A UFE RECORD 75 



Minneapolis, Miim., May 21, 1880. 

 My Dear Professor: 



I know I owe you a letter and should have written before I 

 left home ; had I had much of any news to communicate should 

 have done so. 



We have been here two weeks to-day, found the boys and 

 families all well and very glad to see us. 



I was very much surprised to see how much more forward 

 vegetation was than with us in the same parallel. We found in 

 the first week of May the trees nearly leaved out and trees in full 

 bloom about the same as we see in southern Massachusetts or 

 Connecticut. The boys at the University found thirty-four differ- 

 ent kinds of wild flowers in the first week in May. We could 

 hardly do that in New Brunswick. We are much pleased with 

 the looks of the country ; it is quite warm but the air is delight- 

 ful. Mrs. Boardman is in love with the country. We find very 

 many of our old down east neighbors and we see about as many 

 old acquaintances as at home, so many of the men that have been 

 in my employ years ago come west. We are full of callers all the 

 time. I have been riding all about. See lots of nice birds, many 

 nearly new to me. Yellow-headed blackbii'ds are very abundant, 

 black tern by the thousands, every little lake hovering about like 

 swallows. Eose breasted grosbeaks very abundant as well as 

 orioles and some scarlet tanagers. The warblers had mostly gone 

 north. I got one Cape May and they appear quite common. 

 One lake near here there is an island where hundreds of blue 

 heron are now breeding. Double crested cormorants breed on 

 the same trees, and blackbirds in the foundation of same nests. 



If my locomotion was better I should enjoy being here in the 

 spring collecting, but can walk but a little distance ; am getting 

 better most every day. Hope to be well enough in a few weeks 

 to go up to Fargo and perhaps up the Ked Eiver to Winnipeg. I 

 should enjoy the sail up but hear mosquitoes are very plenty. 

 The fish are most of them new to a Bay of Fundy chap. The bass 

 do not look like the Florida fish, and the Minneapolis folks get 

 very good fish from Lake Superior, some very large and good eat- 

 ing fish. 1 see reports of Prof. Goode and your fish exhibition. 

 Have no doubt they will be a credit to the country. I expect you 



