— 472 — 



Eev. Duncan Anderson, of New Liverpool, P. Q., and to 

 others whose names escape me. The Bulletin of the 

 Natural History Society of Netu Brunswick,, the 

 Transactions of the Ottawa Field Naturalists Club 

 have also proved useful auxiliaries to the cause of the 

 natural sciences. 



Such, gentlemen, are some of the material available 

 to students of Canadian bird-life. Such, I may add, is 

 the ornithological outfit of our vast Dominion, for prose- 

 cuting research in this attractive branch of human know- 

 ledge. Far from me the desire to underrate what has 

 been accomplished ; but let us not delude ourselves and 

 imagine for an instant that we can compare with our 

 progressive neighbors beyond the border. True, they 

 had help from the State. Specialists were attached to 

 their great surveying expeditions, reporting direct to 

 specialists in Washington. Natural history in Canada 

 has had few of these external advantages, so that, as a 

 trustworthy writer tells us, a large amount of field-work 

 is yet to be done here before any thing like a complete 

 account of the birds of Canada can be produced." 



PART II. 



Linnaeus in his Sy sterna Natural divides the class of 

 birds into six orders, Blumenback makes out nine 

 orders ; Cuvier, six ; Vieillot, five ; Vigors, five ; Tem- 

 minck, in his Manuel d'Ornithologie, sixteen ; Agassiz 

 and Gould, in a more recent work, recognize only four 

 orders. 



The Smithsonian Institution Report of 1858, divides 

 the birds into six orders. 



I Raptores, Birds of Prey, 



II Scansores, Climbing Birds, 



III Incessores, Perching Birds, 



IV Rasores, Dusting Birds, 



V Grallatores, Wading Birds, 



VI Natatores, Web-footed Birds. 



