Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1879-12-12

While on our vacation last week we
| had OCCASION to pass through LINEN
+ burg, and while there improved the
time by visiting the home Of Dr.. Hiram
A. Cutting, and feel inclined to make
a few notes of our visit, as we think
they will be of great interest to all.
DR.. Cutting has during the past year
added more to his library and cabinet,
and they are far larger and contain
more collections of either books or
minerals than any other private col
| lection in the State. The ad iitiOn in
all is 40 feet ia length, by "a in width,
and is arranged with permanent cases,
with glass DOCS. capable of holding
| from two to three thousand specimens
each. The light is well arranged AMI
the specimens can in consequence be
| we'll seen, which is not true of most of
our museums. OF his specimens, most
of them are very fine, among which we
might mention various specimens of
gold from all parts of the world, which
look very rich and tempting. Silver
ores are also in. great variety SO with
the other metals. A piece of meteoric
iron which fell from the sky in Mexico
is very pure and of great interest ; also
meteoric stones, one of which fell in
Iowa Nav 10, 1879. There are also
beautiful specimens of crystals, quartz,
amethysts, beryl, amazon stones, etc.
One of the crystals of Amazon stone is
near six inches in diameter. The mar
bles of Vermont are also very attra st.
i've. Among the fossils, some sharks
teeth four inches long and nearly as
wide from the phosphate beds of
Carolina, make one shudder to think
that great fish of this kind might
have swallowed Jonah. Various relics
from different parts of the world fill
one case, among which we notice a
mummy hand from Egypt, stone axes
from the mounds at the West toma-
! hawks from Vermont, and several
pieces of guns, rusted through and
| through found on the meadows of the
| Connecticut in Concord also various
; images and gods, worshipped by the
natives in India. In his large case of
birds we notice as prominent Speci-
mems, an Arctic bird called the large
gray owl which we think the largest of
| that class, also some rare snowy owls,
and splendid golden eagle, together
with most of our beautiful birds found
in New England. Among his birds
nests we notice two large hawks nests,
one of which when found was three
| feet in diameter, and four feet in depth
of material of which was made. There
| are also numerous nests lined with
hair, with wool, with moss, with grass.
and the humming birds with down
from the milkweed, A black wood
chuck, mink, and various squirrels
keep guard over the birds in this case.
On top there is a tree ON which hun
dred small birds perch. AS whole,
the collection is fine one. Only a
step from the Doctors cabinet is his
observatory, where one of Clark tele-
scopes gives us views of planets, stars,
/ or terrestrical objects, among which
the most prominent is the summit of
Mount Washington, which TODAY,
Nov. 26,) is covered with the most
beautiful frost-work. But to return to
DR.. Cuttings library This is largely
in three rooms, one 16 II, one II ks,
and another 10 X 30. They are HeralLy
full of books, making library of
some ten thousand volumes. They are
largely medical and scientific, yet we
notice more religious and biblical
works, than we have ever seen in the
HOidly vi CleIBy iHuH' AS OUdte
Geologist of Vermont, the DR.. has re-
ceived and answered enquiries about
minerals, birds and insects during the
last six months, numbering over one
thousand, yet we are sorry to say that
it is gratuitious work, for which the
State pays nothing; while he is re-
quired by law to give counsel and ad-
vice, the same law allows him no pay
whatever This certainly shows no
great liberality for our State, and we
trust the future will mend the past,
and that he will bepaid. The Doctors
success is entirely owing to his own
labor, and we learn from the neighbor-
hood that he is an early riser and
continuous worker. In other words
that he is man without leisure hours,
increasingly at his business his neigh
bors even complain, saying they hardly
know him, as he is not social. The
truth would be that he is incessantly
employed. We trust we may soon en-
JOY another chat with the doctor, and
have more time to look over his coilec-
fior,