Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-01-31
ROMANCE OF A WEAVER BOY
biologist, Moving Spirit in James
Lane Aliens New Story
IAMEs lane ALIENS new tale. The

TAMES LANE ALIENS new tale, The
= Kentucky Warbler" Just published by
doubleday, Page & Co.. is likely to renew
interest in the career of Alexander Wilson
Of this city, the first ornithologist to make a
serious study of the habits of American birds
Wilson discovered the warbler, the only bird
which is identified by its name with the
State of Kentucky. Mr.. Allen in his tale has
n college professor tell the boys and girls
in a Lexington high school Of the career of
Wilson. of his visit to Lexington and of his
discovery in the woods of the beautiful and
melodious bird. As result, a boy. who had
no interest in his studies and did not know
what he wanted to do, had his mind awak-
ened and suddenly developed from a careless
and Indifferent youth into a person with n
purpose in life. Allen describes the boy with
sympathy and truth and makes him type
He takes him into the fields about his home
in the outskirts of Lexington and describes
the wonder which he felt when he discovered
that he was surrounded by Astounding life
II is book for lovers of youth and for
lovers of nature.
But we in Philadelphia will be particu-
larly interested in what he has the college
professor say about Alexander Wilson. The
story of the career of this ornithoogst
ought To be read by every discouraged man.
for Wilson did not find his work till after
he was forty years old. He was born in
Paisley, Scotland, and learned the trade of Il
weaver. He also wrote verse, some OF which
was ascrbed to Burns. Because of the in
dignation which followed the publication of
"A poem in which he lampooned a rich manu-
facturer he fled the country and sailed for
America deck passenger a sailing
vessel. He was so eager to reach Philadel-
phia that when the ship touched at New
Castle on its way up the Delaware he landed
and walked the remaining distance. This
was in 1894 He worked as weaver for a
time and peddled in New Jersey. Then he
taught in schools north of Frankford, at
Miestown on the Old York road, and finally
at Kingsessing near Grays Ferry. He taught
elocution to the boy Edwin Forrest It was
at Gray's Ferry that he met William Bartram
the only son of John Bartram who was in
terested in science. Bartram had made a
list of American birds, and when he discov-
cred that Wilson could draw he suggested
that he make pictures of the birds. Wilson
was so successful at this that he succeeded
In making arrangements with Samuel F.
Bradford to publish a series of volumes of
an American ornithology to be illustrated
with coored plates and descriptions of the
birds. The set of books was to sell for s12O
and Wilson was to take subscriptions for as
many as possible. He went to New England
where he persuaded forty-one persons to
agree to take the books. He got sixteen sub
scrptions in Baltimore in week and seven
teen subscriptions i'm Washington. Sixty
subscriptions were obtain in New Orleans
in seventeen days, pretty good record for a
book agent. Few of them nowadays can sell
$500 worth of books in so short a time
Philadelphia took seventy copies of the book
Wilson died in 1913, when he had completed
the eighth volume of his work In order to
study the birds he had made trim To
Niagara Falls and return on foot and he
later went down the Ohio and Mississippi
Rivers, starting from Pittsburgh in a boat
In the early spring when the river was full
of ice. His descriptions of the birds ara
poetic and filled with an intense love of
nature the same love of nature which shines
through his long poem The Forester" In
which he described his walking trip 10 Nj
agra. His prose- however. Is much better
than his verse; and his life beginning in a
factory town and ending in the open with a
secure reputation man OF science of
undoubted parts, is one of the most fascinat
ing in the history of the development of the
study OF science in America or anywhere else.