560 Obituary. 



individual (as all agreed) was hardly to be met with. Scott's 

 primary object in this visit was to examine the Patagonian 

 specimens in our National Collection. He had undertaken 

 to work out and describe the birds collected during an 

 expedition sent out by the Princeton University to Patagonia 

 to investigate the Geology and Zoology of that country, and 

 for that purpose it was necessary to see what was to be 

 found in the Euroj)eau Museums. Scott's uncertain state 

 ot health sadly iiiterfered with the preparation of his report 

 on this subject^ and two parts of it only ^ have, as yet, been 

 issued. 



About 1906 Scott and his wife moved their headquarters 

 to Saranac Lake, N.Y., supposed to be the " Davos " of 

 North America. The following extracts from a letter re- 

 ceived from Mrs. Scott will give some idea of his life at this 

 charming place : — 



Of the years, four in number, that Mr. Scott speut in Saranac I^uke, 

 none were wasted, tbey were full of interest to the last. His first 

 winter out of doors gave him wonderful familiarity with the resident 

 birds ; the Chickadees, Nuthatches, and Blue Jays were his daily visitor.-i, 

 the two former feeding fi'om his hand and awakening him in the early 

 morning by alighting on his head. The red squirrels, too, were per- 

 sistent in their attentions, and later the chipmunks came regularly for 

 their ration of pea-nuta. The Kuffed Grouse crowded the birch trees 

 close to the door. So there were compensations. Then, as Mr. Scott 

 grew stronger, he made himself familiar with the flora and fauna of the 

 country, and he had particular pleasure in studying the pond-life which 

 is teeming during our short summer. lie Avrote a series of sketches for 

 the 'Journal of Out-Door-Life,' a puhlication particularly designed to 

 help the invalids Avho mu.^t live in the open. These charming sketches 

 I hope to have republished iu book form. 



As you know, Mr. Scott was also busy with his Patagonian record, 

 and that gave him constant satisfaction. He had further projected an 

 elaborate review of all his field-work which it would have taken two or 

 more years to comj)lete. It was also his keen desire to visit Patagonia, 

 where there rema,ins so much to be di.scovered regarding the bird-lil'e, 

 for he felt that the material at hand only iu a small measure revealed 

 the condition of the avifauna, and that practically nothing is known of 

 the life-history of many of the species. Mr. Scott has set forth many 

 of the problems remaining to be studied, and I shall try to have this 



* See ' Ibis/ 1005, p. 1;J0, and 1010, p. 5t)3. 



