June, 1893.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



85 



The " town " in Henry County differs 

 somewhat from the one described by Kenni- 

 cott, as the Herons had broken down the 

 tall marsh grass to the level of the water, 

 over several acres of ground, forming a floor, 

 and on this the nests were placed, over about 

 three feet of water. \\'hen the nest is placed 

 in trees, sticks are used in its construction, 

 but almost anything is used in a marsh. 

 Some were composed of sticks carried from 

 a grove about a mile away, others of marsh 

 grass, rushes, wild rice, stalks, etc. 



The nests were from three inches to one 

 feet high, nearly flat topped and not well 

 arranged. 



How many nests this " town " contained 

 I do not know, but 120 dozen fresh eggs 

 had been taken from it about a week before 

 my visit. 



1 did not find more than four eggs in any 

 nest and two or three were by far the most 

 common sets. 



When fresh the eggs are a beautiful bluish- 

 green, but exposure to the sun bleaches 

 them very rapidly to a very pale bluish, and 

 in a set the first egg laid can readily be dis- 

 tinguished from the eggs laid on the suc- 

 ceeding days by its paler color. 



The eggs vary in size from 1.87 x 1.40 to 

 2.36 X 1.43. However, eggs as broad as 1.53 

 are sometimes found. 



The food consists of almost any kind of 

 worms, shellfish, small fish, etc. 



" It is shot in great numbers in AN'inne- 

 bago County on account of its destruction 

 of young game fish." — Dickin.son. 



A. C. Aliirc/iisoii. 



My Outfit. 



The strangest nesting place of a bird that 

 I have ever seen was one of an English Spar- 

 row, noticed last June. On a crossbar on a 

 telegraph post hangs an old oil can, in the bot- 

 tom of which is a rust-eaten hole, and through 

 this the Sparrows found an entrance, made 

 their nest, and raised their young without 

 molestation, and undiscovered by any other 

 person, though it was on the side of the rail- 

 way and near the main street. — I/'. L. K . 



So many articles have already been written 

 about what a collector should encumber him- 

 self with, that I may be scoffed at for sug- 

 gesting the following : — 



Nevertheless the only outfit that I ha\e 

 found available, and the one which I use to 

 the exclusion of all others, is that given below. 

 To begin with, over my ordinary underwear 

 I don a medium weight dark-colored woolen 

 shirt. The one I use now is a black and 

 grey check and has two large breast pockets. 

 Next in order comes a pair of woolen panta- 

 loons that are complete with four capacious 

 pockets and a set of belt loops, six in num- 

 ber. It will be found much safer to rivet 

 these on or they will be liable to rip out. 

 The pockets of my pants all have flaps to 

 button down snug and thus [irexenl possible 

 loss. 



For a belt I use one of hea\y russet leather 

 with buckle riveted fast like a pistol belt. In 

 fact, the one I am using now is an old holster 

 belt I used on the p'ains. 



For shoes I use hand-sewed heavy calf 

 that lace above the ankles and have tops 

 large enough to admit the bottoms of my 

 trousers. By wearing them in this way they 

 answer the purpose of leggins which I avoid 

 as a " delusion and a snare." 



An old dilajjidated structure, of a doubtful 

 color, with a jagged rim three inches across, 

 answers for a hat, and as a coat I use my fall 

 shooting coat, which I had made of water- 

 proof canvas to button close about my throat. 



This coat is a jewel. 1 1 is perfection itself. 

 Vou will understand and admit ( ?) this when 

 I tell you it originated with myself and was 

 built on my lines. Therefore, I find no fault 

 with the coat. 



I don't know how many pockets I had put 

 into this coat, but I do know there are none 

 too many and there is room for no more. 

 It is in these pockets that I carry the rest of 

 my outfit, which consists of jack-knife, com- 

 pass, matches, and folding drinking-cup. 



