THE OOLOGIST. 



89 



my 62nd set ever found, the 7th of the 

 season and consisting of 4 eggs. 



Wish to endorse Mr. A. D. Brown's 

 statement in March number. As an 

 exchange medium the Oologist has no 

 equal, and never had during its exist- 

 ance. I base this opinion upon per- 

 sonal results. Have been a subscriber 

 since 1885 and tried all other ornitho- 

 logical publications as they appeared. 

 It should receive the support of all 

 collectors and bird students. 



J. Claire Wood. 



Some Tree Climbing. 



Artemas Ward has observed 

 that wicked people work harder for a 

 tropical hereafter than do good people 

 for a seat in heaven. This is appliable 

 to the Oologist on the grounds of cur- 

 rent opinion proclaiming nest robbing 

 a sin unpardonable. As accorded by 

 the majority he is a sinful being with 

 the added appellation of crank. Little 

 things like this do not trouble him, 

 however, and he is so unkind as to 

 also entertain some ideas respecting 

 crankism but shifting all the honors 

 upon the shoulders of the opposition, 

 which tends not to conciliation. That 

 he delights to study things like eggs 

 demonstrates mental derangement 

 further proved by his idiotic craving 

 for lots of fresh air and rambles in 

 meadow and wood and appreciation of 

 everything in nature's realm. In the 

 interest of the birds the majority has 

 appealed to his humane sensibilities 

 but so callous is his heart that, upon 

 returning to a locality where eggs were 

 taken the week previous, his illusive 

 optic fails to perceive birds sitting 

 around with the tears of heart rending 

 grief trickling down their feathered 

 cheeks. Somehow they appear to him 

 to be joyously hustling building ma- 

 terial with the practical business like 

 intention of depositing another set 

 soon as possible. So you see, his case 



is hopeless but why not accept him as 

 an evil to be tolerated? 



Accepting the opening hypothesis as 

 referable to the Oologist his heavenly 

 possibilities are not encouraging. He 

 always views an occupied hawk's nest 

 with criminal designs upon its contents 

 and expends more labor in the ascent 

 than he ever will to ascend the Golden 

 Stairs. Like many others^ labor that 

 is pleasure is no labor to him. Did! 

 the every day routine of business 

 necessitate an amount of physical 

 exertion equal to his field work he 

 would succumb to despair in short or- 

 der. 



On February 28, 1904 the ear-like 

 feather tufts that adorn the intellectual 

 end of a Great Horned Owl were visible 

 above the nest. It required no great 

 mind to comprehend that the remainder 

 of Madam was present even if out of 

 sight but all the acoustical ingenuity 

 that could be devised failed to secure a 

 more satisfactory view of her person,, 

 in fact, she could not have adhered 

 closer to the nest had she been glued 

 to it. This nest was in a great white 

 oak and just 84 feet above the ground 

 as measured on March 15, 1903 when I 

 took a set of two eggs from it. 



This is Mike's second year of Oolog- 

 ical tendency. The valve that let loose 

 his pent up enthusiasm was a view of 

 my collection. He early confided the 

 information to possess a set of owl's 

 eggs, taken by his own hand, was the- 

 goal of his monumental ambition. 

 Consequently I paid Madam an infor- 

 mal call on March 1st accompanied by 

 Mike and my complete climbing outfit. 

 The tree was a forest patriarch, as in- 

 timated, but a much smaller one grew 

 near by and a limb of this reached 

 within fifteen feet of the nest. Mike 

 had the choice of two courses— either 

 strugle up the rough barked monarch 

 or ascend the smaller tree and scoop 

 the eggs. I enquired his preference. 

 He prefered an elevator but since I had 



