A LIFE RECORD 37 



and made his first visit to the Academy of Natural Sci- 

 ences. Being in Boston in April, 1859, he purchased of 

 T. M. Brewer a copy of Wilson's American Ornithology, 

 from which undoubtedly he commenced his first syste- 

 matic study of birds. 



The year 1860 w^as one full of interest to Mr. Board- 

 man. His diary notes the capture of his first Harlequin 

 duck, February 7. The first robin appeared April 11, 

 the first swallows April 20 and the first bobolinks May 

 25. In March of that year he went to Philadelphia and 

 Washington. In the former city he met John Krider 

 and examined his birds. At Washington he visited the 

 Capitol, the Patent Office, the conservatory and the 

 Smithsonian Institution. He spent the most of the time 

 for three days at the Smithsonian and met Prof. Spencer 

 F. Baird for the first time. In August Mr. Boardman 

 was again in New York and saw the Prince of Wales 

 land in that city on his visit to the United States. On 

 September 22 he "set up" an eagle and on December 7 

 mounted a grebe. 



Down to that year Mr. Boardman had resided in the 

 small cottage which he built the j'ear of his marriage 

 and where he began keeping house in December, 1843. 

 But on September 5 he moved into the new house which 

 he had built in 1860 at the corner of Main and Church 

 streets. It was in a special room of this house that he 

 had the large case of mounted birds, which is now in the 

 Parliament House, Fredericton, N. B., forming as it does 

 one of the main features of interest as it is an original 

 design by Mr. Boardman. It is the case marked A in 

 the plan of the room given in this volume. It consists 

 of a tree which forms the centre of the case, tbe branches 



