PREFACE. 



HOUGH the preface comes first it is usually written 

 last, and to this custom " Bird-Nesting in North- 

 West Canada " is no exception. 



Now that the last chapter has been written, the 

 time has come to give a few words of explanation. 



The only time I have been able to devote to this 

 work was during evenings after business hours, and not only 

 had the book to be written, but the illustrations had also to 

 be drawn at night, consequently the work has taken longer 

 to execute than I had anticipated, and I wish to thank my 

 subscribers for their patience and indulgence in waiting so 

 long for their copies. 



Though the title of the book would lead readers to expect 

 the work to be purely Oological, it will be found to treat on 

 matters not strictly Ornithological. I have branched off and 

 given descriptions of the habits of the more important animals 

 inhabiting the region traversed, and have also given a de- 

 scription of the scenery between Toronto and Vancouver. 



The book is also intended to be a guide to sportsmen and 

 anglers who intend visiting this territory, and it may even 

 be of some use to intending settlers. I have given accurate 

 descriptions of the birds' eggs, and also given their measure- 

 ments. At the end of the book is an index, so that the book 

 may answer as a reference. 



The colored plates of birds' eggs are faithful representa- 

 tions of specimens in my collection, and have been drawn on 



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