178 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 16-No. 12 



tlie history attaclied to tliem, and I would I 

 could introduce some of my present readers to 

 some of these old exploits. Familiar names 

 rise up at every turn. 



Hereisasetof "seven Kougli- wing Swallows, 

 collected May '-iO, 1ST8, by W. E. Saunders, in 

 the vicinity of London, Canada. Nest in hole 

 in l)ank, three and one-half feet in, two feet 

 down, eight and one-half feet above river." 

 Do you remember that set, Mr. Saunders ? I 

 will wager you do. Cannot you tell us about 

 it sometime ? 



Here is a set of four Black- throated Bunting 

 from Indianola, Iowa. They came from F. T. 

 I'ember, another of our family. Brother Pem- 

 bcr called on us the other day; he has been a 

 subscriber since Volume 1, and intends to con- 

 tinue until death us doth part. 



This set of (three, one Cowbird) Red-eyed 

 Vireos, collected June 17, 1S80, by S. L. Wil- 

 lard at Rockville, Ct., brings up memories 

 which are move interesting to me, and I pre- 

 sume many of my readers, than any other in 

 the collection, since they were taken while 

 Mr. Wilhird was the guest of Mr. Wade, for 

 the purpose of handing over this magazine to 

 him and coaching him on the conduct: thereof. 

 I presume that not one per cent, of our sub- 

 scribers know anything of the founder of the 

 magazine, whose coming, many assure us, 

 they each month await with impatience; and 

 fewer still know of his trials. 



In March of 187.5, he, then a boy of sixteen 

 years, without Tuoney or outsi<le help, and with 

 l)ut little experience, recognizing the lack in 

 the literary world of a perioilical devoted to 

 ornithology, issued a little eight-page sheet 

 entitled " The Oiilogist,"' as his tad at that tijne 

 was in this direction, and the bulk of the con- 

 tents was devoted to that subject, with a small 

 admixture of other matter. Although a ci'ed- 

 itable production, considering the facilities at 

 hand, tlic editor, to use a slang phrase, "bit 

 off more than he could chew," and later on he 

 acknowledged the fact and moderated his 

 ambition. 



This was issued with the assistance of an 

 unemployed printer, but the publisher and 

 l)roprietor was at a loss to pay his hill, as the 

 hrst number was a flat failure, no luospectus 

 or announcement, except in a small circle of 

 personal friends, having been sent out; how- 

 ever, he made a satisfactory adjustment of 

 the finances, and issued a .second number 

 which is a decided improvement on No. 1. 

 Means for the continuation of the i)aper were 

 now exhausted, as it was not up to the staiul- 



ard of expectation of collectors, and Mr. Wil- 

 lard, discouraged at -the downfall of his idol, 

 withdrew it from the printer's hands. 



Before long, bis ambitions, spurred on by a 

 tenacious hobby, received a new impetus, and 

 he set about another number, resolved to con- 

 tinue, if such a thing was within the bounds 

 of possibility. The heading had heretofore 

 been "set up," hut he now e.xpcnded his little 

 pocket money for a block of bo.xwood and set 

 himself to carve out a heading (which was a 

 marvel of singularity). He next added a small 

 font of type to the office, and negotiated with 

 a boy friend, some distance away, to print it 

 on his press, writing, setting up, and printiijg 

 one page at a time, and the May number 

 appeared with four original engravings. Tliis 

 was continued until the disposal of the press 

 by its owner, and our publisher was again 

 thrown upon the cold world. But lie had now 

 gone too far to back out, for he had made his 

 mark in amateur circles, and frequent clipping.s 

 were made from the columns of the magazine; 

 so he had a press made by a blacksmith large 

 enough to print a single page at an impression, 

 which size was the limit of his funds. 



At the commencement of Volume II, he hail 

 secured the wherewithal to purchase an "ama- 

 teur" press of larger dimensions, which later 

 on, after he hail done some outside work in 

 the line of printing, was succeeded by a larger 

 one, upon which tlie work was done until Hie 

 spring of 1880, when it was handed over to 

 Mr. W.ade. Mr. Willard is now in Chicago and 

 identitied with one of the largest publishing 

 houses in the country. 



Volume VI, issued by Mr. .losepli M. W.ade 

 at liockville, Ct., was a vast improvement over 

 the little Volume I, No. 1. of seven years be- 

 fore, for it was now a neat, ei'.;ht-page maga- 

 zine with cover, and was well illustrated and 

 printed, as Mr. W.ide was an enthusi.ast on 

 ornithological literature, and with means at 

 his disposal. He had an immense collection 

 of works of our most famous naturalists, in- 

 cluding hundreds of unpublished autograph 

 letters and sketches of .Vuduboii, Wilson, Bach- 

 man, Xuttall, and others, of lesser note. In 

 November he transferred his office to Boston, 

 having taken charge of the Boston .loiinial 

 of Commerce. 



In December of 188:!, the duties of his posi- 

 tion had so increased that he was compelled to 

 lay aside his bobby, and sold out his interest 

 to Mr. F. B. Webster, who li;is since continued 

 the publication. 



>Ir. Wade is now- lifty-nine years old. and 



