NATIONAL ACADEMY BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS VOL. VII 



back of the house, where he had a collection of shells, fossils, 

 minerals, and geological specimens arranged on shelves, classi- 

 fied and labeled. 



"It was probably about this time that he learned to stuff birds, 

 or rather to prepare their skins for preservation. He may 

 have learned to do this from some lectures given by Doctor 

 Kirtland on the subject. 



"When he grew old enough to be allowed to do so, he took 

 long tramping expeditions into the neighboring country, some- 

 times hunting a little, but mostly exploring, observing, and 

 collecting specimens. He formed a friendship with Col. 

 Charles Whittlesey, a geologist and mineralogist, and with 

 him explored and investigated some of the Indian mounds and 

 earthworks in the valley of the Cuyahoga river. 



"In his walks and excursions his mind seemed always occu- 

 pied with problems suggested by what he saw. The common- 

 est objects which most would pass by without a moment's 

 thought set him to thinking and trying to work out explana- 

 tions of observed features, conditions, and phenomena. 



"The first microscope my brother had was made for him by 

 his friend, Mr. Charles F. Brush, the inventor of the Brush 

 electric light. My brother had learned to grind glasses, and 

 devised an ingenious method of making a holder for glass he 

 was grinding. He cut of! a piece of broomstick, wrapped 

 paper around it, letting the paper project above the end of the 

 stick, forming a sort of cup or socket. Into this he poured 

 lead, and before the lead had hardened he pressed a marble 

 into it, forming a concavity which served as a socket to hold 

 the glass while being ground. 



"Some of the work on the microscope may have been done in 

 the office of Dr. A. Maynard, a retired physician of cultivated 

 and scholarly tastes, who had a fine metal-working lathe which 

 he allowed my brother to use. The Doctor always took an 

 interest in my brother's work and assisted him in many ways. 

 I do not know when my brother first made his acquaintance, 

 but as the Doctor was a friend of my aunt and uncle, Mr. and 

 Mrs. Warner, it was probably at their home that the acquaint- 

 ance began. The Doctor had a fine library, and encouraged 

 my brother to come to his rooms and make use of his books. 



30- 



