The Academy of Natural Sciences 17 



collection of birds as to be somewhat jealous of his authority as 

 Ornithological Curator. Daniel Giraud Elliot and others desiring 

 access to the specimens for purposes of study found him ready with 

 most generous assistance, but interference in the administration of 

 the department, as was once attempted by Dr. Heerman, the cata- 

 loguer of the oological collection, was sternly and effectively 

 resented. The western room of the library was filled with trays of 

 mounted birds and scores of volumes which no one dared to touch. 

 Books and specimens, although somewhat the worse for dust, were 

 made good use of by the autocrat, especially on Sundays, for the 

 exigencies of breadwinning left him but little time for his favorite 

 studies during the week. 



The genial old Frenchman, Elias Durand, 12 had charge 

 of the herbarium and was just then much perturbed by the 

 blunders of S. B. Buckley in his papers on the plants of Texas. 

 These were later unsparingly criticised by Gray. 



Lea was reading at the meetings the prodromi of the papers 

 to be afterwards printed in extenso in the Journal and, it must 

 be confessed, not contributing greatly thereby to the interest 

 of the sessions. The sound of the fierce battle between him and 

 Conrad had died away and the latter, as efficiently as his dyspepsia 

 would allow, was describing fossil shells and making autograph 

 drawings on stone of his new species, his activity being greatly 

 stimulated by the facilities for publication supplied by the newly 

 started American Journal of Conchology. 



George W. Tryon, Jr., 13 the devoted editor and proprietor of 

 the new journal, was an indefatigable worker and gave up his interest 

 in a lucrative business to devote himself to science. Before doing 

 so he devoted every spare moment to his conchological work and on 

 meeting nights and holidays would be found at his preempted 

 post in the library with trays of shells and piles of books preparing 

 his lists and monographs. He started the American Journal of 

 Conchology in 1865 and carried it successfully through seven 

 volumes. In 1879 he published the first number of the Manual of 

 Conchology, a work to which his future scientific labors were 

 almost entirely confined. The series has been continued by the 



12 Obituary Notice of Elias Durand, by Thomas Meehan, Proceedings 

 A. N. 8. P., 1873, pp. 355-359. 



13 A Biographical Notice of George W. Tryon, Jr., by W. S. W. 

 Ruschenberger, M.D. Proceedings A. N. 8. P. 1888, pp. 399-418. 



