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PARMER'S SON: 



A Biographiell Sketch of a 

 Rising Young Naturalist. 



The Success of Mr. Frank H. Lattin, of 

 Albion, K". T.. "WMcli He AcMeved 

 BigM at Home. A Good Example to 

 Follow. 



[Written for the Fabmees' Monthlt.1 



HARVARD UNIVERSITY. 



LIBRARY 



MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY 



Bequest of 

 WILLIAM BREWSTER 



3'jumA.aAXL 2jIo. i^^o. 



oBinder o- 



He was born of parents in moderate 

 circumstances and spent the early years 

 of his life in hard work. Graduating at 

 the Albion high school, he put in several 

 years as a teacher in the country districts 

 and It was at this time that he became in- 

 terested in the study of natural history. 

 It seems that Orleans county or portions 

 of it form one of the most interesting 

 fields for the discovery of geological 

 souvenirs of the Drift period. Young 

 Lattin was not slow in discovering this 

 and day after day he put in all of his 

 spare time in the search for specimens, 

 and night after night he studied all of the 



works upon this and "kindred subjects 

 which he could obtain. Two splendid 

 fossils he also found in the limestone 

 formations of the Orleans county quar- 

 ries, excellent specimens of Lingula shell 

 and the Sea Weed Pucoides. Soon he be- 

 <i?a3 to correspond with other coUectois in 

 '»a,il8"aB parts of the country effecting ex- 

 changes of his duplicates for specimens 

 from all parts of the world, until his col- 

 Iwstion became almostcomplete in this 

 special line. During this time he had be- 

 gun collections in other lines, more es- 

 pecially birds' eggs and shells and shortly 

 branched out, in a small way, as a dealer 

 in natural history specimens. A little 

 later he began the publication of a little 

 monthly for collectors called the Oologist 

 which has now attained a circulation of 

 nearly 3,000 copies naonihly, and is the 

 official organ of the oologists of this coun- 

 try. A copy of one of the first issues of 

 the Oologist lies before us as we write, a 

 little eight-page monthly bound by being 

 stitched at the back on a sewing machine. 

 Also a copy of a recent isssue which com- 

 prises sixty-eight pages and cover, finely 

 illustrated and filled with timely articles 

 by the best scientific writers in America. 

 Mr. Lattin now does business at Albion, 

 N. Y.. but has two large warehouses 

 filled with his collections at Gaines where 

 he still resides. He owns a handsome 

 home there, which, as he says with a par- , 

 don able degree of pride, is probably the 

 only one in the world secured through a 

 single sale of birds' eggs. Many of the 

 Fabmers' Mokthlt readers who are en- 

 thusiastic chicken fanciers will here note 

 that there is profit in eggs other than by 

 the "setting " 



Alt^iough Mr. Lattin has been written 

 up times without number, the Fabmebs' 

 Monthly has the pleasure for the first 

 time of introducing him face to face, as it 

 were, to his thousands of friends who 

 have never seen him. In response to our 

 request for his picture he stated that he 

 had never been "photoed" in his life and 

 sent us one from which the accompanying 

 fine photogravure was reproduced. In' 

 personal appearance Mr. Lattin is the 

 genuine type of the scientific enthusiast. 

 He is about 33 years old, of medium 

 height, of square build and full of nerv- 

 ous activity. He is a hard worker and 

 keeps his numerous assistants exceedingly 

 busy in their endeavors to keep up with 

 the projects which he has constantly on 

 hand. 



His collections include almost every- 

 thing that pertains to natural science, 

 but of laie he has devoted himself more 



