200 



THE MUSEUM. 



seemed to us that he could never suc- 

 ceed: — sometimes he would suddenly 

 disappear, which had a startling effect 

 until we found it was when he passed 

 behind a point that jutted out from 

 the main cliff, far enough to allow 

 him to do so, although from that 

 height it appeared a perfectly smooth 

 surface, and we gave a sigh of relief 

 as we finally saw him rise head and 

 shoulders above the edge of the nest, 

 where he appeared to us about as big 

 as a woodchuck. 



Ordinaiilv, the better course would 

 have been to lower himself from the 

 top by means of a rope but this cliff 

 projected at such an angle from above 

 that he would have swung too far out 

 to reach the nest. He was a longer 

 time getting down than up, though 

 greatly assisted by means of a short 

 rope, which he doubled and putting 

 the loop over a projection, could with 

 a firm grasp of the rope reach a rest- 

 ing place for his feet, which otherwise 

 would be perhaps a few inches beyond 

 his reach; then drawing the rope to 

 him by one strand and doubling it 

 again it was ready for the next dif- 

 ficulty. 



At last he reached the ground and 

 we ran to meet him, but found to our 

 great disappointment that he had but 

 one egg. It seems that he had put 

 the first egg safely into the box slung 

 around his neck and had taken the 

 other in his hand, when his foot slip- 

 ped and he instinctively grasped at the 

 ledge to save himself and crushed the 

 egg. Well, a spilled egg is as bad as 

 spilled milk and no use crying over 

 either; besides we were comforted by 

 knowing the poor fellow felt as badly 

 as we did so we paid him for his efforts 

 ■ and sent him home. 



Then, having our implements along, 

 we proceeded to empty that egg right 

 then and there — having the whole 

 river for a water supply — and we had 

 no trouble, it being but four or five 

 days incubated. 



It is a fine specimen and my grand- 

 child is delighted to add it to her 

 modest collection of "singles," though 

 we would gladly have sent them to 

 our friend, had we secured the two. 

 And now we are looking forward to 

 some fine outing trips, when in a few 

 weeks we intend to do some big 

 mountain climbing in search of the 

 eggs of Dusky Grouse, Gray Ruffed 

 Grouse, and at lesser altitude, the 

 Sage Hen and smaller mountain birds 

 of this locality. 



Mrs. a. H. Gleason, 



Gunnison, Colo. 



An Ancient Lake in Central Ver- 

 mont. 



By C. O. Ormsbee. 



{(Jonlinued from April number.) 

 Five miles from Montpelier, in the 

 angle formed by the junction of 

 Batchelder'3 Brook with \\'orcester 

 Branch is another deposit of silt ex- 

 actly similar in general appearance 

 and situated at the same level as the 

 one just described. The appearance 

 of the sides of these deposits is such as 

 to give rise to the impression, that, 

 during the existence of the lake and 

 while these deposits were being form- 

 ed, the prevailing winds were from 

 the northwest. Another indication 

 of the existence of the hike is to be 

 seen near the village oi Wrightsville, 

 where the waters beat against an al- 

 most perpendicular ledge and left 

 well-defined wave-lines. 



From the data already established 



