44 



THE OSPREY. 



creased acquaintance with nature. Let us hope 

 that the g-ood work may be continued. 



Meeting of the American Oknithoi.ocists 

 Union. 



The Seventeenth Meeting" of the American 

 Ornitholog-ists' Union will be held in the Acad- 

 emy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia during- 

 the week commencing- Monday, November 13th. 

 The Monday session will be in the evening (8 ]). 

 m.) and for business only, including election of 

 officers. The open sessions will begin at 11 a. m. 

 on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. 



The meeting- will doubtless be one of more 

 than ordinary interest. Philadelphia was long 

 the chief home of American Ornithology and 

 the Academy of Natural Science of Philadel- 

 phia its favored temple. Half a century ago 

 and for a couple of decades or more later its 

 collection of birds was universally admitted to 

 be the most extensive in the world. An emi- 

 nently capable judge — one who knew most of 

 the continental museums through visits to them 

 — Mr. Philip Sclater, in "Notes on the Birds in 

 the Museum of the Academy of Natural Sciences 

 of Philadelphia" (1857), testified to this excel- 

 lence of its avian treasures. He declared that 

 "the collection of the Academy of Natural 

 Sciences of Philadelphia is certainly the best 

 zoological collection in the New World, and in 

 the particular department of Ornitholog-y, and 

 perhaps one or two other points, is probably su- 

 perior to everj' Museum in Europe, and therefore 

 the most perfect in existence". 



Thing-s and collections have much changed 

 during the present generation, however, and the 

 ornithological collections of the Acadeni}' no 

 longer holds the first place. Indeed they have 

 been left far behind. 



The pre-eminence of the Academy was in fact 

 long ago lost. No successor to Wilson arose. 

 Stagnation ensued. Meanwhile other institu- 

 tions progres.sed and one by one left the Aca- 

 demy behind. The British Museum especially 

 advanced with giant leaps very far in advance 

 of any other Institution so far as its avian col- 

 lections are concerned. Learned and zealous 

 English Naturalists, gifted with large means as 



well as ornithological knowledge, .supplemented 

 with rich stores the accumulations which its 

 own great resources enabled it to purchase. 

 The accomplished ornithologist in charge of 

 its avian treasures — Dr. Bowdler Sharpe— not 

 only efficiently administered the collection but 

 attracted the confidence as well as esteem of his 

 compatriots and fellow students. Instead of 

 waiting- till death should part them from their 

 riches, several English gentlemen deposited 

 with, or freely gave, the fruits of their re- 

 searches to the Museum during their lifetime. 

 What Wilson did for the Academy has been done 

 on even a greater scale by English gentlemen 

 for the British Museum. First in magnitude 

 was the surpassingly rich collection — especially 

 rich in Indian Birds — of Allan G. Hume who 

 gave it to the Museum in 1887. Only of sec- 

 ondary importance because overshadowed by 

 the unparalleled gift of Hume were other collec- 

 tions, notably the Ramsay-Tweeddale, the Sal- 

 vin-Godman and the Seebohm ones. No other 

 Museum has enjoyed such benefactions. 



Since the Academy fell into its lethargy, con- 

 ditions and modes of preservation and exhibi- 

 tion have radically changed. A new generation 

 has arisen and already modern methods have 

 been applied to the administration of the Acad- 

 emy's ornithological department and competent 

 men of the new school have been installed in 

 charge. Already the Academy has awakened 

 from its long sleep, and though it will never 

 regain the pre-eminence it has lost, it may take 

 rank with the next class and advance with equal 

 pace. Mr. Witmer Stone, the present custodian 

 of the birds, is familiar with the modern require- 

 ments as well as the literature of ornithology, 

 and we may even hope that he will take the 

 place in Philadelphia so long ago vacated by 

 Cassin. 



It will be with unusual interest and great 

 pleasure that the young ornithologists will pay 

 their first visit to the Academy. The visit of 

 the older ones, whose memories extend backward 

 to the times when the Academy was located on 

 Broad Street and when Cassin and Wilson lived, 

 will be tinged with melancholy as well as 

 with pleasant recollections. 



Letters. 



(defekked fok want of room.) 



