Kennicott Documents

now sensibly on the increase in the vicinity of Racine – now doubt caused by the destruction of their natural enemies – messingers commissioned by god to keep them in due bounds –

I have got a story to tell about the Squirrels and deer mice and also about the Jerribillis – which by the by doo hibernate for I have found them in that condition – But I have now no time – I want you to come up next week and I will go with you and make “original” investigation – I can firnish you with interesting matter enought - for ten pages I will warant you – why I wish you to come next week is that we can over hall the Miceries I also have a number of interesting specims –

Mrs Hoy is sitting at my elbow mounting some gray wings there is now in town about 500 - I shot 8 at one discharge yesterday – Come up next week -

Yours Truly P.R. Hoy

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Washington, Nov. 14, 1856

My Dear Robert.

I have had for some time an a number of your letters before me which I have not found time to answer for various reasons, one was an absence of two weeks in Philadelphia since my return from the north; and the other, the great press of business I found accumulated. I also waited till the return of the Commissioner of Patents, in order that I might give you some positive assurance and instructions in regard to the matter,

I had yesterday a long talk with Commissioner Mason and the head of the Agricultural department, Mr. D. I. Browne, and was fully authorised to notify you of their desire that you will commence the work. They will want the Mss. in about three months time.

They are willing to have you occupy about fifty pages of printed matter, although they do not wish to have you spin it out to fill so much. They are quite willing to have you tell your

story in less space if you can do it as well. The pay for the article if found satisfactory, will be from 150 to 200 dollars, without special regard to its length.

Their desire is to have each species illustrated by a good wood cut figure taken from an original sketch. These illustrations I have undertaken to get up, and as far as possible from original specimens furnished by you. I must therefore know what species you will discuss, and should have othe living animals of as many as you can send of the spermophiles, squirrels, mice, moles, & shrews; perhaps minks & weasels if they can be had.

There will be no objection to your stating in the Prairie Farmer that you have been requested to prepare such an article for the forthcoming report; on the contrary it will be desirable to do so, to show the practical tendency of the office.

Your article should include a notice of all mammals of the Prairie regions, which are related directly or indirectly to

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the farmer, either beneficially, or otherwise, and should embrace bats, moles, shrews, cats, minks, weasels, foxes & wolves, Rodents, deer &c. Do not go out of the Prairie province, as of Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, & perhaps Minnesota. I will give you a list of what species you will have most occasion to speak, adding any of course which I may have omitted. Most of these I can give now, if a few, as ^some the mice, and shrews. I must wait a little while, until I have completed my examinations. You may refer to these in your notes by number, the blanks to be hereafter filled.

Make the basis of your article what you yourself know, add to this reliable accounts from others, taking care carefully to sift the wheat from the chaff. In cases where your information is incomplete, you may borrow from published articles, of Aud. & Bach. or others. Be very careful how you put in such a notion as of wolves eating melons, unless you can verify it – There

will be no harm in alluding incidentally perhaps to such an impression, but of course dont give it as fact unless you know it.

Your best mode of treating the subject will be first to give the generalities respecting the families, stating their common habits and peculiarities. Then take up the single species, and give their characteristics. The articles on the species should be prefaced by short descriptions of form, to enable the reader to identify them.

Of each species known to you give the geographical distribution as far as you can make it out. Mention its various names as known in different regions. Where however you are uncertain as to the distribution of the species, as of your Fox squirrel, keep to your own locality. If you dont know exactly the name of this, call it fox squirrel. I hope to get its scientific name settled by the time you are through, and can then insert it in your Mss.

Write the account of each species, when copied for sending on, each on a separate sheet or sheets so that they may be

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arranged in any desired way for the printer. Write this copy only on one side, and have it copied by some one if you can. If not convenient to have some one else copy it, your hand will do, if you write carefully and uniformly.

Ater these generalities I shall now take up some of your questions in detail.

Mention all the species of squirrel, that have anything distinctive.

I do not know whether mice eat insects. You must settle that.

I suspect your fox squirrel is not S. magnicaudatus, but these rusty squirrels require sifting. I dont believe there are as many as given by Aud. & Bach. I will know D.V. in course of the winter.

Call the small gray squirrel, S. carolinensis

May not the rabbits strip the bark from the young trees, or else the mice.

Sorex platyrhinis and longuostis of Aud. & Bach. are different species.

Neither name however is correct. You can use the former provisionally for your smallest shrew, chestnut with long tail. A larger more smoky long tailed one is probably S. fusteri. I am now on the shrews and hope soon to know all about them.

The Arvicolae enclosed by you are all different. No 1 is A. austerus of Leconte. You will know it by the dusky tip to the tail, the rather short feet, and the slight tinge of cinnamon on the under parts. It is of the largest size. No. 2. is equally large, purer gray beneath, and darker above. This may be A. riparius, perhaps a new species. The smallest one with very short tail (3) rather of a uniform chestnut brown above, is either A. scalopsordes or possibly A. fulva of Aud & Bach. I want to see a good many dry skins of all these to determine 2 and 3. I have not had a fourth from you. Measure carefully be fore skinning the head, Head – body, tail, without & with hans and feet.

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This short tailed mouse you call A. oneida but it is not this species, which has a long tail as you will see by reference to Dekays fig. - [illegible]. The specimen from Dr. Kirtlands is probably different! if adult it is the smal, lest Arvicola in America. Did you see any others. All the short tailed species inhabit uplands. The A. pinetorum of the southern states is the type of the group

The large Salamander of Lake Champlain is the Menobranchus maculatus.

You had better make original descriptions of specimens, rather than to copy from Aud. & Bach.

There will be no harm in mentioning incidentally facts about Animals in Prairie Farmer for the purpose of eliciting verifications and additions.

Perhaps another season the Patent office may want an article on birds!

I will of course read and criticise your article for you

Get much detail concerning the Iowa gopher, Pseudostoma bursarius. Judge Mason is much interested in this animal.

Do Spermophiles hibernate? My S. franklini. made his appearance every day last winter.

Better say Mammals, not Quadrupeds.

You might do well to send specimens of Mus michiganensis to Charleston for verification. Dr Bachman is however in poor health, and possibly would not attend to the matter

Of course you will mention Badgers.

Your article must of course cover species and facts familiar to all ^naturalists as it is written for farmers, not savans. Say all about hybernating & any the departure from rule in the coons eating corn &c. Use a dignified style, with as few

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trivialities as possible.

Letter of Nov 6.

Never mind how many letters you write, or how many questions you ask. I will answer all to the best of my time and ability.

Invite specimens by all means and offer to name them. Would not the ^state agricultural society pay a few cents a piece for specimens of mammals in alcohol. We will be very willing to go say ten dollars worth

Of course you can steal descriptions from Aud. & Bach. if you want. A published book is public property!

The mole you enclose is probably Sorex talpoides or S. dekayi of Aud. & Bach.

Good bye. Write as often as you choose

Very truly Yours S F Baird

Robt. Kennicott Care Prairie Farmer Chicago