THE OOLOGIST 



47 



many Cormorants, Cranes, Herons. I 

 got some fine pictures while on tlie 

 bay, also many notes of tlie birds. The 

 birds are pretty well protected on the 

 bay. A man was fined for shooting a 

 Pelican 



We caught lots of fish from the 

 rough waters such as fiounders, gar, 

 tarpon, stingeree, shark and catfish, 

 also caught some crabs, shrimps, etc. 

 I almost forgot to tell you the mos- 

 quitoes were biting fine. Everything 

 was fine and dandy during the day 

 time, but oh boy! after the wind ceased 

 I thought they would carry wife and I 

 and Tin Lizzie all away. 



R. Graham, 

 Ft. Worth, Texas. 



OLD WATER COLOR PLATES 



It may be interesting to some reader 

 of The Oologist, who own hand- 

 colored plates of birds to know that 

 some of the plates in some old book 

 is not today agreeing with the descrip- 

 tion given in the text owing to deteri- 

 oration in the scarlet pigment. Ver- 

 milion, where it should be vermilion, it 

 is probably lead color or nearly black, 

 especially is it apt to be so in a very 

 old book. I have a five volume work 

 on birds, one hundred and twenty five 

 years old, with one hundred and 

 twenty-five exquisite, hand colored 

 plates, of the highest type, but in all 

 cases where vermilion comes in the 

 subject is heavy lead color or near 

 black. 



Vermilion is composed of mercuric 

 sulphide, H g S. may be pure bright 

 colored portions of the native ore cin- 

 nabar, or artificially by subliming mer- 

 cury and sulphur. Chinese Vermilion, 

 a superior kind, is made by digesting 

 precipitated mercuric sulphide with 

 an alkaline sulphide for some hours. 

 Geo. W. H. vos Burgh. 



in P^ort Worth, Texas, this year, as 

 we have received this day an an- 

 nouncement of the birth of Ramon 

 Graham, Jr., March 13, 1921. Weight 

 8 pounds We hope he will grow up 

 and become as enthusiastic an Oolo- 

 gist as liis daddy, and likewise be as 

 thoughtful in furnishing copy for this 

 magazine. — R. M. B. 



PERSONAL NEWS 



Do you know that The Oologist pub- 

 lishes every year more personal news 

 items, relating to the bird enthusiastics 

 of the country, and the oologists than 

 all other bird publications in the 

 United States combined? We do this 

 in the hope of keeping members of the 

 Fraternity in touch with each other. 



— R. M. B 



POETRY 



We have accumulated quite a con- 

 siderable number of poetical effusions 

 in the copy box of The Oologist, and 

 it is our purpose to display these in 

 our columns probably in the coming 

 July issue. 



If any of our readers have any 

 further contribution to make in the 

 future, of copy of the same character, 

 we would appreciate it if they would 

 get it to us reasonably soon. — R. M. B. 



A NEW OOLOGIST 



The Birds seem to be nesting early 



OUR PRINTER 



A card dated March 11th from St. 

 Augustine, Florida, advises us that 

 "Our Printer," A. M. Eddy, who has 

 printed The Oologist from Volume I, 

 to date was on that day at Miami, 

 Flordia, and would leave that day for 

 Cuba". 



He says among other things "Miami 

 seems to equal California," for which 

 unguarded observation, should he be 

 later caught within the state of Cali- 

 fornia, he probably would be hung to 

 a tree, quartered and buried at the 

 cross-roads, by the outraged citizens 

 of the Golden State.— R. M. B 



