NOV 13 m2 



BULLETIN 



OF THE 



/nbicbigan ©rnitbological Club. 



Yol. II, No. 2. 



Grand Rapids, Mich., April, 1898. 



50 cts. per year. 



DR. MANLY MILES. 



Michi^aD has recently lost one of the best 

 naturalists which the state ever produced, 

 for Manly Miles, though born in Cortland 

 County, New York, came to live in Michi- 

 gan before he was twelve years old, and 

 may be fairly considered as one of the true 

 products of this state, where more tlian fifty 

 3^ears of his lons^ and active life were spent. 



That he did not become famous as a 

 naturalist, or rather that his fame did not 

 become world-wide, is largely due to the 

 chance, or the fact, that just in the prime 

 of his life, and when a tempting career as a 

 zoologist was opening before him, pressure 

 of circumstances turned him somewhat 

 aside from his favorite science, and he was 

 led to enter the field of scientific agricul- 

 ture. Well fitted by nature and study for 

 good work in almost any line of science, he 

 has left his mark indelibly on the develop- 

 ment of experimental agriculture, but we 

 can never cease to regret that many of 

 those toilsome years were not spent in un- 

 ravelling some of the important biological 

 problems which the state afforded, which 

 his skill and perserverance would surely 

 have solved. The work wdiich he did in 

 1859, 1860 and 1861, while connected with 

 the state geological survey, gives proof of 

 his rare qualities as a naturalist. He was 

 a ''born collector," the phrase is, and his 

 keen eyes, tireless industry, and mathemat- 

 ical precision, led to the accumulation of 

 thousands of valuable specimens and more 

 valuable observations. His pet science or 

 '4iobby'' was the study of the mollusca, 

 ^'conchology," as it is often called, yet he 

 made valuable collections of birds, mam- 

 mals, reptiles, and fishes, and seems to 

 have possessed, in a high degree, that strong 

 characteristic of a true naturalist, a full 



appreciation of the value of good specimens. 

 Many of his speeimens are now preserved 

 at the Agricultural College, and among his 

 shells are manv which are of more than 

 ordinary value from having several as types 

 of new species, or as specimens from type 

 localities, or as part or all of the material 

 which has helped to clear up mistakes and 

 misconceptions about species and their dis- 

 tribution. 



In all his work Dr. Miles was neat, 

 orderly, precise, and careful, and rarely, 

 indeed, does it happen that any specimen 

 collected by him is unaccompanied by full 

 and accurate data. 



Recently, in overhauling some jars of 

 miscellaneous alchoholic material that had 

 been stored away in the dark and dust for 

 years, a bottle was found containing several 

 little packets, carefully wrapped in mosquito 

 netting and then cloth, each tied with 

 thread and all immersed in alcohol. On 

 unrolling the packets a parchment label was 

 found in each, bearing a word or two in 

 Dr. Miles' clear characteristic handwriting, 

 showing the locality and data, and in some 

 cases a collection number, by means of 

 which we were able to obtain the full data 

 for these specimens, collected thirty-five 

 years hefore. His memory was clear and 

 strong to the very last year of his life, but 

 he was wise enough to know that the very 

 best memory is not as reliable as a written 

 record, and he doubless believed it poor 

 policy to encumber a good mind with a load 

 of mere details, which could easily and 

 quickly be committed to paper, and always 

 be at his service if he should need them. 



But while he collected with ardor and 

 preserved his specimens with scrupulous 

 care, the higher qualities of the scientist 

 were apparent in the keen intelligence with 

 which he studied and compared them, and, 

 through correspondence and exchange, 



G. 



"L 



