The United States National Museum 339 



of Mr. C. B. Cory, now the property of the Field Columbian 

 Museum, in Chicago, Illinois. That of Central American and 

 South American birds is exceeded in extent and value only 

 by the British Museum's series of birds from the same region, 

 and has been freely used by Messrs. Sclater, Salvin, God- 

 man, Count von Berlepsch, and others in their various pub- 

 lications on neotropical birds, and is also largely the basis of 

 Professor Baird's ' Review of American Birds.' 



" Museums throughout the world have been supplied with 

 American birds by the United States National Museum, and 

 the existing specimens of several species, such as the Roseate 

 Gull, Greenland Redpoll, and several Alaskan species, have 

 mainly, in some cases exclusively, been distributed by 

 the National Museum. 



" It can safely be said that no collection of birds in the 

 world compares with that of the United States National 

 Museum in value or importance as a basis for scientific inves- 

 tigation already accomplished or yet to be done, since as 

 many species as possible, with the facilities at command, are 

 represented by large series of specimens from all parts of 

 their geographical range, and of all known variations de- 

 pendent on climate, sex, age, or other circumstances. 



"The unparalleled collection of North American birds' 

 eggs in the United States National Museum is the result of 

 many years' growth. In the early years of the Institution 

 Professor Baird interested the naturalists of the various 

 government surveys and members of the Hudson Bay Fur 

 Company in the subject, and from them (and especially 

 the latter) thousands of eggs were received. Mr. R. Mc- 

 Farlane 1 was particularly active, and with him were associ- 

 ated B. R. Ross, James Lockhart, John Reid, M. McLeod, 

 A. McKenzie, and others, who sent not only eggs, but large 

 collections of other kinds. The Institution sent Robert Ken- 

 nicott to Arctic America in 1859, where he remained three 

 years, collecting the natural productions of the region, and 

 with them many eggs of Arctic birds. 



1 See his report in " Proceedings of the United States National Museum," Volume xiv, 



pages 413-446. 



