James Orton

James Orton (April 21, 1830 – September 25, 1877) was an American naturalist and professor of natural history. The species Anolis ortonii is named in his honor.

Quotes

The recent addition of a specimen of this rare bird to the Smithsonian Museum, is an event worthy of record. There are now three specimens in the United States; the one just mentioned, another in the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and a third in the Giraud Cabinet in Vassar College. The last is the most perfect specimen, and certainly possesses the greatest historical value, as it is the one from which Audubon made his drawing and description. It was caught on the banks of Newfoundland.
The Great Auk or Gare-fowl … was about the size of a goose, with a large head, a curved, grooved and laterally flattened bill; wings rudimental, adapted to swimming only, approaching in this respect the penguins of the southern hemisphere. … It was an arctic bird, dwelling chiefly in the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland, and Newfoundland.
- (1869). "The great auk". The American Naturalist 3 (10): 539–542.

... cacao and coffee plantations, vast in extent, arrest the eye. Passing these, the steamer brings you alongside of broad fields covered with the low, prickly pine-apple plant; the air is fragrant with a rich perfume wafted from a neighboring grove of oranges and lemons; the mango spreads its dense, splendid foliage, and bears a golden fruit, which, though praised by many, tastes to us like a mixture of tow and turpentine; the exotic bread-tree waves its fig-like leaves and pendent fruit; while high over all the beautiful cocoa-palm lifts its crown of glory. ...
- The Andes and the Amazon; or, Across the Continent of South America. Harper & Brothers. 1870. pp. 34–35.

The age is demanding a broader, deeper, truer, female education. Unreasonable prejudice is hiding itself, along with the effete and narrow views of our fathers; and the world has come to the consciousness, that the culture of both sexes must keep pace with the ever-changing sphere of personal activity.
- (August 1871)"Vassar College". Old and New IV (11): 257–264. (quote from p. 258)

The Ornithological Cabinet in the Vassar Museum, contains nearly twelve hundred distinct species, of which seven hundred are North American, and the remainder South American. Among them are several type specimens and others of historical interest as the originals of Audubon's celebrated drawings.
- "Notes on some birds in the museum of Vassar College". The American Naturalist 4 (12): 711–717.

The importance of every fact relating to the natural limits of animals and plants is felt in its bearing on the great question of the day—the origin of species.
- (1871). "Contributions to the Natural History of the Valley of Quito. No. I". The American Naturalist 5 (10): 619–626. (quote from p. 620)

The herpetology of mountain regions is very limited, for the number of species diminishes rapidly as we ascend in altitude or latitude. The reptilian life of any district, however, is highly interesting, as it is more natural and well defined than that of other vertebrates, because reptiles have a limited range ... and are less likely to be forced out of their original habitats or introduced by man. It has been supposed that in order of altitudinal range, lizards go highest, snakes next, and batrachians and chelonians last. There are no chelonians in the valley as far as we know; but we found frogs as high up as Antisana Hacienda, and no lizards there. Gibbon found no snakes at La Paz.
- (1871). "Contributions to the Natural History of the Valley of Quito. II". The American Naturalist 5 (11): 693–698. (Lardner Gibbon (1820–1910) was an officer in the U.S. Navy, naturalist, explorer, and artist.)

There is no section of our country that may not reward a diligent search for precious or useful minerals. The rocks, however, between the Alleghanies and the Atlantic and between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific furnish the greater variety and abundance. Here are found the best ores. Gold and silver seem to abound more on the western than eastern sides of both mountain-chains. A trap-region, like the shore of Lake Superior and the Connecticut River Valley, is likely to be a good locality for copper and iron. The Mississippi Valley, or the region of Bituminous Coal, furnishes chiefly iron and lead; gold, silver and copper are seldom found. In general, where the layers of rock lie level and contain fossil shells, it is a locality good only for soft coal, (New York excepted), iron ore, gypsum and salt. The regions of granite, slate, limestone, marble, etc., offer the greatest inducement to search for useful minerals.
- Underground Treasures: How and Where to Find Them. Hartford, Connecticut: Worthington, Dustin & Company. 1872. p. 14.

... precisely how we shall educate the coming woman, is still an open question. Much that has been written has been purely theoretic. Facts, however, are multiplying. Four different experiments are now in process: University Examinations, the Lecture System, Mixed Colleges, and Colleges for Women. For a great University to condescend to examine female candidates and grant certificates, is a step forward; but it does not furnish the means of education.
- "Introduction by James Orton". The Liberal Education of Women: the Demand and the Method. Current Thoughts in America and England. A. S. Barnes & Company. 1873. pp. iii–vi.