Page "Edward Drinker Cope" Paragraph 7

Edward returned to Westtown in 1855, accompanied by two of his sisters.

Biology began to interest him more that year, and he studied natural history texts in his spare time.

While at the school he frequently visited the Academy of Natural Sciences.

Edward often obtained bad marks due to quarreling and bad conduct.

His letters to his father show that he chafed at farm work and betrayed flashes of the temper for which he would later become well known.

After sending Edward back to the farm for summer break in 1854 and 1855, Alfred did not return Edward to school after spring 1856.

Instead Alfred attempted to turn his son into a gentleman farmer, which he considered a wholesome profession that would yield enough profit to lead a comfortable life, and improve the undersized Edward's health.

Until 1863, Cope's letters to his father continually expressed his yearning for a more professional scientific career than that of a farmer, which he called " dreadfully boring ".