The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-12-03
A MAINE WOMAN BIOLOGIST
Boston Transcript.

In 1895 there lived at South Litchfield,
Me-, lady who was truly remarkable in
that she had most wonderful collection
of minerals, and was the wife of an ordi-
nary farmer, upon secluded plantation.
Mrs. A. G. Merchant was Maine girl
of ordinary school education, but with
passion for study far in advance of her
station. One day she found very beau
tiful blue stone in her "cow PASTURE"
and finding that the ledge was composed
of it, sent it to neighboring college.
The curator wrote back that it was a
very rare mineral and asked her price for
it, From then on she resolved to make
her valuable mineral mine drag her out
of the routine of farm life, and win her
new friends.
In few years the mineralogists of the
Johns Hopkins University, the Peabody
Museum at Yale, Haryard's geologist,
the Smithsonian, and even great men in
the old countries were writing her for
specimens.
She sent off her goods by the box and
barrel and in return won distinguished
friends, and received beautiful boxes of
minerals. Her husband, good farmer,
but little appreciated her genius, or her
love OF study, nevertheless he builta room
in her house for her collection, which
was then valued at 5 500.
After receiving a personal letter With o
specimen of petrifed flesh from son of
Louis Agassiz she wrote to friend that
the study Of her collection of petrified OBJ
jects was one of the greatest delights of
her life. she had rare lot of gems from
all over the world, and many of them
were out. Distinguished men came from
distant places to study the formation of
the ledge, and went away with an inter
est in the woman herself and a desire to
keep her fr endship. She was woman
of more than the ordinary intelligence,
and there was that about her that inter.
ested the stranger at once, for she had a
gentle and pleasing way of talking about
her accomplishment in the mineralogi-
cal field that showed she took great de-
light in the study Of nature for natures
sake.
1t is told that great professor who
was visiting at Poland Springs and who
had driven over to see the country once
stopped before her door and asked how she
came to have a beautiful crystal which
lay upon her doorstep.
professor L. of Harvard sent it to
liz, SIG Bull
"Why, do you know Professor L.? He's
a great geologist. He has promised me a
piece of sodalite, ano am to get it in a
few months now. It's rare mineral.
indeed. Do you happen to be interested
in minera madam?''
The kindly face in the door fairly
beamed upon him as she answered, ~
know very little about them, sir, though
I..wish did. But as to the sodalite, I
can give you piece of it, just wait till
l get my sunbcnnet, and I'll show you a
piece as big as this house."
The professor smiled incredulously, but
waited, and walked with her down the
very much worn path to the mine. There
he nearly lost his head. He JUMPED
about, picking up pieces, and fairly
kissed them in his delight. He came back
several times and finally loaded sugar
barrel with specimens and sent them to
his home, the free gift of Mrs Merchant
A few weeks after the depot master
dropped her card notifying her that a
heavy box waited at the depot for her.
Two hours after she opened it and
handled over and over aga rare tourma-
lines. crystals, and pebbles from the
golden and pearl-lined shores of Cali
fornia.
At the time of her death the collection
mad been variously estimated at from
S2OO0 to $4,000 in value.