CORRESPONDENCE 281 



should judf^o it would only ho whon thoro wero no suitahle trees 

 lor the purpose auywlieie in the vicinity. ISiids, like uiau, will 

 adapt themselves to eircunistanoes, although at times they may 

 he ohliged to act contrary to their nature. I have heeu thinking 

 a good deal a])out the Guillemot. It would he a fact well worth 

 ascertaining, if indeed it is a fact, that only the young change to 

 white, or rather that the white plumage is an indication of imma- 

 turity, and the hlack the livery of only the adult l)ird. I know no 

 person in a better position to determine the question tlian your- 

 self who have them about you so much of the time. Your 

 remarks about naturalists copying from each other are perfectly 

 correct, and it is from tliis l)ad lial)it that so many errors have 

 been promulgated. I shall endeavor in my work to be as inde- 

 licndent as i)0ssible. I am going to-morrow into the country to 

 shoot quail, and shall trj' to have a sliot at the ducks before long. 

 'J'hey are getting to be plenty now on the coast ; the cold weather 

 at the north is driving them down here. 

 Let me hear from you at your leisure. 

 Yours very truly, 



D. G. Elliot. 



Charles Hallock is a native of New York city where 

 he was born March 13, 1834. Previous to his establish- 

 ment of Forest and Stream, the leading sportsmen's and 

 naturalists' newspaper in this country, in 1873, Mr. 

 Hallock had been at times editor of several leading 

 journals in this country, Bermuda and New Brunswick. 

 Since 1860 he has done much collecting and field work 

 in zoology for the Smithsonian Institution. He is an 

 authority upon ornithology, is the author of many 

 treatises on sporting and natural history subjects, has 

 traveled extensively and had charge of special exhibits 

 at some of the great expositions. 



