16 
WARD'S NATURAL SCIENCE BULLETIN. 
THE COLLECTION OF A CELEBRA- 
TED NATURALISE 
AUDUBON’S COLLECTION OF AMERICAN 
BIRDS NOW AT OUR ESTABLISHMENT. 
Early last month we received the following 
letter from Miss Maria R. Audubon, the grand- 
daughter of the celebrated American Ornitholo- 
gist : 
New York- City, June 8, 1882. 
Prof. Henry A. Ward, 
Dear Sir: — Prof. Albert Bickmore of the N. 
Y. Museum, has advised me to write to you 
with reference to a collection of bird-skins now 
in our possession, being part of the collection of 
my grandfather, the late John J. Audubon. There 
are probably between four and five hundred speci- 
mens, though this is only a rough estimate. 
They are at present with Mr. Geo. N. Lawrence, 
who for many years has most kindly had them 
packed away in boxes at his office, where they 
may be seen at any time. I should be very 
glad if after examining them, you could take 
the entire collection. Many of them are 
large water birds, and I believe none of them 
are in the least injured by moths or dampness. 
Mr. Lawrence will be most happy to give you any 
further information you may desire. Trusting 
we may hear from you, 
I am truly yours, 
(Miss) M. R. Audubon. 
It was less than twenty-four hours after hear- 
ing of the existence and — to coin a word, — ob- 
tainability of the above valuable collection, that 
we were at New York, and in Mr. Lawrence’s 
office in Pearl street, examining three great cases 
in which the precious collection was stored. 
Mr. Lawrence, well-known as a Nestor among 
American Ornithologists, received us with kind 
attention, and not only helped to display the col- 
lection, but also explained it. 
After the death of Audubon in 1851, Mr. Law- 
rence who had long been his warm friend, was 
requested to take charge of this collection until 
it should be decided as to what disposition should 
be made of it by his heirs. 
These preferred to leave the collection intact 
for a period, until now over thirty years have 
passed, and the Birds were still in Mr. Lawrence’s 
hands; a treasure for his favorite study but a 
serious encumbrance to his office. The collect- 
ion was made by Audubon personally, at the 
time that he was studying the Birds of this Con- 
tinent and preparing the material for the publi- 
cation of his great work on the “ Birds of Ameri- 
ca.” Many of the specimens -were used in the 
descriptions and, probably, in the figures of that 
famous work. Many had labels in the handwrit- 
ing of Audubon, but so faded and faint as to be 
nearly or quite illegible. The skins— for all are 
umnounted— are remarkably well preserved, con- 
sidering that many of them date back for nearly 
half a century. We have just mounted one of 
them (Ruddy Duck), which comes from our 
Taxidermist in excellent shape and appearance. 
The collection includes representatives of most 
of the different species of North American Birds 
known in Audubon’s time, running through the 
Raptores, Insessores, Scansores and Rasores, to 
the Grail atores and Palmipeds, in which latter 
orders it is peculiarly rich and full. We have 
given much time since the collection reached 
Rochester (for we bought it) to freshening it up 
and sorting it over, throwing out any which were 
in poor condition. After doing this, we found it 
to number something over six hundred specimens, 
chiefly American, but with these are a few score 
from English localities, which the collector had 
obtained evidently as terms of comparison in his 
studies. W e have further ventured to add (with 
a distinctive label) about 150 other forms, princi. 
pally from Alaska and the Pacific slope,— locali- 
ties which were largely unknown territory when 
Audubon was collecting. The collection now 
numbers about 748 skins, which are all labelled 
and carefully arranged in trays in two large 
chests.) 
We now offer this collection for sale, and we 
expect that it will not be long in finding a pur- 
chaser. Its unique character, as the personal 
work of America’s celebrated Ornithologist, gives 
it deepest interest and highest value for any State 
or other large Museum. While for the cabinet 
of a College, University or Scientific School its 
full scientific range would add a valuable feature 
of practical teaching power. All the specimens 
may be mounted, although in view of their num- 
bers and their age, it would be probably better to 
mount a series of typical representative forms 
from among them, and to leave the balance as 
skins for display on the shelves of the Museum. 
The entire collection we now offer for sale for 
the fixed price of $ 600 . This price is so very 
low for so valuable a series, that we anticipate 
a prompt sale. H. A. W. 
THE HOOP-SNAKE. 
The following is in substance an account given 
by two gentlemeu who, while on a hunting ex- 
pedition in the Southern States, were favored 
with a sight of that fabulous creature, the hoop- 
snake. 
They were lying in wait for game, and had 
chosen for their hiding place a position in a 
large tree, where screened by the leaves they 
could watch unobserved a neighboring stream 
for anything in the shape of game that might 
come down to drink. After they had been 
watching for some time, their attention was at- 
tracted by a rustling as of something moving over 
the dead leaves on the ground, and turning their 
eyes in the direction of the noise, they saw 
several objects that seemed to be hoops rolling 
toward them, until finally they passed their tree, 
and rolled down into the water and swam off. 
