of the '^ Birds of America J^ 29 



will require time, patience and an extensive knowledge of 

 comparative anatomy in regard to the various species of 

 birds* The result of these investigations, will probably be 

 communicated to the public in the course of a few months. 

 No naturalist in this country has ever bestowed so much 

 of his time, industry and wealthier made so many sacrifices 

 to a favorite pursuit, as Audubon. To this he has devoted 

 the most active portions of his life. To accomplish this 

 he has traversed this wide extended country from the 

 Atlantic to the very foot of the Rocky Mountains ; from the 

 swamps of Florida and Louisiana to the snows of Michi- 

 gan and the nigged rocks of Labrador, and if he is sup- 

 ported by the approbation and the smiles of the generous 

 and the just, he is desirous of extending his researches 

 along the Gulf of Mexico, the borders of Texas, and 



Mou 



Ocean 



For the last two years and a half I have been intimately 

 acquainted with Mr Audubon. He has resided in my family 

 for months in succession. From a similarity of disposition 

 and pursuits, he was my companion in my rambles through 

 the woods and fields, and the enlivener of my evening 

 hours. During his absence we were constant correspond- 

 ents, and his letters, amounting to nearly a hundred, are 

 now lying before me. His journals have been regularly 

 submitted to my inspection- His notes and observations 

 were made in my presence, and a considerable portion of 

 the second volume of his^ Ornithological Biography was 

 written under my roof. I have carefully compared his 

 first volume \^-ith the forthcoming one, and from all these 

 opportunities which I have enjoyed of making a decision, 

 I do not hesitate to state that the second volume will 

 not fall short of the first in purity, vigor, and originality 

 of style, and that it will contain the additional experience 



