200 



THE O O L O G I S T 



and obtained permission to visit the 

 Fair in its closing days to pack ttie 

 collection in suit case boxes for 

 checking with his personal effects 

 enroute home. 



Every specimen safely back home, 

 and again replaced in their respective 

 cabinets, there reposing undisturbed, 

 although an inquiry came for its ar- 

 rangement and display at San Fran- 

 cisco; but the distance and inade- 

 quate expense consideration inter- 

 cepted, thereby denying the throngs 

 at that Exposition .to view the won- 

 ders and beauties of the oology of 

 Pennsylvania native birds. 



In the closing days of the St. Louis 

 Fair, he learned that the National 

 Committee was refusing to distribute 

 the various prizes awarded by the 

 International Jury of Awards on the 

 grounds that some had received graft 

 and favoritism. While Mr. Jacobs 

 was con.^cious of nothing of the kind 

 being responsible for the favor 

 granted him for this exhibit, still he 

 believed that the investigators, strain- 

 ing efforts in search of substantiation 

 of complaints, . might eliminate such 

 things as egg collections as non es- 

 rential and revoke the award. But 

 not so! The investigators held a 

 more sensible view of this branch of 

 ornithological science than do many 

 of the more or less sentimentally bril- 

 liant bird scribes of the present day 

 who rave at the oologist; and after 

 an elapse of several months, a second 

 announcement came to him that his 

 award was arnong those allowed. 

 Previous to this he had obtained an 

 official award ribbon in lieu of the 

 Gold Medal, which in itself is a beau- 

 tiful piece of art work in silk and 

 gold. 



In March following the close of the 

 Fair, he received the Diploma, and 

 several weeks later, the Gold Medal 

 came by register mail. 



It might seem wrong for the re- 

 cipient of such fine award and dis- 

 tinction of merit, to offer criticism re- 

 garding the prize so generously con- 

 ferred; but being a bird man, and 

 circulating among bird men who are 

 capable to criticise a work and point 

 out flaws — ^doing so without flowers — 

 he deems it proper to point out a 

 terrible error in the highly artistic 

 design of the Diploma. The moment 

 he unrolled this broad expanse of 

 parchment, his eyes fell upon the un- 

 pardonable error of the artist in de- 

 picting the wings upon the ankles of 

 the aerial messenger so placed that 

 that mythical character must fly back- 

 ward:^, in an upright position, or lie 

 flat upon his back to illustrate the 

 principle of birds' wings in flight ! At 

 least a few Junior Audubon teachers 

 and many of the Junior ClUfb mem- 

 bers could readily see this blunder of 

 the artist! 



Aside from a small demonstrative 

 collection of eggs in the U. S. De- 

 partment of Agriculture display, and 

 a smaller exhibit from Brazil, S. A., 

 the Jacobs collection of Pennsylvania 

 birds' eggs were all that the World 

 of Ornithological Science seemed wil- 

 ling to spare for use at that greatest 

 of all World's Fairs! 



All this historical worth of these 

 eggs, of course, add nothing to their 

 scientific value, and are unworthy 

 any greater respect for scientific 

 study, than properly prepared sets 

 taken this year; but still, combined 

 with the original incentive to gather 

 and carefully record scientific data, 

 requiring a set of large books es- 

 pecially made for the tens of thous- 

 ands of records, the whole is greatly 

 enhanced by the award which goes 

 with it, and the fleeting years which 

 steadily enrich the annals of orni- 

 thological science of the past. 



