176 THE NATURALIST OF THE ST. CROIX 



favorite study which make aU Mr. Boardman's corre- 

 spondence of value. From Milltown, N. B., he writes 

 May 5, 1868 : "I got a nice nest of Goshawk's eggs yes- 

 terday, with the old female — the first I ever found with 

 the old parent. I am trying hard for the Saw-whet and 

 Richardson's Owl eggs. They ought to be found as they 

 are not uncommon all summer in the woods. I hope you 

 may soon get your arctic boxes and find some new and 

 good things. The warblers have got along and hundreds 

 of birds have perished by the cold." On June 10, 1868, 

 writing from Boston he says: "I brought up a Pine 

 Finch nest and eggs, also a Canada Jay's to Dr. Brewer, 

 as he wants to figure and describe them." ' ' If you have 

 any northern skins that would help my collection," he 

 writes October 12, 1868, " please put them in when send- 

 ing the box — say a good summer plumaged Old Squaw, 

 Bonaparte Gull, and that I may compare it, one of those 

 Barred Three-toed Woodpeckers and Hawk Owl," etc. 



Mr. Boardman became an expert taxidermist and his 

 mounted birds, skins and eggs always looked more 

 artistic and in better condition than those of any other 

 collector of his time. He always had better success in 

 obtaining rare specimens than most other field natural- 

 ists. Writing from Jacksonville, Fla., March 12, 1869, 

 he says : "I worked hard to get the Florida Jay on the 

 old Smyrna road where Dr. Bryant always found them. 

 I managed to get about a dozen but no other collector 

 got one except Allen, who had but one. I had to let a 

 few of them go for friendship's sake. I have also about 

 two dozen Mocking Birds and quite a good lot of Red- 

 cockade Woodpeckers." 



Writing from Boston, May 28, 1869, he says: "I 

 notice what you say about the Towhees. We do not 



