166 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 16-No. n 



Va. Nest in cedar. Three eggs, fresli. Two 

 of tliem liave a biiffy yellow ground cidor 

 heavily blotched and spotted with chestnut 

 and purplish gray; but the third has a vina- 

 ceous-cinnanion ground color, heavily spotted 

 with cliestnut and purplish gray, and the 

 latter color is unusually prominent: 2.43 x l.Sl ; 

 2.27x1.78; 2.38x1.81. 



SetL. May 11, 1882. Plum Island, N. Y. 

 Nest placed on the r/roinid. Three eggs. 

 Dark buffy yellow, heavily blotched and 

 spotted with chestnut and burnt umber. The 

 latter color often overlays the former. One 

 egg has a good deal of purplish gray on it: 

 2.45x1.89; 2.47x1.80; 2.42x1.8-5. 



Set LI. May 29, 1886. Cape May Court 

 House, N. J. Three eggs, fresh. One egg 

 has a buffy white ground color, spotted and 

 blotched with burnt umber; the other two 

 have a vinaceous-cinnamon ground color very 

 heavily blotched and spotted with chest- 

 nut and purplish gray. The latter two are 

 dark, handsome eggs: 2. Ifix 1.76; 2.28 x 1.71 : 

 2.34x1.79. 



SetLII. May 10, 1882. Gardiner's Island, 

 N. T. Nest in a poplar, fifteen feet up. Three 

 eggs. Buffy yellow, spotted and blotched 

 with hazel and chestnut. One of them has 

 some purplish gray: 2.36x1.71; 2.:toxl.76: 

 2.42x1.77. 



Set LIII. May 10, 1886. (iardincr's Island, 

 N. Y. Three eggs, fresh. Light buffy yellow, 

 heavily spotted and blotched with chestnut 

 and purplish gray. A beautiful set: 2.43 x 1.73; 

 2.50x1.80; 2.46x1.81. 



Three eggs is almost the universal rule. 

 Four are unusual, and two tolerably freipient. 



There is a peculiar smell about an Osprey's 

 egg that it never loses, no matter how long it 

 is kept. When a drawer full of them is pulled 

 out it is almost overpowering, but still it can 

 liardlv be ciiUed offensive. J. P. N. 



A German Pet. 



I was a great lover of animals all my liefetime, 

 even when I was only a littel fat, wadling 

 baby. I did not care for dolls but had my pet 

 animils, and sometime I startelet my mother 

 not littel when she found a big frog in her 

 bed: "Poor ting was so told!" or littel miece 

 in her coat sleeve, where I had them made a 

 soft bed. When I grew up I had quit a 

 menagerie, and remarkaljel was it how <Iiffer- 

 ent kinds and races, wich are sujiposet to be 



fiends, I made agree together. I had one 

 pet, a quit peculiar kind, a headghogg. wich 

 gave us lots of funn. He had such cunning 

 littel ways dat we could not help to laf 

 about him. One of these was when the cats 

 came into the room; he would snore and 

 point all his needels over his head: but soon 

 he discovert one of them had her tail strecht 

 out, he would as slow and carefully, and 

 breathing hardly, sneak near the cat's tail, 

 and at once give a big .lump, and bit himself 

 tith on the tail. Now there begann a row, 

 ennough to chock us with latter. The cat 

 would start on a made runn an he would keep 

 on, till she jumpt on chairs and labels, then 

 he would have to give way, and often it was 

 not just a pleasant tumbel down for him. Hut 

 the greate.st joke we had was when we one 

 evening had company, and sat cheerfulle and 

 drank our tea. The littel fellow wasse on the 

 tabel. We gave him tea with cream, wicli he 

 lyket verry much. One of the gentelmans, 

 wich drank tea with rum, as it is a habit in 

 cool evening in Germany, snyd: "Lett the poor 

 raskal have a littel rum, too; he is a man, and 

 will lyke it." So we put a littel in his cream. 

 "O dat is puddy good!" hoggy sayd. "He 

 lykes more," sayd the gentelman; "O, left us 

 make the fellow drunk: wc will so w;U he will 

 do. I objectet, Imt \\ii:it wniild I dn when 

 yung lads ar full of jokes and wont their funn '.' 

 So the put more and more nun in, and at 

 last gave him a teaspoonfull of clear rum. 

 He drank a littel of it, but then he dropt 

 down, his legs way stretcht and the eyes 

 broken, lyke deal. His needels lay slapp and 

 he was weak as a rieg. I took him up, but he 

 dit not breath or move a limp. I carriet him to 

 the open window; I shaket him, put cool water 

 on his head, but not a sine of liefe. Then I 

 comencet to cry, and sayd, " You, horride 

 fellow, have killet my i)oor boggy." t'gly as 

 he might seem to others, I lyket him verry 

 much because he had given us so nuudi funn. 



I had left the jioor creatin- on the window, 

 and alidut a hour later, when I was going to 

 rest, I touglit I will hurry him first: but 

 when I took him up I fcelct a littel moving in 

 his legs. " O Tana, dear, I iiuk he is not 

 deat!" I put him on the t;iln'l, and now 

 began the funnvest sight I ever have seen. 



When the light fell on him he began slowly 

 to open his eyes with the same dreamy, stui)id 

 expression of a human druid<ard: then he 

 began to try tu left himself uimui his fdiidcgs, 

 tumbling down on his back over and over 

 again, till "ILilnl now it goes!" Now he 



