334 Letters , Extracts from Correspondence , Announcements, fyc. 
country. Mr. Salvin’s letter, dated May 28th, on his passage 
out, says—“ Some Swallows (.Hirundo rustica) came on board 
when we were 180 miles N.W. of the Azores; so it is probable that 
the bird is found in those islands. On Sunday last, May 22nd, 
we passed close to Graciosa, and saw Terceira, Pico, St. George, 
and Fayal. Almost every inch of Graciosa seems to be culti¬ 
vated, and the hill-sides are all fenced out into fields. I have 
not seen a single Tropic-bird ( Phaethon ). We expect to make 
Sombrero before noon tomorrow, and to reach St. Thomas by 
six o’clock in the evening; if so, we shall have made the passage 
in 12 days 7 hours.” 
Professor Baird, of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, 
D.C., gives us a most promising account of what is now doing 
in North America in the way of Natural History. He says— 
"Much as has been done in previous years in the way of 
Natural History exploration in North America, the present year 
is likely to witness more than ever. A large number of parties 
are out in the field, and in most cases accompanied by much 
better taxidermists than the previous ones. We have had vast 
Collections of birds brought in heretofore, but they have been 
made by amateurs and beginners, not professional operators, and 
very few have been fit to give away or to mount. All this will, 
I hope, be improved this season. 
“ A most important expedition is that of Mr. Kennicott to 
the Hudson’s Bay region. He is now on Lake Winnipeg, en 
route either for Fort York or Fort Simpson. He will remain 
two years or more in the country, and will make a clean sweep. 
His special object is the eggs; but he will collect birds too. 
He has met with the heartiest cooperation from Sir George 
Simpson, who has ordered all possible facilities to be given him. 
“Next, in the main Rocky Mountains are no less than four 
well-equipped parties of Government explorers, on different par¬ 
allels between our northern and southern boundary; several 
of them have regular taxidermists with them. There is an ex¬ 
cellent collector at Fort Crook, near Mount Shasta, in Northern 
California, who has already gathered some 500 specimens, to 
come in by next steamer. 
