ILLINOIS AUDUBON SOCIETY 7 



Part VI II of the great work. "The Birds of North and Middle 



America," has been completed and will soon be in press; two additional 

 volumes will be required to complete the series. Some idea of the extent 

 of this work may he conveyed by the statement that the seven volumes 

 already published comprise more than 5300 printed octavo pages I not 

 counting indices in which are described, with full synonyms, more than 

 2300 species and sub-species of birds.) 



Of the endeavor to secure accuracy in this work, interesting stories 

 might be told. For instance, the measurement of certain dimensions of a 

 series o\ specimens of every species of birds must be made and recorded 

 with utmost accuracy in order to determine the difference between the 

 more closely related kinds, and in this way and as a necessary aid to the 

 preparation of Volume VIII. 3500 specimens were measured. Since 

 definitions of color have of necessity to be absolutely exact, and there being 

 no adequate standards of colors to draw from. Mr. Ridgway compiled the 

 book of standard colors referred to above in order to give definite names 

 to every color tone of every bird described by him. The volume contain^ 

 over 1 100 names of colors and is said to have become the standard of colors 

 and of color nomenclature for the world. All this indicates the great 

 perseverance and patience which have made Mr. Ridgway's scientific 

 achievements possible. 



During the progress of the work on the "Birds of North and Middle 

 America," it became necessarv for Mr. Ridgway to make several field trips 

 in order to secure material not contained in the National Museum or other 

 collections in this country. Several visits were made for this purpose to 

 Southern Florida, one along the coast of Alaska (as far as Unalaska 

 Island), and two to Costa Rica in Central America. 



Since 1910 more or less of each year has been passed by Mr. Ridgway 

 at Olney, Illinois, the scene of some of his earlier bird studies and a 

 field which to him has lost none of its interest, though, sad to say. much 

 of its former attractiveness is gone forever. Here he has established a 

 home where opportunity is afforded for out-of-doors employment as a relief 

 from nervous strain of literary labors, such portions of the work on birds 

 of North and Middle America as do not require the handling of large 

 series of specimens being as conveniently done there as in Washington. 



Near ( )lnev Mr. Ridgway purchased a tract of land intended both as 

 a home and a bird preserve, named by Mrs. Ridgway. Bird Haven ; but 

 unforeseen conditions prevented its use as a home, so another place (this 

 one in the town itself) had to be acquired for a residence. Here his recrea- 

 tion is horticulture, the pursuit of which he confesses he finds so fascinat- 

 ing that his only regret is that more time cannot be given to it. He is 

 conducting experiments with trees and shrubs (both ornamental and use- 

 ful ) never before planted in this section of the country, and with most 

 interesting results. "Bird Haven" was selected, after careful search, on 

 account of the very unusual number of species of native trees growing on 

 a small area (18 acres). The fifty-eight native species found growing 

 naturally there form a good nucleus for a state arboretum and gradually 

 other species native to Illinois are being added to the number, a careful 

 record of the plantings being kept. To the fifty-eight species of trees 

 growing naturally on Bird Haven twenty-four additional Illinois species 

 have been added, while fifteen more are in the nurserv at Larchmund ; to 



