172 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. IR-No. 11 



bon was not quite scientific enougli to suit. 

 "He could shoot a l)irfl and preserve it." 

 Had lie l>een on the stiii^e now he would have 

 a poor show to become an active member of 

 the A. O. U., but no doubt they would let him 

 in as an associate. 



During the winter hundreds of pelts of foxes, 

 wild cats, coons and other animals will be 

 made into rui;s by the readers of this magazine, 

 and as usual the heads will be stuffed as we 

 call it "half heads." Many build the form or 

 filling in various ways while others merely fill 

 in with tow or excelsiur. The quickest, 

 easiest and best method is to use a papier 

 machi' form. These come in various sizes, are 

 light and strong and just the right shape. 

 With theui all tliat is necessary is to wet the 

 skin, draw it over the form and fasten it. The 

 forms are not expensive and with them it 

 requires very little skill to do good work. We 

 think that a trial would convin<'e anycnie that 

 they are labor-saving. 



Using the Standard Natural History (Boston, 

 1885) as authority, there were at that date 

 about 400 species of Hummingbirds con- 

 taine<l in one hundred and twenty genera, and 

 that their general dispo.sitions are exceedingly 

 quarrelsome. They are found only in the new 

 world. 



The average man is perhaps not aware that 

 there are people in this country who earn their 

 living by collecting and preserving spiders, 

 toads, etc. We recently received (piite an 

 invoice of Tarantulas, Ti-ap-door Spiders, Centi- 

 pedes, Scorpions and Horned Toads from a 

 party who makes it his entire business to 

 prepare these for the market. They are all 

 neatly preserved and mounted on cards in 

 boxes. As one looks at the Great Hairy 

 Tarantula he almost hesitates to touch it. 

 there is such a suggestion of a bite, and, by 

 the way, everyone who sees them asks "Is it 

 sure death if tliey bite you?" Uy no means, 

 — like tlie sting (d' the scorpion, a painful, 

 serious affair, but not usually fatal. Tlie Horned 

 Toads, with their briglit, black eyes, look as 

 if they were ready to step out. The nests of 

 the Trap-door Spiders are quite a curiosity, 

 .sections of soil cut out to sliow the holes of 

 these spiders with the close-fitting, hinged 

 cover. 



There are about SOO species of s])iders in the 

 United States. 



Alexander Wilson was born at Paisley in 

 1708. He landed in America in 1794. He first 

 contemplated his great work in 1804, completed 

 the first volume in ISiOs, the second volume in 

 1810. In the beginning of 1S13 the seventh 

 volume was published, and he died shortly 

 afterwards. 



Bed bugs (Cinex lectulariiix) in some cases 

 are said to have wing pads hanging loose, as if 

 ready to change into wing coverts, but none 

 have been found fully winged. When they 

 get to flying about we are just going to carry 

 some of Blake's Cones in our pockets, keep 

 cotton saturated with kerosene oil in our ears 

 and go with our pants tucked into our boots. 



Fourteen specimens of the Fenuginous 

 Pigmy Owl came to us in one lot. This is 

 considered a rare bird. 



The edition of the Code and Check-liat pub- 

 lished by the A. O. U. is exhausted and there 

 is no prospect of a new edition being published. 

 The union wish their list to be accepieil by the 

 American ornithologists and seem to be unable 

 to keep the lists in the market, where the col- 

 lectois can olitain them. It is true they have 

 the cheap, abridged list but that does not fill 

 the bill. We think that they liad better brace 

 up or they may see a new list put out, and by 

 parties who will be able to furnish all the 

 copies that are wanted. 



Aristotle was born in the first year of the 

 ninety-ninth Olympead, about :W4 B. C. All 

 records of the progress of Natural History 

 commence with him. He died in his (i3d year. 



After the pelt is removed from an animal, in 

 absence of means to projierly cure it, the thing 

 to do is to rub the flesh side well with salt and 

 then hang it up to dry. Treated in this way it 

 will keep till it can he placed in the hiinds of 

 parties who can handle it piopeily, or till the 

 collector is able to attend to it. Spurtsmen 

 should remember this when they are on their 

 trips. 



Condors are the largest birds of prey: they 

 have an extent of wings varying from eight to 

 twelve feet. 



Many pecqile believe that snakes sting. 

 They never <lo. The belief no doubt arises 

 from two things, first from tlie histoiical stmy 

 of the asp that ended Mrs. Cleiqjatia's career, 

 and that snakes dart out their tongues, which 

 have the appearance of a stinger. They simply 

 bite, and the venom passes out thmugli a 

 cavity in the tooth or fang. 



There are over forty species of Pheasants, a 

 fewof thebestknownin the American market are 

 the Silver Pheasant, from China: Lady Amherst 

 Pheasant, from ('hina: Beeve's Pheasant, from 

 North China: Scemmering Pheasant, from 

 .Japan (known as the Cojiper Pheasant); Versi- 

 color Pheasant, from .lapan: English Pheasant, 

 naturalized about 10511; the Tragiqians or 

 Horned Pheasant of India: Argus Pheasant, 

 from ui>per India: Peac<ick Pheasant, from 

 India; (ioldcn Pheasant, from <'hina; Inqieyan 

 Pheasant, from Himalayas: [ncras, from Inilia. 



The sea mosses ccdiected in Boston Harbor, 

 mounted on cards, are very attractive and 

 many have availed themselves of the oppor- 

 tunity to procure them at the price of fifteen 

 cents per dozen. It is surprising how well 

 they retain the color. It is quite an art to 

 mount them in the attractive manner that has 

 been done by the collector. 



We received from a Florida collector a dozen 

 skins of the .Vniericaii Egret in full ))liiinage. 

 It is some time since we received so fine a. lot. 

 We had almost begun to think that we wcmld 

 not get any more from that locality. We also 

 had a fine lot of Wood Dui'k come in. They 

 are not easy to obtain in the East. 



