114 



THE OSPREY. 



packages of all sizes, from an envelope box up to 

 large packing cases, came piling into the office of the 

 Zoological Society until at last it looked like an or- 

 nithological clearing house. And the specimens ! We 

 asked only for ' 'specimens fit only for the ash-barrel;" 

 but not ten per cent, of them answered that descrip- 

 tion. Of the bird skins, fully one-half were beauti- 

 ful skins, and many of the mounted birds were really 

 good specimens. There were enough nests and eggs 

 to form a very desirable collection, and from Mr. 

 Verdi Burtch came a fine lot of Unios. 



The most generous giver was Mr. Chas, K. Wor- 

 then of Warsaw, III., who sent a splendid collection 

 of one hundred and ten bird skins, representing one 

 hundred species, and nearly all the orders of North 

 American birds! This collection was placed in the 

 custody of Miss Mary R. Davis, Principal of No. i, 

 personally, to be retained by her for use wherever 

 she may teach in Greater New York. 



Below appears a list of the persons who so gener- 

 ously responded to The Osprev's call. It warms 

 one's heart to contemplate the results, and to once 

 more read the letters relating to it. In nearly every 

 instance, the offerings were sent with hearty expres- 

 sions of sympathy and good will "that made the gift 

 more precious." The gifts came labeled and packed 

 with a degree of care which showed that it gave 

 the donors pleasure to send them. The children 

 of lower New York may feel proud of the fact that 

 so many busy men, scattered over the whole United 

 States, feel a friendly interest in them, and are will- 

 ing to help them toward a knowledge of Nature, 

 whose magic free-masonry " makes the whole world 

 kin." The world is full of all kinds of generosity, 

 after all. Still, I wonder whether the busy men of 

 New York would, if invited, pause long enough to 

 take an active interest in the intellectual wants of 

 little folks as far away as California. I think so. 

 New York is as big-hearted and generous as any city 

 in the world. She is more accustomed to doing nice 

 things for others than being done for ; and when I 

 laid out the pale, feebly-colored skins from the 

 Arizona deserts (sent by Mr. Breninger) besides the 

 brilliant sub-tropical gems of J. W. Atkins, from 

 Key West, it struck me as odd that the deserts, the 

 "land of flowers, " the North Woods, the Colorado 

 mountains, the rich valleys of California — and all 

 regions between — should be sending gifts to New 

 York! It is a pretty good old world after all. 



As nearly as I could keep count, the total number 

 of specimens received was as follows : Bird skins, 

 673; mounted birds, 77; nests, 20; eggs, about 150; 

 mammal skins, 23 ; mounted mammals, 4 ; shells, 

 about 50. 



All these species, with the exception of 294 bird 

 skins, have been turned over to Public School No. i, 

 at 30 Vandewater Street ; but it is to be remembered 

 that, as mentioned above, a small collection has been 

 lodged permanently in the hands of Miss Davis. 



After the wants of No. i had been abundantly 

 filled it was found that a considerable number of 

 duplicate bird skins were available for other schools. 

 These were made up into seven systematic collec- 

 tions, of 42 specimens each, in each of which six or 

 seven avian orders were represented. These have 

 been given to the following teachers ; Miss Jenny 

 B. Merrill, Supervisor of Kindergartens, 146 Grand 

 St.; Miss F. A. Griffin, Public School 125, 180 

 Wooster St. ; Dr Wm. L. Ettinger, Public School 

 No. 2, 116 Henry St.; Miss Catharine Connolly, Pub- 

 lic School No. 42, 30 Allen St.; Miss Helen Stein, 

 Public School No. 13, 239 East Houston St.; Mr. 

 Heidenis, Male Department Public School No. i, 

 and Miss M. G. Purcell, Public School No. 26. 



Now that "the incident is closed," I am convinced 

 that the generous donors of these specimens could 

 not possibly have bestowed their gifts where they 

 would have done as much real good as they assuredly 

 will accomplish where they now are. 



List of Contributors. 



Chas. K. Worthen, Warsaw, 111... 

 Geo. B. Badger. Lynbrook, L. I... 



Oliver Davie, Columbus, Ohio 



G. F. Dippie, Toronto, Canada .. 

 Geo. A. Morrison, Fox Lake, Wis. 

 Russell Gray, Philadelphia, Pa... 

 Dr. R. L. Jesse, Philo, 111 



Walter A. Johnson, Editor The Osprey 



Morris Rice, Kinlock. Mo 



M. C. Howe, Monson, Mass 



Geo. D. Peck. Salem, Oregon 



Prof. J. F. Illingworth, Claremont. Cal 



Verdi Burtch, Penn Yan, N. Y 



J. Harris Reed, Beverly N. J 



Geo. H. Clark, West Newton, Mass 



Chester Barlow, Santa Clara, Cal 



Manly Hardy, Brewer, Maine 



Alnion E. Kibbe, Mayville, N. Y 



Geo, F. Breninger, Phoenix, Arizona... 

 Walter G. Savage, Hillsboro, Iowa.... 



James H. Miller, Lowville, N. Y 



Robert Knetsch, Terra Cotta, 111 



Ned Gillette. Chula Vista. Cal 



Edward A. Preble, Washington, D. C. 



J. L. Davison, Lockport, N. Y 



John C. Knox, Auburn, N. Y 



Geo. C Guelf, Brockport, N. Y 



J. Maurice Hatch, Escondido, Cal 



J. W. Atkins, Key West, Fla 



Walter W. Hoover, Wellsville, Pa 



B. G. Voight, Denver, Colo 



Andrew Allison, New Orleans, La 



A. C. Bent, Taunton, Mass 



Frank S. Wright, Auburn, N. Y 



C. S. Brim ley, Raleigh. N. Car 



C. F. Stone, Branch port, N. Y 



F. N. Stevens, Saxe City, Iowa 



W. F. Hill, Lake City, Minn 



65^ 



no 



7 

 8 



24 



27 

 15 

 19 

 13 



9 

 20 

 21 

 II 

 21 



5 



14 

 10 



13 



19 



6 



25 

 17 

 6 

 46 

 30 

 17 



,.j 



5 

 60 



3 



Miscella neous. 



4 mammals 



3 mounted birds. 

 18 mounted birds. 



3 mounted birds. 

 49 mounted birds. 



M'td fox, squirrel, 

 grouse; col. shells 

 min'r'ls, nests, etc 

 CoUect'n of eggs. 



Fine coll. of nests 

 eggs and shells. 



3 mounted birds, 

 mammal. 



3 mammals. 

 22 eggs, 7 nests. 



I mammal. 



II mammals, 



8 shulls. 



Col. nests & eggs. 



AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT. 



Public School No. i, jo Vandewater St. 

 Neiv York, March S, iSgS. 

 Dear Mr. Hornaday : 



Allow me, through you, to thank the donors of the 



gifts of bird skins, mammal skins, mounted birds, 



nests, eggs, etc., so generously contributed to my 



school, and to others. The crumbs from their tables 



have truly proved to us a rich repast. Could you 



see the happy faces of these children as they handle, 



observe and talk about these things, I feel sure our 



