

 repeated insistence and generous help. 



In the earlier days of the scientific activities of the Smith- 

 sonian Institution, there was scarcely a young naturalist of 

 serious purposes in the land who had not in some way re- 

 ceived help and encouragement from Professor Baird. With 

 equally unselfish effectiveness and lack of ostentation, Doctor 

 Goode was also in different ways a source of aid and inspir- 

 ation to all of his scientific contemporaries. The influence of 

 the National Museum for good in the United States has been 

 great in a degree far out of proportion to the sums of money 

 it has had to expend. It has not been a Washington institu- 

 tion, but its influence has been national. 



The first recorded scientific paper of Doctor Goode is a 

 note 1 on the occurrence of the bill-fish in fresh water in the 

 Connecticut River. The next is a critical discussion of the 

 answers to the question "Do snakes swallow their young? " 

 In this paper he shows that there is good reason to believe 

 that in certain viviparous snakes, the young seek refuge in 

 the stomach of the mother when frightened, and that they 

 come out when the reason for their retreat has passed. 



The first of the many technical and descriptive papers on 

 fishes was the "Catalogue of the Fishes of the Bermudas," 2 

 published in 1876. This is a model record of field observa- 

 tions and is one of the best of local catalogues. Doctor 

 Goode retained his interest in this outpost of the great West 

 Indian fauna, and from time to time recorded the various 

 additions made to his first Bermudan catalogue. 



1 The American Naturalist, Volume v, page 487. 

 2 " Bulletin Number 5, United States National Museum." 



