158 NKW YORK. 



one was rebuilt. Everyone in London will surely remember 

 his visit to that city. 



I also made the acquaintance in New York of the world- 

 renowned celebrated artist, Madame Adelina Patti. At that 

 time she was a charming young girl, aged twelve, and 

 was already known as a great pianist. She had the fresh 

 voice of a nightingale and was very much courted for private 

 concerts. Great expectations were expected from her, which 

 have been fully realized as everyone knows. 



I had the pleasure to hear her very often, and, of course,, 

 I appreciated and enjoyed immensely the hours spent in 

 her company. Later on, I have enjoyed many charming soirees 

 in Paris and in London, where I saw her in all her principal 

 characters, in the Somnambula, Marta, la Traviata, etc., etc., 

 but I never forgot the happy time of our first acquaintance. 



In my several visits to New York, I visited all the 

 Museums, I assisted to the meetings of several scientific 

 Societies, either at New York or in Brooklyn, and I made 

 the acquaintance of many good men. Professor Schaup, 

 Entomologist, Mr. C. Bland, Conchiologist, Mr. George 

 Lawrence, Ornithologist, Captain Dow, Explorer, Professor 

 Baird, and many others, with whom I have passed some 

 delightful hours. 



I also made the acquaintance of many dealers in objects- 

 of natural history, Bell, Wallace, and several others in New 

 York, Akhurst, in Brooklyn, Alexander in Hoboken ; and I 

 made some valuable purchases in bird s skins and insects in 

 their stores. I secured some rare species of birds from 

 Ecuador and British Guiana ; also some very rare Coleoptera 

 from Columbia. 



In the vicinity of New York I collected many insects 

 and a few birds, among which, the beautiful humming-bird, 

 Trochilns colubris, a very important species so far, as being 

 the one on which the genus, Trochilus, of Linne, is based, 

 which has been employed by Naturalists for the family of 

 TROCHILIDAE, and which I have also employed for my order 

 TROCHILI, for these birds. 



It is a beautiful creature, only 3^ inches in length, 

 bronzy-green on the upper surface, with the chin black, 

 the throat metallic ruby-red, and the rest of underpart white. 

 It has been put in five distinct genera, but is now universally 

 known as Trochilus colubris; Red-Throated Humming 

 Bird, and Red-Throated Honey Sucker, in English, Rubis, 

 Petit Rubis, Petit Rubis de la Caroline, etc., in French Its 

 nests are in the neighbourhoods of New York. 



