144 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 16-No. 9 



Capt. N. E. Gould's new hotel at Chatham 

 bids fair to be one of tlic most popiil;!,!- resorts 

 in tlie state. 'J'iie smu'ers are rapiilly findint; 

 liini out. 



Watson liisliop of Keutvillc, Nova .Scoti:i,, 

 made us a call hist month. 



Quite a number of subscriptions to the 

 O. & O. expired iu .July. Kemember that we 

 continue seuding till otiierwise notified. Our 

 friends will eonfer a favor by renewing'. 



B. H. Swales, Detroit, Midi., reports havin;; 

 found a set of eiglit eggs of the Ked-lieaded 

 Woodpecker, — a very unusual number, — also 

 a set of four eggs of the Woodcock on May 

 25, 1891, wliich is later than usual. 



1 have received two rather odd sets of eggs 

 tliis season. Tlie first, that of tlie Chestnut- 

 sided Warbler, taken May 2U, of four eggs, one 

 of tliem being tlie smallest runt I liave 

 ever seen, measuring .2."> x .'^>2, less tlian a tliird 

 the size of the egg of tlie Ilunimiiigliird; the 

 other a Scarlet Tanager's. taken .June 4, con- 

 taining six eggs, three of them being Cow- 

 bird's. I liave heard of two being found in a 

 nest, but this is the first where there have 

 been three. C K. Reed, Worcester, Mass. 



Thomas Rowland, the New York taxidei'- 

 mist, while on his summer outing a few days 

 since, called on us. 



The complaints that are coming iu regarding 

 parties who are seniling otf commim eggs for 

 rare ones tiiat have a similar appearn,iice, are 

 becoming quite frequent. Those who get 

 caught will perhaps some day emiclude to 

 purchase from responsible parties. 



The demand for Hornaday's Taxidermy 

 comes in from all quarters. (For sale at this 

 office.) 



Again we find a change necessary. This 

 time we move from our old stand, 40!) Wash- 

 ington street, to 7 Franklin street. The ohl 

 stand has been occupied for many years by 

 some one in tlie natural history business. 

 i[any a sail-liearted maiden has cairied her 

 liet canary up the long .and weary stairs. Oc- 

 casionally a bull pup, knocked out in the 

 prime of life, or a cat, the victim of excessive 

 kindness, has been left, 'mid tears and wails. 

 Everything that can be imagined has been 

 there, — but the scene closes. At our new 

 place we shall carry a larsi'e display of every- 

 thing that the heart can desire, from a rattle- 

 snake to a monkey, from a horse-foot crab to 

 a buffalo. When yon pass by step in and see 

 if it is not so. 



We .just received two skins of the California 

 Vulture, both males, and very fine. 



.St. Domingo Crebc eggs have come, qiiilr a 

 shower. 



For measuring heights we use a lOrt-foot 

 tape line anrl a smill basket with a good 

 supply of cotton in which we pack our egus 

 nicely. To the handh^ of this basket is at- 

 tached a. small snap which we snap into the 



ring of our tape line, when we lower the 

 basket to the ground and have the exact 

 hei.uht to the inch. With tliis method 

 we think we can obtain the exact height 

 of our nest and be on the descent while friend 

 Bates is hunting up his sticks or friend White 

 is calculating his whorls. Monxback. 



Correspondence. 



Killtor of O. <t- O. .• 



In .Inly number I see an article on Rose- 

 breasted Grosbeak in Washtenaw Cminty, 

 Mich. I found a nest of tliis bird this spring 

 on the 3()th of M.ay. It was on border of thick 

 woods near a stream. Had five eggs. Incu- 

 bation advanced. Female was shot and skin 

 is now in my collection. I also found nest of 

 American Dunlin or Red-backed Sandpijier 

 witli three fresh eggs in. Female of this also 

 shot and skin is in my collection. Are rhese 

 not rare finds or are they common ? I liave 

 never heard of them having been found in 

 Sanilac County before. IK. A. Oliljirhh 



[Tlie eggs of the Red-backed Sandjiiper are 

 very rare in collections. — F. 11. 11'.] 



Editor of O. <t- O..- 



We see complaints from time to time iu 

 regard to the laws interferin.g with our favor- 

 ite study. The trouble is not with the laws or 

 the men who enacted them, but with the 

 people of the locality where they exist. The 

 people in all the older settled portions of our 

 country are so high-toned that they iinagiue 

 their oifijes must all be filled with m^ii of dis- 

 tinction who are in sympathy with the bulls 

 and bears of Broadway, N. Y. If you c'ontinue 

 to place these men in office the day is iu the 

 near future when you will be compelled to 

 obtain a permit to admire the birds of your 

 locality, and you will be compelled to state 

 the species yon prop j.^e to admire. Out here 

 we fill all our offices with men of our own 

 kind, and the result is, when we want birds, 

 their nests and eggs, we go out and get them, 

 and that settles it. When we want fresli meat 

 of the undoraesticated fauna we go out and 

 knock over a nice young buck of last year's 

 hatching, present the game warden with a 

 hind (piarter of the same, and that settles it. 

 Should the game warden be supplied with 

 fresh meat at the time, which lie frequently 

 is, we report what we did was in self-defense, 

 and that settle--^ it. There is not a law in our 

 land that will interfere with anyone if you 

 have the right kind of men to operate it. 



Mossback. 



