274 THE AMERICAN MIDLAND NATURALIST 
SPENCER FULERTON BAIRD 
A BIOGRAPHY. 
This biography deals with the life of a scientific collector, 
whose enthusiasm for his work was remarkable. The book 
containes many letters written by Mr. Baird himself, his brother 
William, who was also intensely interested in natural history, and 
by noted men of science who were contemporaries of theirs. The 
early letters of the two Bairds, while interesting to special students, 
do not possess the literary charm of more mature minds. Many 
of the letters of such famous authors as'Audubon, Agassiz, Dana, 
and others are very readable and informing. 
Besides these letters, the author, William Healey Dall, A. M. 
D. Sc., wisely introduced numerous notes by Lucy Hunter Baird, 
only daughter of the subject of the biography. Miss Baird had 
contemplated writing her father’s life, for which she had gathered 
much material; but being an invalid, her strength was unequal 
to the task of composition, and her notes were all she accomplished 
toward the proposed biography. ‘These notes, however, are the 
finest part of the life, and make the reader regret that the daughter 
was unable to do what her heart so desired. 
The first four chapters of the biography are entitled respec- 
tively, ‘Genealogical and Family Notes,’ ‘Childhood and Youth,’ 
‘Life at Carlisle,’ ‘The Young Professor.’ The first chapter gives 
a most interesting account of the ancestors of the Bairds, and of 
noted Americans who were their contemporaries. ‘The three 
succeeding chapters inform the reader, through numerous letters, 
of the activities of Mr. Baird up to the time of his appointment 
as assistant secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. It must 
be said that hardly anyone but .a scientific collector would be 
interested enough to read all of these letters. But the text of the 
author, and especially the notes of Lucy Hunter Baird, together 
with some of the letters, afford a clear insight into the beautiful 
character of Spencer F. Baird. 
The two chapters, ‘The Smithsonian Institution’ and ‘Life 
in Washington,’ are very readable, being made up entirely of the 
observations of the author and of the notes of Miss Baird. The 
topics of these chapters are of general interest, dealing either 
with the growth and development of the Smithsonian or with 
important personages in Washington, with whom Mr. Baird had 
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