Ffbruaey 2, 1900.] 



SCIENGK 



163 



Kodentia ' (with J. A. Allen), 1877 ; ' Birds 

 ofthe Colorado Valley,' 1878; 'Bibliography 

 of Ornithology,' various installments, 1878- 

 1880 ; ' New England Bird Life ' (with W. 

 A. Stearns), 1882 ; ' Dictionary and Check- 

 List of North Americaa Birds,' 1882. For 

 four years he edited the publicatioas of 

 the Hayden Survey. Unfortunately only a 

 small portion of his invaluable 'Bibliography 

 of Ornithology ' was ever published, but 

 the published part has been of the greatest 

 service to all workers on Americaa birds, 

 to which these portions mainly relate. 



No work doubtless has had such a benefi- 

 cent influence upon the progress of Amer- 

 ican ornithology as Coues's ' Key,' origi- 

 nally published in 1872, and republished in 

 1884 as a practically new work. During 

 the last two years it has again been re- 

 written, and again transformed and brought 

 down to date ; we understand the manu- 

 scripts were left in such condition that the 

 work will soon go to press, and will doubt- 

 less prove a lasting monument to the in- 

 dustry and skill of its gifted author. 



Dr. Coues was not lacking in scientific 

 honors. In 1877 he was elected a member 

 of the National Academy of Sciences ; he 

 was also a member of all the more prom- 

 inent American scientific societies, and 

 of many foreign academies and societies. 

 He was one of the founders of the Amer- 

 ican Ornithologists' Union, at one time its 

 president, and always a member of its 

 council and more important committees. 

 He took a most earnest interest in its wel- 

 fare and fame, and always viewed with sat- 

 isfaction and pride his share in its organ- 

 ization and achievements, and his death 

 will be held as a personal loss to his fellow 

 members. 



As I have said elsewhere {Auk, January, 

 1900, p. 91), Dr. Coues, as an all-around 

 ornithologist, occupied a position of first- 

 rank among the cultivators of this science. 

 His influence upon the progress of technical 



ornithology in America is only second to 

 that of Baird ; as a popular writer on birds 

 ho was without a peer. His rare literary 

 gifts rendered him a fluent and impressive 

 speaker, and a writer of exceptional read- 

 ability and originality of expression. His 

 activity was prodigious and his capacity 

 for work phenomenal. Though impulsive 

 and at times somewhat erratic, he had 

 many admirable traits, which none can so 

 well appreciate as those who knew him 

 most intimately. 



J. A. Allen. 



THE NEW DEPARTMENI OF VERTEBRATE 



PALEONTOLOGY OF THE CARNEGIE 



MUSE mi. 



The organization of this department in 

 the Carnegie Museum during the past year 

 has marked an important advance in the 

 history of this young and growing institu- 

 tion. The unequaled facilities which the 

 western portions of our country afford for 

 the pursuit of this important branch of sci- 

 ence have now come to be fully appreciated, 

 and have within the past few years resulted 

 in giving to this study an impetus which a 

 few years ago was totally unknown. 



The remarkable consecutiveness of this 

 life record, together with its richness in 

 vertebrate remains, especially in the Meso- 

 zoic and the Tertiary rocks, has permitted 

 the gathering of collections of inestimable 

 value when we consider what they con- 

 tribute to the solution of some of the great 

 problems in biology. 



It has always seemed to me that our 

 leading institutions have been unusually 

 slow to recognize the value and importance 

 of these collections, more especially when 

 it is remembered that the greatest develop- 

 ment of the science has taken place in this 

 country and has formed such a conspicuous 

 feature of American achievement in scien- 

 tific investigation. The addition of a new 

 member to the comparatively limited circle, 



