Che Conchologists 
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Wht it) AVERELTL,. 
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EDITORIAL. 
Science was called away from her busy re- 
searches on the 8th of December, 1886, to 
mourn the death of one of her noblest and 
most conscientious workers. We refer to Isaac 
easrisies Dxt of Philadelphia, the eminent 
conchologist, whose demise, at the ripe age 
of ninety-five, has been a source of mourning 
to all scientists and the general public. This 
nation was in its infancy when Isaac Lea first 
CHESTNUD ILE, PHILADELPHIA. PAL? DE 
y 
Frchange. 
CEMBER, 1886. No. 6. 
saw the light of day and he has lived to see 
the Government on a solid basis and the 
country in general benefitted by his life and 
labors. Mr. Lea was born in Wilmington, 
Delaware, March 4th, 1792. His ancestors, 
John and Hannah Lea, came with William 
Penn from England and were noted as minis- 
ters in the Society of Friends. His father, 
James Lea, intended Isaac for the medical 
profession, but meeting the late Professor 
Vanuxem, then a youthful and very ardent 
scientist, the whole course of young Lea’s 
life was changed, and together they collected 
minerals and visited the newly-opened coal 
mines near Wilkes-Barre, Pa. 
Mr. Lea became an active member of the 
Academy of Natural Sciences in 1815, and 
contributed his collection to it. His first pa- 
per, ‘“‘An Account of the Minerals at present 
known to exist in the vicinity of Philadelphia,” 
was published in the Journal of the Academy 
in 1817. Jt was not until 1827, when the 
deepening of the channel of the Ohio River, 
and the sending of many species of shells of 
the Genus Unio to the Academy, gave rise to 
those investigations which resulted in the 
publication of his ‘Observations of the Genus 
Unio,” which we regard as the crowning 
triumph of his long and useful life. Mr. Lea 
visited Europe in 1832. In 1833 he pub- 
lished ‘‘Contributions to Geology.’”? His sec- 
ond visit to Europe was made in 1852, and 
on his return he published ‘On a Fossil Sau- 
rian of the New Red Sandstone Formation of 
Pennsylvania. He read in all one hundred 
and fifty-seven papers before learned societies 
and was honored by degrees and honorary 
memberships from no less than twenty-five of 
the most prominent Universities and scientific 
associations of the world. What more can 
we add except that Isaac Lea helped us ex- 
ceedingly well, and by his noble work on the 
