THE YOUNG PROFESSOR 159 



to my name, and any scientific publications I myself have made. 

 The number of these is limited, Mr. Audubon, Dr. Gray and a few 

 others are all who have put my name in print. My own publications 

 are few. Various catalogues of Plants and Animals of this region, 

 some of which I enclosed to you a few weeks ago, constitute the 

 principal, except various descriptions of new species of North Ameri- 

 can birds in Silliman's Journal, Journal of the Academy of Nat. 

 Sciences, the Supplement to Audubon's Birds of North America, etc. 

 My labors for several years past have been devoted principally to 

 the collection of materials for a work on the Synonymy of the Birds 

 of North America. To do this in the most complete manner I have 

 spared no pains. Every work to be found by me in the public and 

 private libraries of Boston, New York, Philadelphia New Haven and 

 Washington has been carefully examined. The result of this is that 

 many discoveries have been made as to the correct nomenclature 

 of our Species. The whole occupies several hundred foolscap pages 

 and is nearly ready for publication. I am only waiting until I can 

 consult several Swedish and German works to publish the results 

 of my labors. All my ornithological friends at home and abroad 

 have kindly urged the speedy completion of this work as a very 

 great desideratum. Among them: Hugh E. Strickland of Oxford, 

 Charles Bonaparte, F. Schlegel, Curator of the Museum at Leyden, 

 and others. 



Should I go to Washington, my collections would of course 

 accompany me. The principal of these are specimens of North 

 American Birds, Quadrupeds, Reptiles and Fishes, Complete Skele- 

 tons, Crania, numerous Vertebrata, and Forest trees. My ornitho- 

 logical collection is probably the richest in N. American species of 

 any in the world, containing with very few exceptions all those 

 figured and described by Audubon, with many others unknown to 

 him. I possess numerous new species which I intend to publish in 

 monographs of families and genera. They are all in skins, and about 

 three thousand in number, properly labelled and well preserved. 

 Especial care has been taken to procure every variety of age and sex. 

 I have besides a good series of European birds and eggs obtained 

 from various correspondents in that country. 



A principal object also of my studies has been the preparation 

 of a Bibliography of Ornithology and American Natural History in 



