116 



THE OOLOaiST 



a couple of old time ornithologists 

 and oologists, Frank I. Harris, who 

 was one of the best known of western 

 bird students from 1885 to 1893, and 

 Whit Harrison. Both are now advanc- 

 ed in years, Mr. Harrison being the 

 older. 



While there we learned from Mr. 

 Harris that he was dismantling his 

 home in the country with a view of 

 moving to the village of La Crescent, 

 and that he had disposed of his large 

 collection of bird skins sometime ago; 

 whereupon we promptly made a deal 

 with him for about one-half of his 

 collection of eggs— getting a little 

 over 2000 specimens. It is his pur 

 pose to rearrange the residue of his 

 collection and donate it to some pub- 

 lic institution. 



One of the really remarkable things 

 we observed in his den was a mounted 

 wild cat which for size, exceeds any- 

 thing we have ever seen, and the his- 

 tory of which is unique in that years 

 ago Mr. Harris trapped the animal 

 and desiring to preserve it for mount- 

 ing purpose.-, and fearing he might in- 

 jure it for that purpose in killing ,it, 

 seized it and choked it to death with 

 his hands, an undertaking which 

 stands alone in its class so far as 

 our information goes, and one which 

 we would not care to undertake. 



Mr. Harrison lives in the village 

 and has a beautiful collection of 

 mounted birds, a number of rare 

 skins and quite a lot of eggs, though 

 in taxidermy he seems to have cen- 

 tered his interest, having a collection 

 of birds prepared by himself which it 

 is well worth a visit to see, including 

 many rare and unusual specimens for 

 that locality. He is especially proud 

 of a Turnstone secured by himself 

 many years, and mounted, which is 

 the only one of which there is any ret - 

 ord in that locality. Mr. Harrison still 

 Keeps up his interest in ornithology, 



and has been on the books as a sub- 

 scriber to THE OOLOGIST for lo, 

 these many years. 



Mr. Harris dropped out of ornithol- 

 ogy and oology about 1893, since 

 which time he has done nothing to 

 add to his large accumulations. The 

 pleasure of meeting these gentlemen 

 was one that will be long remembered. 



Good News. 

 The song birds in this part of the 

 country, (Dallas Co., Tex.) are cer- 

 tainly increasing, especially the Mock- 

 ingbirds, Cardinals and Orchard Ori- 

 oles. There is an abundance of Blue 

 .Jays, Crows, Lark Sparrow- Scissor- 

 tailed Flycatcher, Crested Flycatcher 

 and a few Blue Herons. But sad to 

 relate, there were no Robins in Dallas 

 Co., or adjoining counties this past 

 winter. Cole Godsey. 



Dallas, Texas. 



Runt Prairie Horned Lark Eggs. 



One day recently I found a set of 

 eggs of the Prairie Horned Lark, con- 

 taining three eggs, one of which was 

 only half size. A family of Screech 

 Owls, male red, have raised a family 

 close to the house this spring. The 

 male is usually to be seen on the 

 house, and brings the family around 

 for a concert every evening. 



Blue Jays were very scarce; Robins 

 and Bluebirds not common. 



George vos Burgh. 

 Clinton, Wis. 



Some 1911 Nests and Sets. 

 ]\Iay 15th. Noted a Warbling vireo, 

 V'ireosylvia gilva, carrying a long strip 

 of bark to her nearly completed home 

 in a maple tree. The nest was placed 

 35 feet from the ground in a small 

 crotch at the end of a limb, about 20 

 feet from the main trunk. It was 

 very compactly constructed of bark 

 strips, grasses and i)ine needles, well 

 ornamented with spiders eggs and a 



