226 BAIRD BAIREDTH he was appointed agent of the American Sun- day school union, and succeeded in raising the annual revenue of the society from $5,000 to $28,000. In 1835 he visited Europe, and re- mained abroad, with the exception of two hrief visits home, for eight years, striving to revive the Protestant fuith in the southern countries of Europe, and to promote the cause of tem- perance in the northern countries. Upon the formation of the foreign evangelical society, afterward merged in the American and foreign Christian union, he was made its agent and corresponding secretary. In the summer of 1842 Dr. Baird published in Scotland a work entitled " Religion in America," which was translated into several of the continental lan- guages. Among his other works were "A Visit to Northern Europe," "Protestantism in Italy," "History of the Albigenses, Waldenses, and Vaudois," and " History of the Temper- ance Societies of the United States." BAIRD, Spencer Fnllerton, an American nat- uralist, born at Reading, Penn., Feb. 3, 1823. j He was educated at Dickinson college, and ' in 1846 became professor of natural science in that institution. In 1850 he was appointed as- sistant secretary of the Smithsonian institution in Washington, which position he still occupies (1873). His first scientific and literary work of any magnitude was a translation from the German of the Bilder- Atlas of Heck, a sup- plement to the Conversations- Lexicon of Brock- haus, in which he was assisted by several schol- ars in different specialties (" Iconographic En- cyclopaedia," 4 vols. 8vo of text and 2 vols. 4to of plates, New York, 1849 et seq.). His next important publication was the report on the mammals of North America, constituting vol. viii. of the "Reports of the Survey of the Railroad Routes to the Pacific." This, which appeared in 1857, was followed in 1858 by a still more extended work (vol. ix. of the series) upon the birds of North America. In 1864 he commenced the publication of a work, under the auspices of the Smithsonian institution, upon the birds of the new world generally, under the title of " Review of American Birds in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institu- tion." He has also been engaged for several years in preparing a new account of the birds of North America, which is now (1873) in press, and in which he is assisted by Dr. T. M. Brewer of Boston. In 1871 he was appointed by President Grant United States commissioner of fish and fisheries, for the purpose of making inquiries into the causes of the decrease of the supply of food fishes of the United States, and the methods of restoring it. Numerous minor papers upon mammals, birds, reptiles, and fish- es of North America have appeared from his pen in the " Proceedings " of the academy of natural sciences of Philadelphia, the New York lyceum of natural history, and elsewhere. BAIREUTH, or Bayrenth, a city of Bavaria, capital of the circle of Upper Franconia, on the left bank of the Red Main, about 50 m. by rail- way N. N. E. of Nuremberg ; pop. in 1871, 17,837, chiefly Protestants. The town is well built and partly surrounded by ancient walls. It has a castle, riding school, gymnasium, thea- tre, public library, and public garden, an active trade, principally in grain, several breweries and distilleries, and manufactures of woollen and cotton fabrics, leather, and earthenware. There are three palaces in the vicinity. The Hermitage palace is a fanciful building, where Frederick the Great and his sister the mar- gravine of Baireuth resided. Schwanthaler's Balrcuth.
