THE OOLOGIST. 



ll> 



Wool for making bird's aud small 

 mammal skins. 



1 lb. Arsenical Soap (Hard) 



With the addition of a good hunting 

 knife j of saj' 7 inch blade for skin- 

 ning large mammals; anil killing them 

 too when too closely quartered by such 

 a ''varmint" as an old she Bear; an 

 oilstone and oil for sharpening knives 

 and our skin-making outfit is complete 

 enough for all practical purposes 



Such an outfit as I have here describ- 

 ed will, Avith gim. and everything com 

 plete, weigh about 40 pounds, a weight 

 whicli any medium sized, iiealthy man 

 may carry from morn till night without 

 much fatigue. 



A few words in regard to the proper 

 clothing for a collector who contemp- 

 lates spending the long wintry nights 

 in camping out and I am through. My 

 outfit consists of good heavy under- 

 clothing of wool, with heavj^ overshirt 

 and drawers of the same material; a 

 ])air of iieavy bi'ovvn Knglisli corduroy 

 l)ants and vest aud a heavy 10 oz. Duck 

 shooting co^at with large game po';kets. 

 For foot wear I use extra heavy Wool- 

 en Stockings reaching above the knee, 

 and a pair of Land Hunting Shoes, 

 lacing from instej) to knee, the legs Ije- 

 ing made of soft leather and foot of 

 heavy leather, with heavy, well nailed 

 soles.. Shoes answering this odescrip- 

 lion can be bought for about $4.00 of 

 Montgomery, Ward & Co., Chicago, 

 111.. Shoes of this description are in 

 I very wa^' a most s^rvicable and easy, 

 yet retaining strength and lightness toa 

 remarkable degree. Clothing of above 

 description will stand almost any 

 amount of wear and tear and still come 

 out all right. Such an outlit may cost 

 a right good sum in the beginning, but 

 will well repay the collector who pro- 

 vides liimself wit'.', one like it. 



The foregoing, from beginning to end, 

 is a faithful description of my outfit as 

 it now lies before me. Willi it I have 

 spent many delightful <lays roaming 



the mountains of the wildest aud most 

 picturesque portion of West Virginia, 

 camping out wherever night overtook 

 me, preparing my specimens by a roar- 

 ing tire ere I enjoy the soothing i^ipe. 



After skinning and packing away the 

 fruits of the daj's chase, sometimes not 

 till midnight, with what joy do I lie 

 down on my Blankets aud sleep with 

 nothing but the blue sky and twinkling 

 stars overhead for my canopy; and 

 when again Old Sol peeps over the 

 eastern hills I am up and away on an- 

 other tramp after the "beasts, of the 

 fields and fowls of the air." Only those 

 who roam the hills and mountains and 

 fields in quest of such secrets iis nature 

 can unfold to them can enjoy w hat is to 

 others hardships innumerable. 



Give me this life among the birds and 

 beasts and 1 am happ.v. 



Th.ad Slkbek 

 White Sulphur Springs, W\ Va. 



The Golden Swamp Warbler. 



This name seems very fitting for this 

 beautiful warbler of which my eastern 

 readers see a little. Dried skins, re- 

 posing in the cabinet drawer, convey 

 vei-y little, if any, idea of their beauty 

 as when seen in a willow swamp. 

 Never had I realized their beauty, un- 

 til I stood holding one in my hand. 

 Although common here for years back, 

 1 never studied them, to any extent, 

 in their haunts, until the last two pre- 

 ceding years. Even now, my knowl- 

 edge of the Protliouotary is limited and 

 I can only give the results of what few 

 observations 1 have made. 



The last few days of April are very 

 sure to bring a few early arrivals, but 

 the bulk of them arrive in the first or 

 second week in May. They are shy 

 and silent, and not at all like they are 

 two or three weeks hence. 

 You will not find them in the high, dry 

 wooils, where the majority of other 

 warblers are fouiul, but go to the bot- 



