INTRODUCTION 19 



i'or the invaluable and substantial aid rendered ine by niy very 

 good friend, A. C. Gould, Esqr., the esteemed editor of Shooting 

 and Fishing, of New York City, N. Y. Mr. Gould not only greatly 

 encouraged me to write this work, but, prompted by a generosity 

 rarely equaled, presented me with the forty or more half-tone 

 blocks upon which are engraved the reproductions of altoiLtliose 

 animals photographed by me from life. For this very timely 

 and friendly assistance I here extend him niy most sincere 

 thanks. All of my articles kindly published for me by Mr. Gould, 

 from time to time in his admirable journal have been incorpo- 

 rated into the present chapters, and in many cases without any 

 alteration whatever. I feel the deepest obligations, too, to Mr. 

 Benjamin Lillard, the able editor of Popular Science News, of New 

 York City, who, upon application, promptly loaned me many 

 electrotypes of figures that during the past few years illustrated 

 articles of mine in his excellent paper. I refer especially to the 

 figures of the Violet Land Crab; the Sea Horse; P. eques; the 

 Common Eel; head of Crocodile; the Gavial; the Horned Grebe; 

 Black-throated Diver; Whiskered Auklet; Trudeau's Tern; Peli- 

 can; the Crossbills; and others. The text-matter which these 

 figures illustrated in Popular Science News has also been largely 

 reproduced in the following pages, and I am sure will add ma- 

 terially to the usefulness of the book. 



