176 



THE OOLOGIST! 



j'ears, visi ed the saltpetre-workers iu 

 the Barrens of Kentucky, where it was 

 believed they resorted to in winter; ex- 

 cavated liuudreds of holes of bank 

 swallows, and various other retreats; 

 but failed to find a single incident to 

 testify that svvallovvs did actually as- 

 sume a torpid condition. He laid be- 

 fore Bartram the results of his careful 

 research, which thoroughly convinced 

 hiu! that his idea was erroneous. 



That peculiarly colored bird perched 

 on yonder low roof,uttering those shrill 

 notes "whip poor- will," which comes 

 to our ears through the soft air of this 

 pleasant June evening, was almost uni- 

 versally regarded at the time Wilson 

 began his ornithological career, as the 

 same specie of bird that you see swiftly 

 il\ing there above; now to one .side now 

 to the other and uttering its strange, 

 characterislic notes as it quickly turns, 

 at the same time enabling us to dimly 

 see llu-ough the slowly fading twilight 

 the white spots of its wings. 



The whip-poor-will and night-hawk 

 greatly interested the young Ornitholo- 

 gist. He resolved to make a thorough 

 examination, as he was accustomed to 

 do of the two l;irds. We may state 

 right here that Wilson's success as an 

 Ornithologist prinsipally lay in his mi- 

 nute observations. iSo popular idea or 

 opinion was accepted by him as grant- 

 ed. His great woi'k is based on pure 

 and reliable personal observation. In- 

 stead of considering the point as regards 

 the whip-poor will and night-hawk as 

 estal)lisiied, he shot fifteen night hawks. 

 Nine males and six females. Two 

 were shot as they rose from their eggs, 

 which wer.^ laid on the bare ground. 

 All these he very carefully examined 

 and dissected. The same way he treat- 

 ed the whip-poor-will, examining their 

 eggs in every case The result of his 

 research was that he observed the night- 

 hawk's wings to extend beyond the tail 

 and ornamented with white spots on the 

 . under side; while the whip-poor-will's 



wings were much shorter and devoid of 

 such spots. The bristles of the whip- 

 poor-will's mouth were absent in the 

 night-hawk, and the bill of the former 

 much longer than the latter. Thus after 

 long and patient study he satisfied him- 

 self and convinceil his friend Bartram 

 that they were two distinct species. 



Alttiough Bartram clierished many an- 

 tiquated ideas concerning birds, still he 

 greatly assisted Wilson in his new voca- 

 tion, and his work was afterwards en- 

 riched by many of his observations. We 

 owe to Bartram the honor of being the 

 councillor and adviser in nearly all of 

 Wilson's projects. When barriers arose 

 which were likely to oppose the progress 

 of his plans he freely stated the diffi- 

 culties to hisfriend, who speedily devis- 

 ed the needed remedy. 



The following communication from 

 the pen of Wilson to his friend in refer- 

 ence to some pencil sketches [he desires 

 to have criticized expresses his exact 

 sentiments and attitude towards him. — 

 "Criticize these, my dear friend, with- 

 out fear of offending me — this will in- 

 struct, but not discourage me. For 

 there is uot among all our naturalists, 

 one who knows so well what they ai'e, 

 and how the,? ought to be represented. 

 In the meantime, accept my best wish- 

 es for your happiness — wishes as sincere 

 as ever one human being breathed for 

 another. To your advice and encour- 

 aging encomiums, I am indebted for 

 these few specimens, and for all that 

 will follow. They may yet tell poster- 

 ity that I was honoured with 3'our friend- 

 ship, and that to your inspiration they 

 owe their existence." 



Floridan Races- 

 Florida, while not abounding in new 

 species for a northern collector, is how- 

 ever, exceedingly' I'ich in climatic vai'- 

 ieties aud geographical races, which, 

 during two seasons collecting there 

 have interested me as much if not more 



