THE AMERICAN NATURALIST. [Vol. XXXVIII. 



beautiful series of which is on e.-^hibition in the Albany Muse- 

 um. The collection, which Marshall considered as exhaustive of 

 the vicinity of Albany, is not only rich in species, but very full 

 in series, representing specimens of the same species from 

 various localities and of ages from young to adult. It is there- 

 fore very valuable for studies of later development, variation 

 and geographical distribution. As a collection of fine selected 

 material it stands an excellent proof of Beecher's indefatigable 

 industry and appreciation of what a collection should be, much 

 of it, it should be remembered, gathered when he was a youth, 

 or even a child. 



In the Albany Museum there are also many minerals and fos- 

 sils collected by him, and numerous specimens of fossils pre- 

 pared for exhibition. In free days at Albany he made frequent 

 visits to the rich localities in the Helderberg mountains near 

 Albany, especially Clarksville and Indian Ladder, collecting an 

 extensive series of the fossils to be found there. 



At this period Beecher published independently a paper on the 

 Phyllocarida of Warren, Pennsylvania, a number of papers on 

 the lingual dentition of Gastropoda, besides others on recent and 

 fossil Pelecypoda, on geological localities, etc. His most impor- 

 tant work was the publishing with Prof. John M. Clarke of a 

 monograph on the development of Silurian Brachiopoda, based 

 on material washed from the clays of Waldron, Indiana. This 

 paper is of importance as the first work on the development of 

 fossil Brachiopoda and opened up new lines of inquiry previ- 

 ously untouched. Always skilful with his pencil, at Albany he 

 added to his income by making drawings for the medical men of 

 that city. Nearly if not all his own papers were illustrated by 

 his own drawings or photographs. During part of his stay at 

 Albany Beecher was Assistant in Paleontology in the New York 

 State Museum, when he did much to develop that department. 

 After he left Albany he was retained for a period as Consulting 

 Palaeontologist to the museum, visiting Albany at intervals. 

 Many details concerning his work and connection with the 

 museum will be found in the 32nd to 43rd Annual Reports 

 of the State Museum. 



In 1888 Beecher went to New Haven as Assistant in Pal?eon- 



