194 THE LIFE OF PHILIP HENRY GOSSE. 



a gentleman at Spanish Town, a magistrate and leading 

 planter of the name of Richard Hill, who was understood 

 to shoot birds and to preserve their skins. To him, then, 

 wholly without introduction, Philip Gosse had the happy 

 inspiration to write in the autumn of 1845, and the result 

 was such as to make him wish that he had written a year 

 earlier. The following was the very agreeable reply which 

 he received : — 



" Spanish Town, November 6, 1845. 



"Dear Sir, 



" On the receipt of your letter, I took down from 

 " my bookshelves The Canadian Nattcralist, and finding 

 "the same 'P. H. ' preceding your name there, as in 

 "your letter, I perceived that you were already known 

 " to me. 1 acknowledge with pleasure the receipt of 

 "your communication, and, as an earnest of my desire 

 "to assist in turning your time to profit during your 

 " sojourn among us, I send you a list of the birds of this 

 " country, both migratory and stationary, which are 

 "common to us with Central and Northern America. 

 " As I have set them down from the list of the prints of 

 " Musignano, you will be in no uncertainty as to the 

 "objects to which I direct your attention. The advan- 

 "tage of this list to you will consist in the number of 

 "birds with which your North American experience 

 "will make you intimately acquainted. I have added 

 " another list containing what may be considered our 

 "peculiar ornithology. I have given with this such of 

 " the scientific names as I can determine with cer- 

 " tainty. 



" My peculiar walk in natural history has been con- 

 " fined to birds, with the view of illustrating that branch 

 " of our local history ; in other departments my ac- 