After a time the things reappeared, and came 
out upon the bank, when the hunters saw that they 
were snakes. They watched these snakes until 
one after another they put their tails in their 
mouths, and rolled away like hoops. With their 
field glasses the gentlemen had an excellent 
opportunity of observing the peculiar locomotion 
of the animals. On the circumference of the 
hoop, by muscular contraction, apparently, a 
bunch was formed, which threw the weight at 
that particular place, and caused the hoop to 
revolve. The bunch seemed to gather succes- 
sively on every portion of the snake as he rolled 
along, while it maintained about the same eleva- 
tion above the ground. A steady revolution was 
thus kept up, and the snake advanced, faster or 
slower, at will. 
The above is one of the many accounts of a 
creature which according to popular belief is not 
uncommon, though strange as it may seem, no 
naturalist has ever yet succeeded in meeting with 
the species. Popular opinion arms the tail of the 
lioop-snake with a sting, a hard, fine-pointed, 
horn like substance, so deadly that the formi- 
dable reptile has been known to slay a stout oak 
tree by a single blow from this weapon. It 
would be interesting to know how such a fab- 
ulous creation has popularly received so un- 
doubted a place among our native fauna. Intel- 
ligent people who “pooh, pooh!” when told of 
the glass snake, (really not a snake, but a lizard, 
OpMosaurus wntralis ), which will shiver into 
bits when touched roughly, regard the lioop- 
snake as an undoubted zoological fact, buck 
ignorant credulity might be expected in a half- 
civilized community. In India, for example, 
where the annual mortality from serpent bites 
reaches 20,000, the natives hold a harmless liz 
ard, which they call the Biscobra, in far greater 
dread than any of the serpents. Sir Joseph 
Fayrer tells of a native dying from serpent bite 
who was brought to him for treatment. The 
sufferer at first insisted that he had been bitten 
by a Biscobra, but finally confessed that his 
destroyer was a Naj-Samp,— the native name for 
Cobra de Capello. 
As to the spine on the end of the tail, there are 
two formidable serpents not uncommon in parts 
of the country, the Copperhead and the Water 
Moccasin of the South, whose tails end in a spine 
like process. It is needless, however, to state 
that this spine is not a weapon of defense, nor 
have either of the above-named species been 
known to roll about like a hoop. A.N.H. 
The Harvey Herbarium. 
^ In our last issue of the Bulletin we advertised 
the fact that we hold for sale the Herbarium of 
that distinguished botanist, the late Professor W. 
H. Harvey, of Trinity College, Dublin. We 
have had some inquiries about this Hebarium 
from parties considering the question of its pur- 
chase. For its contents we refer to the resume 
given in last Bulletin. For its character, 
quality and value we can only repeat that this is 
one of the most celebrated botanical collections 
which has ever been before the public. It long 
held in Great Britain the position (due to its 
comprehensive fullness) and the reputation which 
Dr. Gray’s celebrated Herbarium at Harvard 
holds in this country. 
Professor W. H. Brewer, the well-known bot- 
anist and naturalist of Yale College, says: 
“Professor W. H. Harvey was one of the most 
noted botanists in the generation just preceding 
this, and when Systematic Botany was the subject 
of vastly more study than now, and when a large 
number of collectors and explorers were in the 
field gathering in the species for comparison and 
study. He took advantage of the times to gather 
a Herbarium representing the vegetation of 
various lands. He was a standard writer, and 
the results of his work occupy an important 
place in botanical literature. For such a work 
as his an Herbarium as extensive as the whole 
boundary of science was necessary. Borne of the 
very first specimens from Arizona and Southern 
California found their place in this Herbarium. 
(See Bot. California, vol. il, p. 555.) 
This noted Herbarium would be a treasure 
for any college where Systematic Botany is 
taught. Beyond the great expense and the long 
years which were required in its making, it has a 
notable value in connection with the history of 
Botanical Science.” 
We hold this celebrated Herbarium still on 
sale. It is carefully mounted and labelled by 
Harvey himself, and contains no less than seven- 
teen thousand species, with a total of over seventy 
thousand specimens. These from all parts of 
the world. For its contents and range, see page 
16 of our last Bulletin. 
Price of Herbarium, - - - $8,000. 
Manufacturer of Patent 
Adjustable Brackets & Racks. 
Economy of Space, Time and Money. En- 
dorsed" and Recommended by the Lead- 
ing Naturalists of the Country. 
Adopted by the Principle Mu- 
seums in the U. S. 
Special Terms to Museums and other Educa- 
tional Institutions. Send for Circular and men- 
tion where you saw this, to 
w. E. GAVIT, 
P. O. Box 3006, - NEW YORK. 
