Mat 14, 1920] 



SCIENCE 



479 



During the summer of 1919, while con- 

 ducting botanical field work in Jasper Park, 

 Alberta, Mr. Maeoun was taken ill but 

 finished his field work before returning- to 

 Ottawa early in October. He became gradu- 

 ally worse and went to a hospital, but was 

 found to be beyond surgical help. 



Mr. Maeoun was born in Belleville, Ontario, 

 in 1862. The members of the Maeoun family 

 are known for their endeavors in scientific 

 lines and as staunch workers for democratic 

 good citizenship. Mr. Maeoun was the son of 

 Professor John Maeoun, naturalist of the 

 Geological Survey, Canada, now residing at 

 Sidney, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. 

 He was the brother of Mr. W. T. Maeoun. 

 Dominion Horticulturist at the Central Ex- 

 perimental Farm, Ottawa. The Maeoun name 

 is connected with practically all the botanical 

 research work of Canada, and many of the 

 plant species of Canada bear the name of 

 Maeoun. This alone is evidence of their au- 

 thoritative standing in the botanical world. 

 When young, James M. Maeoun attended 

 Belleville High School, and Albert College, 

 where his father was then professor of botany. 



In 1881, when nineteen years of age, he ac- 

 companied his father to the field on an ex- 

 ploration of the territory between Portage la 

 Prairie, Manitoba, and the head waters of the 

 Assiniboine. 



In 1882, when his father, Professor Maeoun, 

 moved to Ottawa to take charge of the botan- 

 ical and other natural history work of the 

 Geological Survey, James came as his assist- 

 ant, and he became a regular worker as a 

 civil servant of the Dominion Government in 

 1883. In this service he continued for thirty- 

 seven years, dying in harness. Mr. Maeoun 

 specialized in botany from the time he entered 

 the service. He assisted his father in the 

 preparation and publication of his monumen- 

 tal botanical work, and the two editions of 

 the annotated list of the birds of Canada. 



Mr. Maeoun was appointed assistant nat- 

 viralist of the survey in 1898. Since 1912, 

 when his father moved to British Colimibia, 

 much greater responsibility was thrown on 

 him, and he was appointed botanist in 1917. 



In 1918, because of his wide knowledge, he 

 was appointed chief of the Biological Division. 



In 1891, when the fur-seal industry of the 

 Pacific Islands was a subject of diplomatic 

 concern between Great Britain, Canada, and 

 the United States, he was chosen by Dr. 

 George M. Dawson, then director of the Geo- 

 logical Survey and Behring Sea Conmiissioner 

 for Canada, to accompany him on a trip of 

 investigation to Behring Sea. His services 

 in the study of the life history and habits of 

 the fur seal were so valuable that he was 

 retained on this work in 1892 and 1893, and 

 was sent to Europe as an exi)ert in connection 

 with the fur-seal arbitration. 



In 1896 and in 1914 he was again sent to 

 Behring Sea. In 1911 he spent 10 weeks in 

 "Washington as one of the Canadian repre- 

 sentatives at the fur-seal conference. For his 

 special international work in connection with 

 the fur-seal he was highly commended by 

 Lord Bryce, then British Ambassador at 

 Washington, and received a C. M. G. for his 

 services. 



Mr. Maeoun had his full share in the field 

 work of the staft' of the Geological Survey, 

 which takes the members to many parts of 

 Canada and mainly to the outlying or least 

 civilized areas. On some of the expeditions he 

 endiu'ed very severe hardships; for instance, 

 in 1910, while studying the flora and fauna 

 of the west coast of Hudson Bay, his ship 

 was wi-ecked and the party had to attempt 

 the return to civilization in a small boat. 

 Fortunately they were rescued and taken to 

 Fort Churchill, from where they made the 

 overland trip to Lake Winnipeg on foot in 

 the depth of winter, reaching the telegraph 

 line after having been almost given up for 

 lost. Mr. Maeoun was always the leader in 

 the morning and brought up the rear in the 

 evening to see that no one was left behind to 

 freeze. He always depreciated his own hard- 

 ships on this trip and the importance of his 

 effort, but it is no small task to bring forty 

 men unacquainted with snowshoe travel, from 

 Hudson Bay to Winnei)eg in winter without 

 loss of life or limb. 



To Mr. Maeoun and his father is due the 



