GENEBAL NOTES 
187 - 
death OP JAMES M. MACOUN 
On January 8, 1920, James M. Macoun, chief of the Biological Division of the- 
Geological Survey of Canada, died at his home in Ottawa. He was born at 
Bellviile, Ontario, in 1862, and was the son of the venerable botanist of the- 
Dominion, I’rof. John Macoun, who, it is a pleasure to state, is still living. 
James Macoun, though primarily a botanist, inherited also his father’s inter- 
est in birds and mammals. During the thirty-six years of his service with the 
Geological Survey of Canada, of which he was appointed assistant naturalist in 
1898, botanist in 1917, and chief of the Biological Division in 1918, he traversed 
many remote and little known parts of the Dominion, from Lake Mistassini, 
Hudson Bay, and Churchill River westerly to Lesser Slave Lake and Peace 
River and various parts of British Columbia, collecting specimens and field notes- 
that form an important part of the Victoria Museum at Ottawa; and for a num- 
ber of years largely directed the field work of William Spreadborough when, 
making his well-known collections of mammals and birds for the Canadian 
Government. 
In 1910, while studying the flora and fauna of the west coast of Hudson Bay, 
the vessel was wrecked and the party obliged to escape in a small boat. Fortu- 
nately, they were rescued and taken to Fort Churchill, from which remote out- 
post they made the overland journey to Lake Winnepeg on foot in the depth of 
winter. 
James Macoun assisted his father in the preparation and editing of the two 
editions of the extensive and exceedingly useful work entitled ^‘Catalogue of the 
Birds of Canada.” 
In 1901 he visited the Pribilof Islands in Bering Sea as Canadian secretary 
to the British Fur-Seal Commission and in subsequent years (1906 and 1914) 
returned to the Islands in connection with the fur-seal controversy. 
I first met James Macoun at his father’s home in Ottawa in the early 80’ s 
and was with him at the Pribilof Islands in 1891, since which I have seen him 
from time to time during his occasional visits to Washington. As a naturalist,,, 
he inherited much of his father’s enthusiasm and kindly helpful disposition, so 
that in both field and office he was an agreeable companion. His sympathies 
were with those in the humbler walks of life; his motto was “Equal opportunity 
for all.” 
He is survived by a wife and daughter, and, as a recent writer adds, “by a 
host of friends and sorrowing colleagues.” 
— C. Hart Merriam. 
DEATH OP THOMAS M. OWEN 
Dr. Thomas M. Owen, of Montgomery, Alabama, a member of the Society, 
died March 25, 1920, in the fifty-fourth year of his age. He was a prominent 
historian, author of several important historical works, and director of the 
Department of Archives and History, State of Alabama. He took a deep inter- 
est in the advancement of natural history and was engaged in building up under 
his department in the State Capitol an exhibition collection of local birds and 
mammals. 
• — Arthur H, Howell. 
