May, 1919 AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOTES 107 
of Agriculture, which did not enter upon its separate existence till July 1, 
1862, when the Honorable Isaac Newton was appointed first Commissioner. 
Samuels’ principal collecting ground apparently was Petaluma, but he vis- 
ited Tomales Bay and probably other localities in that general region. The 
Smithsonian’s share of the birds he gathered was 103 specimens and a few eggs, 
by no means an insignificant number when are considered the multifarious du- 
ties of the collector. His memory is embalmed in the A. O. U. Check-list under 
the name of Melospiza melodia samuelis (Baird). Recently I had the pleasure 
of examining Baird’s two types of the form, the true one being no. 5553 of the 
National Museum Catalogue, and both skins are in excellent preservation. 
ACQUAINTANCE WITH C. J. MAYNARD 
C. J. Maynard, living hard by in Newtonville, was then becoming active as 
a bird collector and dealer, and Brewster and I soon made his acquaintance, 
and from him learned to make a ‘‘bird skin’’, when the real business of collect- 
ing birds for scientific study began for each of us. The so-called New England 
type of bird skin was soon evolved, due in no small measure to Maynard’s skill, 
and was, I believe, so far as speed in preparation and general excellence goes, 
superior to anything made up to that time. In my eyes the final touch was at- 
tained by the adoption of the Coues method of wrapping the green skin in filmy 
eotton till dry. Brewster soon abandoned mounting birds on stands for the 
much quicker and more practical method of making skins, while I had nothing 
to abandon being still a novice in the taxidermist’s art. Not a single specimen 
ot my skill as a taxidermist survives, and the only triumph I achieved in that 
direction was a fox sparrow. For its life-like appearance I accept the authority 
of our house cat. As the mounted bird stood drying on the mantelpiece of my 
bird room she mistook it for the real thing and, making a wild leap, secured it 
before realizing her mistake. 
ACQUAINTANCE WITH R. E. C. STEARNS 
It was in 1868 that I came in touch with R. E. C. Stearns who, though a 
New Englander by birth, had lived a decade in California, where he went in 
1858, but was then sojourning for a time in Boston. Not only was he a learned 
and enthusiastic conchologist, but he was one of the most genial and delightful 
of men. Though much older than I, we soon became great cronies, for he never 
became too old to love and sympathize with the aspirations of young people. 
Maiiy were the happy hours I spent with him in his Boston home, helping hin 
pack and unpack shells, and listening to the anecdotes of which he had a rare 
tund, including his experiences in that land of romance, California. Under his 
tutelage | became greatly interested in shells and soon had a collection, largely 
gifts from his duplicate series. Indeed he used to say that he had stolen me 
from the ornithologists. But as I now see, my interest in shells was largely due 
to personal association with Stearns, and subsequently was replaced by the 
more absorbing interest in bird life. The little shell collection, however, made 
at that time was not without value, and now is in Wellesley College. 
(To be continued) 
