16 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ALBANY MEETING 



students in various parts of the State spoke highly of him. He was a 

 pillar of the local Presbyterian Church, and while as quiet and reserved 

 in the expression of his religious life as in the expression of other emo- 

 tions, the student who asked him whether a scientist could be a Christian 

 was but drawing him out. Truly might his wife reply, when asked 

 whether he ever preached, that he was too busy practising. 



In these years at Alma he became well acquainted Avith the plants and 

 animals of the region. While primarily a botanist, little that was unusual 

 escaped his eye. On a casual visit to the Huron Mountain Club, he col- 

 lected a form of fresh-water shell which had been sought by the best 

 specialists and had before been known only by five specimens, and he was 

 already getting the familiarity with the "marl" lakes which later led to 

 his first noteworthy geological discovery. 



The following extracts from letters illustrate his life and scientific 

 interests at Alma :^ 



Just after Thanksgiving, 1897, he writes: 



"Until Tuesday I shall be busy getting ready for a talk on birds before the 

 Woman's Club, which is to have a bird day, with me as chief attraction, not 

 as a bird, but as a sort of special pleader for them." 



"Alma, Michigan, March 21, 1898. 

 "I am unable to find my notes on the analyses of the Sanitarium well which 

 I made some years ago, but the results were printed on a card of which you 

 may have a copy. The total solids — the Oa and Mg and Na salts — were cor- 

 rectly determined except the NaT and NaBr, those being set down in the list 

 by the head physician of that day, who did it without my knowledge. He got 

 my report of progress and filled out the analysis to suit his ideas of what 

 should be present." 



Naturally, as the Michigan Geological Survey resumed work in the 

 Lower Peninsula, in 1896-1898, he was drafted into service. He was also 

 of the greatest help in planning that first systematic qualitative field test- 

 ing of well waters, which proved to be very useful in locating the Michigan 

 Series and which was so developed by the United States Geological Sur- 

 vey. His work found expression in the reports on Sanilac, Huron, and 

 Tuscola counties, the latter being almost wholly his own work. The 

 contour map of Tuscola County from barometric data was remarkably 

 expressive. 



In all this work, and indeed during all his scientific life, he was in- 

 terested in geology, as well as the plants and animals which came under 



1 Unless specified, from letters to A. C. Lane. I have tried to give extracts from one 

 letter each year after 1897, thus showing where he was and what his chief scientific 

 interests were that year. 



