The Oologist. 



vol. XI. NO. 2. 



ALBION, N. Y., FEB., 1894. 



Whole No. 100 



George Newbold Lawrence- 

 It is with no small amount of gratiti- 

 ■cation that we present to the readers of 

 the Oologist this month a picture and 

 biographical sketch of a man who from 

 a standpoint of years and labors accom- 

 plished, can be well ranked as not only 

 ■ the father but the grandfather, yes— the 

 'great-grandfather of living ornitholo- 

 gists. For a number of years the sub- 

 ject of our sketch has been a subscriber 

 ■of the Oologist, and with such regular- 

 ity has been his renewal, usually ac- 

 companied with an order for other 

 material, that the writer has of late 

 years, as the Holiday season approached, 

 rather looked for the well-known 

 chirography (of Mr. Lawrence. On 

 December 18, 1898, we received from 

 .him the following letter: 



New York, Dec. 17, 1893. 



"As I hope soon to dispose of my 

 Natural History library, I am stopping 

 all subscriptions to scientific publica- 

 tions, therefore, please discontinue my 

 ■subscription to the Oologist with the 

 completion of the present volume. 



I have been confined to my room for 

 over two mouths, but am now getting 

 better. I can read but little, and sev- 

 eral of your late numbers remain un- 

 read. As I am now in my 88th year, it 

 is about time to let up a little. 



In gettiug the Oologist into volumes 

 the following are missing. I think they 

 could not have come, as I kept them all 

 in one place. I am willing to pay for 

 them, as I want the volumes complete. 

 Yours truly, 



Geo. N. Lawrence. 



Immediately upon receipt of this let- 

 ter the Publishers of the Oologist call- 



•ed a special meeting at which they cre- 

 ated a very exclusive order in connec- 

 tion with their little monthly, viz: — 

 that of an "Honorary Life Member" as 

 we have previously stated, this order is 



.-a very exclusive one and for the present 



at least is restricted to a single member. 

 To this membership Mr. Geo. N. Law- 

 i*ence was most unanimously elected. 

 The Chairman of this meeting at once 

 infoi-med Mr. L.of the new honors con- 

 ferred on him and fully explained to 

 him the beauties of this new order and 

 requested him, in case he could not ac- 

 cept his election, to at least accept the 

 Oologist from month to month as it 

 came in his mail and if he could not use 

 it to better advantage "to toss it in his 

 waste basket" — in which case.under the 

 conditions stipulated, its publishers be- 

 ing ignorant of its disposition could im- 

 agine all sorts of pleasant things. 



In reply to our letter we received the 

 following: 



New York, Dec. 30, 1893. 



I must apologize for not sooner an- 

 swering your letter of the 22d. I have 

 not been quite so well lately, and 

 though anxious to write you, was un- 

 able to do so. I also wanted to look 

 about the missing numbers. I am 

 greatly obliged for those sent. 



Now for your intention of honoring 

 me. I certainly will not refuse the 

 tendered membership and feel pleased 

 by the compliment. I think I am Hon- 

 orary Member of three important so- 

 cieties, and member or correspondent 

 of about twenty; but I try and let hon- 

 ors sit lightly. 



As I have stopped so many periodi- 

 cals I will not object to the Oologist 

 coming and hope I may be able to read 

 it, certaiuly it will not go into the 

 waste basket. 



Wishing you a prosperous New Year, 

 I am, yours truly, 



Geo. N. Lawrence. 



In the naming of birds Mr. Lawrence 

 has also been much honored, but no 

 more than his labors merited. The 

 genus Lawrencias, Ridgw. of Santo Dom- 

 ingo was named in honor to him as 

 well as the following North American 

 species of birds: 



Myitarchus lawrenceii, Giraud, Law- 

 rence's Flycatcher. 



