45« 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE. 



eastern coasts, in which the plates are 

 much less ornate, having the apertures 

 smooth, or nearly so, while those in 

 the figure are crenated, or scalloped. 

 That part of the anchor where the 

 ring would be, is here extended later- 

 ally and cut into several teeth. 



The perforated plates are attached 



to the skin of the Synapta, and the nar- 

 row end of the anchor is fastened to 

 the narrow part of each plate, in such 

 a manner that the shank and the flukes 

 stand obliquely and freely upward. 

 They are supposed to help the animal 

 in its movements of locomotion. 



PHOTOGRAPHS OF MICROSCOPIC STUDY OF SILK OF CECROPIA COCOON. 



ORNITHOLOGY 



AN OPEN FIELD FOK INVESTIGATION. 



BY HENRY OLDYSj WASHINGTON, 1). C. 



Our museums are constantly grow- 

 ing richer through the labors of collec- 

 tors. Bird and mammal skins, eggs, 

 insects, plants, fossils — these and many 

 other specimens are constantly finding 

 their way into natural history cabinets. 

 But the recording of bird songs otters 

 a comparatively open field to those 

 who possess a taste for exploration of 

 the secrets of nature. And one can 



scarcely imagine a more refined or 

 more delightful form of collecting. 

 The pursuit violates no feelings of 

 compunction, however sensitive, for the 

 recorder of bird music leaves no trail 

 of death behind him nor does he dimin- 

 ish in the slightest degree the stock 

 from which he derives his material. 

 His avocation involves the closest in- 

 timacy with nature's charms and with 

 a form of art that is the furthest re- 

 moved from the commonplace and 

 utilitarian. 



