If books failed, he resorted to original study and to correspondence 

 with eminent workers in the same field. Thus he was becoming more 

 and more thoroughly familiar with a wide range of subjects, and 

 acquainted personally with the leading men, both in this country and 

 abroad. 



After a year at Litchfield, he was called to take charge of Houlton 

 Academy, then the largest academy in Maine. There he continued 

 his geological studies, spending much time in the field, especially 

 among the fossil-bearing rock deposits in northern and southeastern 

 Maine. Finding that to study such rocks, he needed to know more 

 of botany and zoology, he undertook a more exhaustive study of those 

 subjects, though with no serious thought that he should ever teach 

 them. 



At this time, he got his first clear insight into entomology. It 

 began with the breeding of mosquitoes, and led soon to the collecting 

 of insects of all orders. In the new subject, he met more difficulties 

 than in any other that he had attempted. Entomological literature 

 in this country at that time was extremely fragmentary ; entomologists 

 were few and widely scattered. Following his earlier experience in 

 the study of shells, he began the study of insect and fossil specimens 

 by making drawings of them. His success was conspicuous; Prof. 

 James Hall, then State Geologist of New York, tried in vain to pro- 

 cure him to make drawings of the fossils in the New York State 

 collection. 



In September, 1871, Prof. Fernald was called to the chair of 

 Natural History in the newly established Maine state college, now 

 the University of Maine. He was to teach botany, physical geog- 

 raphy, human anatomy and physiology, comparative anatomy, veter- 

 inary science, and zoology, giving special attention to entomology, 

 geology and mineralogy. Lest these few subjects should not occupy 

 his energies, he was from time to time in his fifteen years' work at 

 Maine, called upon to teach algebra, geometry, trigonometry, agri- 

 culture and horticulture. 



During his connection with the Maine state college, he prepared 

 and published "Grasses of Maine," "Butterflies of Maine," "Sphingidse 

 of New England," and a "Catalog of the Tortricidse of North America," 

 besides a number of shorter papers. His writings appeared in leading 

 scientific journals in this country and in Europe. His vacations were 

 frequently devoted to special study. Thus in 1872 he was with the 

 United States Fish Commission at Eastport, Maine; in 1873, he was 

 studying zoology under Louis Agassiz in his famous summer school 

 at Penikese Island. Whenever he had opportunity to visit a museum, 

 he carried with him specimens he wished to compare or determine. 



Insects now began to interest him increasingly. In its early 

 years, ]\Iaine state college had both a winter and a summer vacation, 

 and Prof. Fernald spent these periods principally in study. The 

 winter of 1878 he spent in European travel and in a study of the 

 world's greatest natural historv museums. He carried a large col- 



