62 



THE OSPEEY. 



THE OSPREY. 



Am Illustrated Magazine of Popular Ornithology. 



Published Monthly, 



By 



THE OSPREY COMPANY. 



Edited by Theodore Gill and Paul Bartsoh, in collabo- 

 ration « illi R it Kidgway, LeonhardStejuegcr. Frederic 



A Lucas, Charles W Richmond, William Palmer and 

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 Philadelphia. 



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Comments. 



RECENT MORTALITY AMONG ORNITHOLOGISTS. 



Fur several months we wore exempt, happily, 

 from the necessity of recording the deaths of 

 eminent ornithologists, but in the present num- 

 ber we regret to have to note the departure of 

 two of wide renown, and of two others — Ameri- 

 cans less known. The first, however, did not 

 die prematurely: both had lived far beyond the 

 limits of normal old age: these were Dr. Gustav 

 Hartlaub and Baron Kdrat>^d de Selys Long- 

 champs. Both had passed their eighty sixth 

 year; one only a short time before his death 

 while the other had reached nearly to the end of 

 it. The memorable span of seventy years of 

 literary activity had been crossed by one Selys 

 Longchamps and that activity had been con- 

 tinued almost to the end of his life. Certainly 

 longevity may be coincident with long devotion 

 to the study of nature! The Baron, of late years, 

 devoted his attention almost exclusively to the 

 consideration of the Odonate insects and so 

 long a time had elapsed since he published about 

 birds that many of the younger of the bird men 



may not even know"of hirii by name, but at one 

 time he was a notable figure in European orni- 

 thology at least. 



A friend of long standing and that had also 

 reached a ripe old age has departed in the person 

 of George A. Boardman — one who had won the 

 respect and esteem of many of the American 

 ornithologists. The youngest of the dead was 

 a victim of a needless and quixotic war. 



TITLES OF MAGAZINES AND COLLECTIONS. 



We are indebted to Dr. Edward L. Greene, 

 Professor of Botany in the "Catholic University 

 of America" at Washington, for a pamphlet 

 on "Some Literary Aspects of American Bota- 

 ny." It was originally published as an article 

 in "the Catholic University Bulletin" for April, 

 19(11. An interesting list of "several papers 

 current, or else already completed," relating to 

 botany is given. Botany and Ornithology touch 

 at so many points, and what is true of one is true 

 of the other to such an extent, that we note some 

 of the results of Professor Greene's observa- 

 tions. 



Professor Greene thinks that "since the 

 demise of Dr. Gray the number of American 

 writers on botanical subjects has increased 

 almost a hundred fold;" but "of literary inven- 

 tiveness on the part of such writers there is 

 small evidence, judging by that very safe in- 

 dicative, the titles of their serial papers." 



Dr. Gray, we may add en passant, was for a 

 long- time a very powerful factor in keeping- 

 botanists in order and in suppressing any undue 

 manifestation of excentricity or. perhaps even, 

 of independence. The fear of his trenchant 

 criticism deterred many from authorial manifes- 

 tation. Whether this state of affiairs botanical 

 was for the best or not, however, we will not 

 venture to say. 



Some of the titles Professor Greene enumer- 

 ates are certainly rather far fetched and arro- 

 gant. Such are: 



"Contributions to the Histogenesis of the 

 Caryophyllales." 



"Contributions to the North American Eu- 

 phorbiaceai." 



"Contributions to the Myxogasters of Maine." 



"Contributions to the Gasteromycetes of 

 Maine." 



"Contributions to the Comparative Histology 

 of Pulvini and the Resulting Pholeolitic Move- 

 ments" (!). 



We must postpone further consideration of the 

 subject and the application to ornithology to our 

 next number. 



