AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, 
77th Street and Central Park West. 
New York, November 27,1905. 
DEPARTMENT OF 
MAMMALOGY AND ORNITHOLOGY. 
F.M.C. 
Mr' Walter Deane, 
145 Brattle St., 
Cambridge, Mass. 
Dear Mr. Deane: 
Thanh you very much indeed for the nesting 
dates, which will be of much value to me. 
Will you please tell Mr. Brewster that after careful 
comparison of our two shins of the Labrador Duch. with the five 
mounted birds, neither Doctor Allen, Professor Bumpus or myself 
are able to detect any noticeable difference in color. 
Mr. Brewster doubtless also will be .relieved to learn that 
of the five birds in the group, four have always been mounted. 
Consequently when the group was made only one shin was used. 
Of the four mounted birds, three have been mounted since 1862 
to 1865, and one (the Maximilian bird) for doubtless seventy 
or eighty years. It does not seem probable, therefore, that con¬ 
tinued exposure to the comparatively dim light in which they are 
now placed will affect the birds' colors, and under these circum¬ 
stances, in our opinion, the birds are far safer where they can 
be seen daily than they would be in a storage can, where they 
might be destroyed by insects without our being any the wiser. 
As socifhLe ~ Cur&tTJiE. 
