160 THE NATURALIST OF THE ST. CROIX 



may have the pleasure of the excursion next year." In 

 a letter dated November 23, 1871, he writes: "I am 

 much obliged to j'-ou for the potatoes and shall value 

 them both for their own merits and for the kindness 

 which prompted you to forward them. I only hope that 

 you and Mrs. Boardman will help us eat some of them 

 in Washington . ' ' This was after Mr. Boardman had sent 

 Prof. Baird a barrel of p T-tatoes as he had been in the habit 

 of doing. He had, also, from time to time, sent firkins of 

 butter and jars of raspberries. What a bond of union such 

 gifts were between country and city friends in the good 

 old days ! Writing to Mr. Boardman in Florida, Feb- 

 ruary 2, 1872, Prof. Baird says : " You must not apolo- 

 gize for routing us out so early on the day you left as it 

 was by no means unnaturally early and was not of the 

 slightest consequence. As an offset I shall claim the right 

 of doing the same thing some day at your own house but 

 if you talk too much about this it may prevent me from 

 exercising this privilege." Again writing to him while 

 in Florida in the winter of 1873 he says : " I do not at 

 present think of anything very special in the way of birds, 

 although w^e would be glad to have some skins of the 

 Florida Jay, the Ivory Bill, the Red Cockade and Wood- 

 peckers, Paroquet, etc. I hope, however, you will be 

 able to secure some Limpkin eggs of which, as you 

 know, we have only one and that from Cuba." 



The kindly personal interest expressed by Prof. Baird 

 regarding young naturalists and in all his friends, is 

 shown in many letters. "The j^oung gentleman from 

 New Bedford," he writes to Mr. Boardman, October 10, 

 1870, "who wants to go with you next winter is William 



