CORRESPONDENCE 167 



relations between the Smithsonian and the New Yorlc Museum to 

 be put on a strictly commercial basis; and I received a private 

 letter from Mr. Haines, who in some way had heard of our cor- 

 respondence and who disavowed any such ideas of a quid pro quo 

 as Mr. Bickmore seemed disposed to establish, and said the 

 Museum would be always happy to give the Institution whatever 

 they had to spare. Shortly alter Bickmore wrote stating that it 

 gave him much pleasure to send the specimens ; so that I suppose 

 he had received some sort of hint from the committee. 



We have nothing new since the date of your last letter except 

 that collections of one kind and another are coming in ; and we 

 are hard at work trying to keep matters in good condition. We 

 shall send off Monday the ^Nloose skeletons to Ward to have them 

 mounted and prepared in his best style. 



Ridgway is here hard at work at the Water Birds, and we 

 have about 120 pages of our new book in type, though the work 

 goes on rather slowly. AVith much love from all our people I 

 remain, 



Sincerely and truly yours, 



Spencer F. Baird. 



Eastport, July 17, 1872. 

 My Dear Mr. Boardman: 



I want to come up, before a great while, and pay you another 

 short visit ; but cannot quite see my way clear to do it just now. 

 I write, however, to say that we hope, as soon as the Revenue 

 Cutter is finished to make the long talked of trip to Grand Mauan, 

 and we shall be glad to have you and Mrs. Boardman ready to 

 join us in the excursion. Mr. Cheney was over here yesterday, 

 and I arranged to have him in readiness to take us around when 

 we go. 



On Monday last, the Senator, Mr. Paine, Capt. Treat and 

 myself went up to visit the pond, not far from Robbinston, into 

 which the captain had put a number of salmon fifteen years ago, 

 and where the fish had been reported visible on several occasions. 

 We took with us a large salmon net and set it in the lake but 

 caught no fish. Many of the neighbors, however, assured us that 

 they had seen huge fish, of from ten to twenty pounds, jumping 



