Publication InformationWashington, D.C., Feb. 18, 1871.

Page 1

My Dear Mr Marsh.

Your letter of the 24th ult. was duly received & read with the avidity with which we always pounce upon all your communications; & Lucy begs me to thank you for the pretty little photographs addressed to her.

We were very sorry indeed that you had the trouble in your eye, & trust that before this you have entirely recovered from it. We sympathise with in you and your affliction caused by the illness of your niece, & regret that Mrs Marsh has such a trial added to her own responsibilities.

I hope you will like my articles in Harper's Monthly & Harper's Weekly, although I am afraid I shall fall under your ban by doing the very thing that you object to, in the case of some others. I do not generally give any references to the titles of the works or articles from which my matter is taken; partly because it would disfigure the general appearance of the page, & partly

because it is very seldom indeed that I present a paragraph pure & simple & from one source, but in nearly every instance take occasion to supplement it by some original criticism or suggestion, or by some addition from one or more other sources.

Mary says I do this because I do not want to let people see my sources of information, for fear they may find out now improperly I quote them; but this is a base slander. I am always willing to furnish to any body asking it a reference to the original article made use of.

Since I wrote you last I have entered upon a new style of business, my interest in the fishing question having culminated in the passage of a Resolution ordering the President to appoint a Commissioner of Fish & Fisheries on the part of the U.S., to take the whole subject of the diminuation in the supply into consideration & to suggest remedies, if any can be thought of, for the restoration to their full numbers. I have received the appointment

from the President, & am now before the Senate for Confirmation, about which I presume here will be no difficulty. An appropriation will be made to meet expenses of this labor, which, however, by the terms of the act, is to be done by myself without pay; & I hope to proceed at an early period to the Sea Shore, & there to commence my labors.

With much love to Mrs Marsh from all of us, believe me,

Sincerely Yours,Spencer F Baird

Hon. Geo. P. Marsh,
U.S. Minister,
Florence.

References in this letter:

Lucy Hunter Baird, 1848-1913, the only child of Spencer Fullerton and Mary Helen Churchill Baird. She shared her father's interests in the natural world. As a child, Lucy had, as a pet, a large black snake, whose tail touched the ground when held by Lucy, sitting on her father's shoulders. It was her memoirs and reminisces which formed the majority of the William H. Dall biography of her father.

Caroline Crane Marsh had several nieces as companions at various times in Italy. The one here mentioned is called "Ellen" in a letter by George Perkins Marsh on May 24, 1871.

Harper's Magazine. New York: 1850-present. Monthly.

Harper's Weekly. New York: 1857-1916; 62 vols. Baird contributed his regular column, "Scientific Intelligence," from 1877 to 1879.

In the 1860s Baird had became concerned about the decline of Atlantic fish populations. In a 1870 report to the House Committee on Appropriations he suggested the appointment of a Fish Commissioner to direct research into the problem. President Grant appointed Baird the first director of the newly formed U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries in 1871.