36 THE NATURALIST OF THE ST. CROIX 



paper quoted at the opening of this chapter, show that 

 it was his interest in the beautiful birds of the tropical 

 islands which he visited in 1841 that led to his deter- 

 mination to study and know the birds of his own locality. 



Mr. Boardman commenced keeping a private diary in 

 1853, the first entry having been made on February 14 

 of that year. Some of the earliest records relate to 

 natural observations. He notes the first plum and apple 

 blossoms ; the first dahlias in bloom ; while on August 20 

 he " went up the road gunning." On April ^13, 1854, 

 the record notes : " Saw robin this morning." On May 

 22 he "saw the first blue violets." August 10 he 

 records that he "went gunning up the road and got 

 nothing ; " but on August 25 had better luck as he went 

 fishing and caught trout, also shot eight partridges. 

 Entries similar to the above appear throughout the fall 

 months. He went shooting and fishing every week, fre- 

 quently for days in succession and the entries show that 

 he shot four, eleven and fifteen partridges on successive 

 times out. But few entries in his diary for the year 

 1855 relate to birds. He records the first robin April 10, 

 the first martin April 26 and the first swallow May 2. 

 During the autumn he went gunning and fishing — 

 sports which he afterward followed all his life — often; 

 frequently two or three times a week. 



On October 7, 1857, Mr. Boardman was, as he expresses 

 it, " hung up" with a cold. He could not, however, be 

 idle, it was so foreign to his nature and habits, so he 

 "set up" a wood duck — the first entry in his diary 

 which relates to taxidermy and it may be said that his 

 magnificent collection of birds dates from that period. 

 In September, 1858, Mr. Boardman was in Philadelphia 



