July, 1889.] 



A^B OOLOGIST. 



Ill 



which they are offered, is thi-oujih the willingness of 

 the collectors to dispose of their suriilus at a nominal 

 price, to obtain such as are not common to their locali- 

 ties. A great many exchanges are made by parties 

 living at remote distances, and it is necessary to do it 

 through the mails. The handling of the mail is by no 

 means done in a dainty manner. The way a mail bag 

 goes from a flying express would make any collector 

 hold his breath if he thought that his collection was in it. 

 To avoid as far as possible the dangers of unexpected jars 

 it will be found an advantage to pack eggs as follows : 



Use good solid cigar boxes, and a few extra brads 

 will do no harm. On the l)ottom of the box put a layer 

 of cotton one-half an inch thick ; wrap each egg care- 

 fully with cotton from three-eighths of an inch in 

 thickness for small ones to one inch on the larger ; pack 

 them carefully in l)ox, placing cotton between them 

 and the sides, and over them. Be sure and do not use 

 a box that is a close fit. Thumping and weight of 

 other mail matter will often spring the sides or cover, 

 and if there is not plenty of play a break will surely be 

 the result. Tin spice boxes do nicely for small lots. 

 Paper boxes are fatal. If there are several sets, the 

 eggs of each set should be marked so as to be easily 

 distinguished before unwrapping. This may be done 

 by using ccjlored paper, or colored thread. AJl eggs 

 should lie carefully numbered before shipping, to insure 

 identity. 



A sooty Shearwater was shot at Xahant, Mass., July 

 4th. N. Vickary. 



A. H. Frost of New York city, formerly of Maiden, 

 Mass., who has been interested in oology for a number 

 of years, has been making quite an addition to his 

 private collection. 



C. K. Reed having purchased H. L. Rand's interest, 

 now controls what is known as the Rand and Reed 

 Oval-Convex Glasses. The demand for these glasses 

 ia steadily increasing. 



We recently received a nest of the White-bellied 

 Swallow. It is thickly lined with pure white hen's 

 feathers; together with the four white eggs, the ap- 

 pearance is one of unusual delicacy. 



N. Vickary has sent us a sketch of the nest of the 

 Golden-crowned Kinglet, recently reported by him. It 

 rejjresents the nest suspended under the limb of a 

 spruce with the smaller branches on both sides falling 

 over so as to screen it. The entrance, a round hole, is at 

 the top under the limb towards the tree. The bird, to 

 gain access, had to pass under and parallel with the 

 limb : he writes that it is about the size of a Goldfinches' 

 and made of green rock moss. 



A specimen of the Black Tern in full breeding plum- 

 age was taken this spring in this state. 



It takes just two to three per cent, to satisfy the 

 cravings of one of (mr New York city exchanges. That 

 locality always has been noted for its enterprise in 

 public monuments. 



Judge. — Well, sir; are you the man that killed the 

 dog? 



Defendant. — Yez sur, yez sur, yur honor. 



J. — Did you consider him vicious? 



Def. — Yez sur, yez sur, yur honor; he run furnist 

 me, he did, sur. 



J. — Did he annoy you by visiting your premises? 



Def. — Yez sur, yez sur, he did, sur. 



J. — You acknowledge that you killed him? 



Def. — Yez sur, yez sur. 

 J. — You shot him in self defence? 

 Def. — No sur, no sur, I shot him in tbur back and he 

 jumped over de fence, sur, he did sur. 



Mr. Chas. Hallock, editor of Recreation, in a per- 

 .sonal letter from Kingston, Ontario, notes "To-day, I 

 noticed an English Sparrow persistently chase, capture 

 and devour a 'Shad-fly,' which swarm on the river and 

 lakes in July and August. First time I have ever seen 

 them eat anything but droppings in the street, and 

 bread fed to them." Mr. Hallock is making a tour of 

 the country, and will be in St. Paul next month, and in 

 Manitoba later. The readers of "Recreation" will no 

 doubt be allowed to hear from him, through his inter- 

 esting articles in his magazine. 



And now comes a list, issued from the Pacific coast, 

 of first-class skins at reduced rates. We note the fol- 

 lowing new species: "Mouring dove," "Audubois 

 warbler," "Breweis blackbird," "Anuis hummingbird," 

 "Rufeus humming bird," "California wood-pecker 

 Killdeer," "Slive-sided flycatcher," and "Shut-eared 

 Owl." 

 Those western boys are fertile in new designs. 



•Just watch that little vicious fly 

 Buzz round, and round, and round ; 



No greater wonder 'neath the sky. 

 Search where you may, is found. 



From morn till night, till it doth die, 



'T will bite, and bite, and bite 

 Both sinner and saint. "That wicked fly !" 



And to speck seems its special delight. 



From your nose to your eye 



It will crawl, crawl and crawl ; 

 You slap at that fly, . 



And yourself get a maul. 



At last it grows weary — tired little fly — 

 And washes its feet, feet and feet ; 



It makes up its mind, determines to die. 

 And jumps in the soup — oh, how neat! 



Clippings. 



Raising Wood Di fKs.— How an Egg-Collector 

 Beat a Salem Fakmkii. — Collectors of natural his- 

 tory objects find the cultivation of shrewdness a help 

 in their chosen field. This spring a Salem farmer 

 showed a Norwich oologist a wood duck's nest with a 

 fine clutch of eggs in it and assured him he propo.sed 

 at the proper time to take the eggs, hatch them under 

 a hen and have a flock of ducks not readily duplicated. 

 The egg-collector felt that the scheme of his friend was 

 barbarous, and was doubtful of its feasil)ility, but he 

 did not question it, he simply spoke an encouraging 

 M'ord to his farmer friend, and then set to work to 

 decide how he should capture those eggs for himself. 

 Fair exchange he thought was no robbery, so he pur- 

 chased half a dozen domestic ducks' eggs of about the 

 same color and size, and going to the wood duck's nest 

 in the hollow tree, substituted them for the coveted 

 clutch which he took home and added to his collection. 

 The farmer bided his time, and then took the eggs 

 from the wood duck's nest and jjlaced them under a 

 hen. The hen hatched the eggs, and the ducklings are 

 running about the farm the admiration of the farmer 

 who has built for them a pretty duck-house, and who 

 is waiting for them to take on the beautiful plumage 



