4 PBOCEEDINGS OF THE 



present connection, and the progress of their accumulation is 

 well set forth in letters of John Cassin to Spencer F. Baird. 



Under date of June 17, 1846, he writes " The most important, 

 item I know of in the ornithological line is the purchase recently 

 made by Dr. Wilson, a notice of which you have probably seen 

 in the papers. The Doctor has just been here to talk about it. 

 He says there are at least 10,000 specimens and nearly fivfr 

 thousand species all mounted unfortunately and therefore re- 

 quiring much space for their arrangement. He has I find hardly 

 made up his mind as to the disposal of this collection ; upon the 

 whole he is rather inclined to erect a building at his residence 

 in Newark, Del. , expressly for a museum, though I was glad to 

 perceive that he inquired very particularly about the practi- 

 cability of accomodating the collection in the hall of the Acad- 

 emy which course I encouraged. ... If the Doctor succeeds in 

 getting the collection safely to the United States it will be a most 

 important acquisition to American ornithologists answering the 

 purpose as it will of a standard collection — think of 5,000 

 species ! " This was the Rivoli collection which was purchased 

 for Dr. Wilson by J. E. Gray whom he had consulted as to the 

 best means of forming a representative collection of birds, and 

 who has described his amusing experience in Paris when he made 

 the purchase and the consternation of the French ornithologists.* 



By July 25 Dr. Wilson had arranged to alter and enlarge the 

 Academy' s building and fit it with the necessary cases to hold 

 the collection. ' ' A large number of boxes has already arrived, ' ' 

 writes Cassin; ''one box has been opened containing vultures 

 and eagles. Dr. Wilson proposes to buy not only specimens 

 but ornithological books also, ' ' 



By November 16, 1846, they were "nearly done unpacking 

 the Rivoli collection. It is enormous," and by the end of the 

 next year it was arranged in the cases, Cassin being paid by Dr. 

 Wilson to do the work. Cassin' s enthusiasm is not surprising : 

 he writes August 11, 1847, ''I to-day complete the arrangement 

 of the woodpeckers. There are two very fine Picus imperials 

 as well as all other — I was going to say all other possible wood- 

 peckers ! 



*See Auk, 1899, p. 175. Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. 1869, p. 317. 



