1880 .] 
51 
[Orne. 
but his painful illness rendered him helpless during the last six 
weeks of his life, and the paper was never finished. 
Concerning the moral nature of Mr. Burbank, we may say, in 
the words of one who knew him well, he was noted for his thor- 
oughness, his frankness, his hatred of shams, and his scrupulous 
adherence to duty. W. O. Crosby. 
GEORGE D. SMITH. 
By the death of George D. Smith the Society loses one of its 
most worthy members, although he has not of late often attended 
the meetings of the Society. Early in his membership he was 
usually present. Business occupations, an infirmity with which 
he was at times affected, and more than all, his devotion to his 
studies, have kept him for some years from this place of meeting. 
His fondness for the study of natural history began at an early 
age, and never flagged till he was rendered powerless by his last 
sickness. He was educated to the trade of watchmaker and jew- 
eller. After working in Maine, Virginia, Illinois and Missouri, 
he came to Boston and entered the establishment of Palmer 
and Bachelder, where for about nineteen years he acted as 
salesman, and for thirteen years was a member of the firm. By 
his kind, sociable manners, and accommodating spirit, combined 
with a thorough knowledge of all the details of his business, he 
won many friends and increased in no small degree the patronage 
of the establishment. But devoted as he was to the interests of 
the firm, his heart was elsewhere. He was an enthusiastic stu- 
dent of entomology. He chose Coleoptera as his specialty, 
and for more than a score of years gave all his leisure time to col- 
lecting, arranging, studying and naming species of this order. 
His interest in the subject dates back to his boyhood on the banks 
of the Saco, where he collected his first specimens. 
Mr. Smith’s collection was soon so large that it attracted the 
attention of the leading entomologists of the country. An exam- 
ination of Crotch’s Check List, containing over 7000 species of 
North American coleoptera, shows only a few names not marked 
off by his pencil. He had also some 3000 South American 
species, and arranged them in a separate cabinet. The work of 
