INTRODUCTION 



xiii 



young birds out of their holes in the ground, examined them carefully, 

 and, to the surprise of his companion, returned them, not taking even 

 one for a specimen, although the birds were comparatively rare, and he 

 was not likely to have such an opportunity again. He explained that 

 he could not make up his mind to take one of these birds because he 

 realized that each mother bird had but one little one all summer. He 

 used to laugh afterward at what he called his ''foolishness," but this 

 consideration for animals was one of his most charming characteris- 

 tics. 



In the early part of the year 1890 a journey to the Bahamas was 

 planned. The islands of New Providence and Andros, especially, were 

 visited and studied carefully. The amount and variety of material 

 collected during this trip, which extended from January 2 to July 10, 

 was remarkable; geology, botany, and zoology were all represented 

 both in the collections and in the notes. From observations made on 

 this trip were published his papers "Notes on the Geology of the 

 Bahamas," "The Cultivation of Sisal in the Bahamas," "Birds of 

 Andros Island, Bahamas." Among his unfinished works almost 

 ready for publication were: "A List of Starfishes and Ophiurans col- 

 lected in the Bahamas," and "A List of Sea-anemones collected in 

 the Bahamas." 



One of the birds collected on this trip proved to be new to science, 

 and was described and figured by Professor J. A. Allen in the Auk. 

 January 8, 1891, under the name Icterus northropi. The sea-anemones 

 were subsequently handed over to Professor J. Playfair McMurrich 

 for description. 



The report on the plants brought together on this trip was pub- 

 lished subsequently by Mrs. Northrop and forms part of this volume. 



The autumn and winter of 1890 Dr. Northrop devoted to the study 

 and preparation of these collections. In the meantime his ability was 

 widely recognized. He held membership in the Torrey Botanical 

 Club, in the American Institute of Mining Engineers, in the Linnasan 

 Society of New York, in the American Ornithologists Union, in the 

 American Folklore Society, in the American Association for the Ad- 

 vancement of Science, and in the New York Academy of Sciences. 

 He also was enrolled as a member of the International Geological 

 Congress during the 1888 meeting. 



During the winter of 1890 President Low and the trustees of 



