In 1878 Dr. Packard received the appointment of Professor of Zoölogy and Geology in Brown University, at Providence, R. I., a position which, he holds at the present time. Here, besides his duties as teacher, he has found time to conduct various investigations, besides writing three text-books of zoölogy, all of which have met with an extensive sale. In the spring of 1885 he found time to take an extensive trip through the Southern States and Mexico, "doing" the latter country in a manner not common since the completion of the Mexican Central Railway. He cut loose from the steam-horse and trusted himself to the old-fashioned diligence, traveling thus across the country in a more leisurely manner, and seeing far more of it and of its inhabitants than can be seen by the ordinary excursionist from the window of a railway-car.
In 1867 Dr. Packard was married to Elizabeth Derby, the daughter of the late Samuel B. Walcott, of Salem, Mass. He has four children.
Such in outline is the life of Prof. Packard. Of his writings we have said but little, chiefly from inability to choose from their number. That their merit has been recognized by scientific men is shown by the numbers of societies which have conferred the distinction of honorary membership upon him. A complete bibliography of his writings has recently been prepared; but, in addition to those already mentioned in the present article, we may call attention to a few of the more prominent works. In 1873 and 1876 respectively he published "Our Common Insects" and "Half-Hours with Insects," two popular works on entomology. In the latter year he also published "Life Histories of Animals," which was the first compendium of all the known facts in the development of the animal kingdom, a work which has, however been largely superseded by the more extensive "Comparative Embryology" of the late Prof. F. M. Balfour. In 1883 appeared his monograph of the "Phyllopod Crustacea," an account of a small group of animals which reach their greatest development in America. For several years he contributed the zoölogical notes to the scientific departments of "Harper's New Monthly Magazine," and of the "New York Independent." Of late years his studies have taken a turn in the line of the philosophy of zoölogy rather than in that of the description of species and the identification of specimens. He is now more interested in the structure and growth of animals, and the principles which underlie their distribution in space, than in the details of museum work.
Personally, Dr. Packard is a very pleasant and entertaining companion, and not least among his good qualities is the interest he takes in all who show any predilection toward scientific work.
