194 Bird- Lore 



His knowledge of the birds of America was great, but he has left us 

 only one notable publication on the subject, his ' Fragments of Natural 

 History,' published in 1799. This work consists primarily of a table which 

 he styles a ' Sketch of the Natural History Picture in the Neighborhood 

 of Philadelphia.' In parallel columns are. given the arrivals of the ' Birds 

 of Passage,' progress of vegetation and miscellaneous observations, from 

 early spring until the close of the year 1791, — much such a table as the 

 Naturalists' Calendar of Gilbert White. Here, we read of the blooming of 

 the skunk cabbage and the arrival of the Red-winged Oriole (Blackbird), 

 then the coming of the Pewee and the blooming of Draha verna, while the 

 arrival of the Snipe is coincident with the first catch of shad in the 

 Delaware River. 



So we may trace the progress of the seasons in this quaintly worded 

 chronicle. Late in May "the fire-fly begins to illuminate the woods and 

 meadows" and "the young Bluebirds first venture on their wings." By 

 the fourth of July "most of our common birds have done rearing their 

 young and the course of their melody begins to cease." In August "the 

 Katy-did-it begins its cheerful chattering" and "the Blue Jays appear in 

 great numbers, waiting for the nuts of the Beech, Chinquepin and Chest- 

 nut." Then follow the Rice-bird, " Prib Chatterers" (Cedarbirds) in 

 flocks, and the varied stream of fall migrants, duplicating in reverse order 

 and direction the northward flow of springtime. 



After the table comes a list of the resident birds of Pennsylvania and 

 comments upon various other species, quite as interesting reading as the 

 table itself. Here the broad knowledge of the author is clearly seen. A 

 creditable attempt at synonymy is offered, and the Indian names of the 

 birds are given, while references and quotations from all sorts of works are 

 liberally scattered through the pages. A plea for the protection of birds as 

 insect destroyers and some suggestions for bird-boxes are worthy of the 

 economic ornithologist of today. A final postscript states that "The 

 preceding fragmentary rubbish is thrown upon the public with some 

 degree of confidence merely because it regards a country the natural history 

 of which has been so little attended to. Other instalments of the 'Frag- 

 ments ' are promised, if leisure permits and the reception is favorable. But," 

 adds the author, "I will not say when, for who does not know that the 

 promises of authors are like the promises of lovers ? ' ' 



Whatever may have been the reception, the leisure seems not to have 

 been forthcoming. Sometimes it is claimed that men like Barton attempt 

 too much — try to cover too much ground. It may be so; but no one can 

 scan the pages of this first local bird list without feeling thankful to its 

 author; and we seem to read between the lines of his work indications of 

 that struggle which must always be present in such men between devotion 

 to their profession and surrender to the allurements of their hobby. 



