Feb. 1891.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



29 



ORNITHOLOGIST^OOLOGIST 



A .^lontbly M;igazine of 



NATURAL HISTORY, 



ESPECIALLY DEVUTED TO THE STl'DY OF 



THEIR NESTS AX]> E(i(iS, 



ami to the 



INTERESTS OF NATURALISTS 



I'lHlei- the Eclitciii:il Management of 



FRANK H. WEHSTER, 

 J. I'AKKEIl NURUIS, 

 FRANK A. HATES, 



Hytle Tark, Mass. 



I'hihideliihia. I'a. 



lioston, Mass. 



I'CBLISIIED AT 



FRANK B. WEBSTER'S 



ji r s E r M 



AM) 



NATURALISTS' SUPPLY DLPOT. 

 HvDB Pakk, Mass., U. S. A. 



The O. & O. is mailed each issue to every paid sub- 

 scriber. If you fail to receive it, notify us. 



EditoriaL 



With tliis issue tlie (). & O. passes fidin our 

 liauils as a private enterprise. It lias been 

 ODnducted as a siile issue, devoting what lim- 

 ited time we have been able to give it. To 

 maintain an independent position has been 

 our aim, and we flatter ourselves our readers 

 have not failed to recognize our code. While 

 the general editorship will not be changed, 

 others will fire the b<rilors and man the guns: 

 when there is a target a shot will Ije tired. 

 The O. iV () will more than ever represent the 

 naturalists of tlie country regardless of atlilia- 

 tion. The day has passed for unwarrantable 

 dictation from mutual admiration societies, who 

 see nothing wise, good or valuable that does not 

 emanate from their charmed circles. We shall 

 in the future as in the past stand ready to 

 recognize any effort to advam e the knowledge 

 of nature and to use our utmost enileavors to 

 assist in any legitimate search for that knowl- 

 edge. We hope in the future, .as it h.as been 

 our pleasure in the past, to be considered the 

 particular friend of the hard working field 

 naturalist, those who are just beginning the 

 fascinating study, and of those who, while de- 

 barred from active field work, are yet study- 

 ing intnre foi- what flu-y may really liud. 



rather than what personal notoriety they may 

 be able to make out of it. We never have 

 been ready to acknowledge, nor do we think 

 we ever tnay be convinced to the contrary, 

 that the study of nature should be made in 

 any other way than a cordial co-operation of 

 labor, of interchange of experiences and views, 

 and witli but the single idea of advancement 

 of knowledgi'; but we are unutterably opposed 

 to any enshroudment of grips, passwords, etc., 

 or what is akin to it, star chamber councils, 

 by a select few; nor do we believe the plain, 

 every-day naturalist, who is doing as he always 

 has the absolute work afield, will find fault 

 with us. We wish to extend our thanks, for 

 the cordial assistance given us in the past, to 

 our many contributors and subscribers, and 

 we will guarantee that in the future conduct 

 of the O. & O. everything will be done to 

 make the publication attractive and \alnable. 



Correction. 



In some unaccountable maimer, in the .laii- 

 uary number in the list of " Familiar New 

 England Birds in Alabama" by " F. E. C." 

 "someone blundered" either in the office or at 

 the printer's, but we will lay the blame at the 



door of the d 1 or "cat." The title should 



have been "Familiar New England Birds in 

 LoulKiana.'' These errors are provoking, and 

 sometimes will occur even under the closest 

 scrutiny. However, we congratulate ourselves 

 that we are not called upon to make an apol- 

 ogy to our contributors very often fi>r such 

 remissness. 



Brief Notes. 



The inside coterie of the A. O. U. just now 

 seem to be engaged in a game of Tiddledy- 

 winks, seeing who can juinj) the most names 

 in the new list. An old friend of (Uirs, one in 

 the sere and yellow of ornithological as well 

 as physical age, who called into our sanctum a 

 while ago in his suffering, prayerfully and 

 pilifully asked, "How long, () Lord, how 

 long?" The Lord may answer him, but we 

 know of no one else who would dare to predict 

 the time when his sufferings would end. 



The meanest, most despicable trait in human 

 nature is that of uuderhandedness, and one 

 that is resorted to by very few even in the 

 busy, crowded marts of the commercial world. 

 To start a story of the unreliability of a collec- 

 tor and not have the inauhoo<l to let him know 

 of the charge, giving him an opportunity lo 

 explain or refute, is the act of a moral coward, 

 and ofti'iitimes if the object is carefully 



