AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOTES. 



5 



he who first secured my introduction to the public through the ' New Eng- 

 land Farmer.' It was my custom at the Academy to offer, when composi- 

 tion day came round, some of the results of my natural history observations 

 as a composition. One of my first offerings of this sort was a summary of 

 my weather journal for the previous seasonal period of three months. 

 When the time came for the return of compositions mine was withheld 

 with the request from Professor Marcy, who had charge of my division, 

 that he might retain it for a short time. A few days later he handed me a 

 copy of the 'New England Farmer' containing my article, printed in full 

 and without change, with a very complimentary introduction by the editor. 

 It was to me an exceedingly great surprise, and sufficient explanation of 

 why my composition had not been returned to me at the usual time. I 

 was at this time about eighteen or nineteen years of age. 



With this cordial welcome from the editor of the 'Farmer,' I mustered 

 courage to offer, soon after, other contributions of a similar character, my 

 weather reports thereafter appearing at regular intervals till circumstances 

 prevented the continuation of the observations. These articles were 

 followed (in 1859) by others on quite different subjects, including a series 

 of twenty -five on New England birds; also a paper on the moon's alleged 

 influence upon the weather, in reply to previous articles on the subject by 

 other contributors. My article was based on meteorological observations 

 kept at the United States Armory at Springfield, Mass., for a long period of 

 years, latterly by Mr. Joseph Weatherhead, who kindly placed them at my 

 disposal for study. It is needless to say that I found no evidence of lunar 

 influence on the character of the weather, and no basis for sundry other 

 assumptions regarding the moon's influence on mundane life, or for popular 

 beliefs respecting the proper time in the moon for weaning pigs, colts and 

 calves or planting crops. 



During these years I spent much time studying botany, adding a col- 

 lection of dried plants to my other natural history gatherings, nearly all of 

 which I was able to identify without other aid than Gray's well-known 

 'Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States,' my copy of which 

 eventually became well annotated with my field notes. At this time I had 

 not the acquaintance of any one who had any knowledge of the scientific 

 names of plants, or who, so far as I knew, cared to know them. I still 

 recall the exquisite pleasure it gave me to discover the name of some wild 

 plant I had long admired in total ignorance of its affinities or name. 



During the years 1859-1861, 1 collected and mounted (as attested by my 

 catalogue, still extant) some 300 birds, representing nearly 100 species, 

 and also such native mammals as I could find near my home, and I pre- 

 served in jars of alcohol specimens of all the reptiles, amphibians and fishes ; 



