12 Bird -Lore 



work, and he had many to select from. The person he did select was 

 probably the best man that could be found in the world, and no other 

 than William MacGillivray — a scholar, an ornithologist, an especially good 

 anatomist for the time, and an entertaining writer; a writer that was 

 good and truthful about all. He secured the assistance of William Mac- 

 Gillivray for the technical portions of his work. 



"I wonder how many ornithologists then and now know that his co- 

 operation with Audubon was secured after the failure of certain nego- 

 tiations with a different individual. What would have been the effect 

 had Audubon's first attempt to supply the technicalities of his subject 

 been successful? It makes me tremble to think of it. 



"He first applied for such assistance to an excellent ornithologist 

 named William Swainson. He was a good ornithologist, there hardly 

 being a better one for the time. He was one of the most accurate 

 ornithological artists; but he had a wheel in his head; he was a crank 

 on one subject, and any one who has ever read his work knows that he 

 there set this wheel to spinning. He was associated with two others, 

 composing a trinity of cranks in England at that time. 



"If he had not succeeded with MacGillivray and had succeeded with 

 Swainson North American ornithology would be — I do not know a word 

 to characterize it if it had fallen into the clutches of these cranks. 



"How did we escape this infliction? How did it happen that Audu- 

 bon's ornithological biographies, in all their technicalities, were not com- 

 piled under their system? I will show you how it happened that they 

 were not, for I hold in my hand a copy I have made of Mr. Swainson's 

 letter of declination. He declined to accede to the negotiations then 

 pending, as you will see. The original is in possession at present of the 

 family in Salem. The letter will be printed in the next number of ' The 

 Auk.'* 



"This letter is dated the 20th of October, 1830. I do not know that 

 it is necessary to read all of it, but the point of my remarks is to show 

 you that Swainson was applied to, to do the technical part of Audubon's 

 work, before MacGillivray was applied to, and he declined to do so be- 

 cause his name was not to appear upon the title page. 



"Among the contents of this portfolio I have a number of pictures, 

 to which I will now call your special attention. Those of us who are 

 familiar with the beautiful products of his pencil and those of us who 

 are not ornithologists may look and see one of Audubon's plates in process 

 of construction. There is an original of Audubon's [holding up the cut- 

 out figure of a bird] . In examining a great quantity of the contents of 

 the portfolio I found that it was a very frequent custom in preparing his 

 bird figures to have one of his sons prepare the background. You can 



* ■ The Auk," xv, iS<>S, pp. i i-i ;. 



