184 



THE OOLOGIST. 



nests and as I passed among the nests, 

 which was almost impossible to do 

 without I'unning over some of them, 

 I found the eggs in manj- nests were 

 covered and as I ueared the other bor- 

 der they became more so. The Eared 

 Grebes fairly swarmed in open places 

 and in the lake beyond the rashes. 

 Many fine views could have been taken 

 with a detective camera which would 

 not have been possible with the other 

 stj'les. 



I have said nothing about what has 

 been accomplished, Init merely men- 

 tion a few opportunities which Avere 

 lost by leaving the camera behind. I 

 could mention hundreds of fine views 

 of the bii'ds in their retreats which 

 were within reach of the camera and 

 w^hich have come under my observa- 

 tion during ten years residence in Da- 

 kota; but space and time will not per- 

 mit. "Almon" 



Do Birds die with Consumption? 



In answer to the "hectic" question 

 of L. E., .Fairview, Mo., in the May 

 OoLOGiST, I Avould i;n hesitatingly ans- 

 wer yes. I will look at this question 

 not only from a scieutiiic but from a 

 medical standpoint. 



What is consumption? It is a disease 

 characterized by a general wasting 

 away of the entire system, and espec- 

 ially' by the formation of tubercles 

 usually within the tissues of the lungs, 

 but by no means confined to the lungs, 

 the tissues thus affected breaking up 

 more or less rapidly and sloughing off, 

 leaving cavities. 



The primary cause of the disease 

 being one of the bacteria}, the lowest 

 foi'ms of plant life, only seen by a pow- 

 erful microscope and remarkable for 

 their spontaneous motions which make 

 some people think they are animals, 

 the one causing consumption being 

 BacciUus tuberculosis. 



These minute plants are one-celled, 



and multiply with most amazing rap- 

 idity, simply bj^ budding or by each, 

 soon dividing into two pieces. 



Now consumption is by no means 

 confined to man, among animals the 

 monkey and cattle tril)es being especi- 

 ally subject to its attacks, and any bird 

 or mammal getting these bacteriie 

 within its system would be very apt to 

 die with consumption. Possibly some 

 of the cold-blooded animals might 

 also suffer from consumption, but this 

 I doubt as I believe these bacteria^ 

 require too high temperature for their 

 development in a cold-blooded animal. 

 So L. E's. parrot probably died with 

 consumption. 



Wilfred Bkothekton, 

 Oakland Co., Mich. 



[Mr. Brotherton has given us a verj' 

 good explanation of the process of the 

 disease of consumption. Were Baccil- 

 ins tubci'culosis to be found in any bird 

 or animal, then of course the evidence 

 would be conclusive that that bird or 

 animal died of consumption. Has any- 

 one found B. iuberculosis in any bird? 

 Can L. E., of Fairview, Mo., tell us 

 whether or no his parrot presented it 

 on examination by the doctor? — Assoc. 

 Ed.] 



The Magnolia Warbler. 



( Diudro ica m <i cu losa . ) 



Of all birds my favorites are the war- 

 blers, and of all the warblers my favor 

 ite is the Magnolia. "But why", some- 

 one asks, "this preference? To be sure 

 he is a handsome little fellow with his 

 rich dress of black and yellow but then , 

 he is so common that this soon loses its 

 charm and his only vocal efl'ort is a 

 sharp chirp." Ah! in those last few 

 words you named his chiefest charm, 

 for it is not as people usually see him 

 but in his summer home that all his 

 good qualities appear. My truly inti- 

 mate acquaintance with him com- 

 menced among the bushes and ever- 



