108 



ORNITHOMJGIST 



[Vol. Ifi-N... 7 



insects, reptiles, tisli, etc., is very fully treated 

 upon, and is well worth the attention of any 

 whose line may be in but one of them. 

 The book is, as might be expected, comiiig 

 from Scribner Sons, all that can be desired 

 in typography. The price, S^i.oO, is very re.ason- 

 able, and we advise any who ai'c seeking for 

 light in taxidermy to secure a copy. 



Brief Notes. 



A Rusty Grackle was taken .lanuary 19, and 

 a Wilson Snipe February 20, at lIa<li.son, Wis. ; 

 both early. 



Horned Larks were observed as late as Jan- 

 uary 4. Several Snowy t)wl» were taken in 

 December, at Madison, Wis. Albert Lano. 



Horn(ep) Larks. — Blimbers: 'Til give 

 you one ornithological fact — larks are bred 

 from swallows." Briggs: " But 1 don't under- 

 stand." Blimbers: "Well, you just think it 

 over." — Boston I'o.st. 



Found a Virginia Rail's nest, nine eggs, to- 

 day. May 2(1. Shot the bird at twenty feet 

 distance; will make the best skin 1 can. Can find 

 no authentic account of eggs being taken here 

 before. Samuel E. Bacon, .Jr., Erie, Pa. 



A line specimen of Black Kail {Porzann 

 jrojiaJi'CH.si.s) shot in the District by R. L. .Jones, 

 May 2!l, lsi)l; was brought me to identify. It 

 is a very rare bird here, this being only aljout 

 the second specimen kno.vnto have been killed 

 in the District of Columbia. Edward .J. Brown. 



A nest of the American Robin containing 

 three eggs, and one egg of the Rose-breasted 

 Grosbeak, was taken at iirookline, .vlass., .June 

 7, by R. II. Howe. It was located in an apjtle 

 tree about live feet from the ground. Mr. 

 Uowe brought the set to us. 



A Snowy Owl was taken at Aiken, S. C, 

 during February, bs'.ll, ami being only wing- 

 tipped was kept in conlinement. Stranger how 

 far out of his latitude he had roamed, and 

 stranger still, one hundred and twenty miles 

 from the sea or any body of water. Geo. E. 

 Harris. 



Gardner W. Hall took a set of seven eggs of 

 the Baltimore Oriole, June S, IsOl, Newton, 

 Mass. 



Inclosed fmd -SI. 00, my subscription to O. it 

 O. Began with No. 1, Vol. II, of S. L. 

 Willard's Oiilogist. Have them all up to "01, 

 bound in three volumes, half sheep. Find 

 them very handy for reference. D. D. Stone, 

 Oswego, N. Y. 



I recently mounted a Northern Phalarope 

 taken at Bangor, Me. I think 1 have the larg- 

 est pair of caribou antlers in the United States. 

 They were taken in Newfoundland. They are 



very wide-spread, show forty-six fine prongs, 

 the front blade eleven inches wide, and come 

 out by the end of nose. Who can beat them ? 

 S. L. Crosby. 



Harry A. Day, of (irinncU, Iowa, reports 

 that he took a set of two Whip-poor-will's eggs 

 on May 9, in a small oak grove. While the 

 occurrence is not phenomenal, the collector 

 generally feels i>retty well when he tinils the 

 nest of this bird. 



Really one of the most attractive gi'oups 

 among our smaller animals is a i)air of skunks; 

 it is also (|uitc remarkable how few of our vis- 

 itors know what tliey are. 



We have on our desk a new egg. The curious 

 feature of it is that it stands on one end. We 

 believe that Wilcox, Crittenden ife Co. are the 

 only collectors that offer them. 



O. C. Poling is still on his collecting trip. 

 He must be making some line additions to his 

 collection. 



Oliver Davie's Nests and Em/s of North 

 American. Birds is the great book for American 

 collectors. We never knew of any book of its 

 nature that has had such a run. Everyone 

 should have a copy. We have just received 

 from Mr. Davie the entire balance of his 

 edition. 



We are very much pleased tr> hear from our 

 friend Harry R. Taylor. His communications 

 are, like his Eagle eggs, — desirable. 



We liave many letters from taxidermists 

 asking us how to sew heavy skins, deers' 

 heads, etc , ciuiiplaining that they have great 

 trouble in doing so. We reply, you want a 

 hand guard and a set of needles. The guard 

 goes over the band and has a place in it to 

 force the needle through the pelt. With it yiui 

 can sew a heavy skin without troufile. Tlie 

 price is $2,00. 



VVm. T. Ilornaday's new work on taxidermy 

 is a success, so far as the writer's elforts could 

 possibly make it. With it and the one Oliver 

 Davie will have out sh(U-tly the coming taxi- 

 dermist will never realize how we old fellows 

 had to struggle to find (Uit how to do it. Any- 

 one who intends to practise the art by having 

 the two books will save many a long hour. 

 They are a big investment. 



We have never seen such a variety of bright 

 foreign bird skins as have been secured this 

 season. They seem to come into the market 

 by fits and starts. 



A new embryo hook that bids fair to be 

 popular has just been introduced. It consists 

 of a bone liamlle in which the hooks can be 

 adjusted at will The handle is very neat and 

 pretty, and will last a lifetime. The handle 

 witli two hooks retails for 2.'> cents. Hooks 

 can be iditainecl separately. 



