34 



THE OOLOOIST 



brush, by farmers and trunk line and 

 highway tree butchers. 



I promised sometime ago to tell the 

 readers of the Oologist more about a 

 certain rookery of the Black Crowned 

 Night Heron. I went to visit them 

 again this year in May and found 

 them in fine condition, some sixty or 

 more nests with eggs and young. They 

 are located in a small piece of black 

 oak timber not far from a farm res- 

 idence. There is a possibility that 1 

 underrated the number of nests. My 

 presence seemed to disturb them so 

 much that I passed around the woods, 

 rather than through, so cannot say if 

 any one had in any way "shot up" or 

 disturbed them. 



I cannot remember that I ever saw 

 the Mourning Dove so plentiful as 

 they are here in Iowa, on Cedar river. 

 I wonder, if under proper, prolonged 

 protection, they would not come to be 

 as plentiful as the Passenger Pigeon, 

 formerly were. It seems wonderful 

 that under the circumstances many 

 nests in one tree, the frail structure, 

 and only one egg, that the pigeon 

 could become so exceedingly plenti- 

 ful as it did when other birds making 

 better nests, and laying more eggs to 

 a clutch did not become at all plenti- 

 ful. Give the Dove protection, and 

 bring them up to the standard of the 

 Passenger Pigeon. 



Geo. W. H. Vos Burgh. 



The New Catalog. 



The need of a new catalog of values 

 of North American Birds' Eggs, has 

 long been apparent to those interested 

 in this class of specimens. Now that 

 the U. S. Government regulations per- 

 mit the sale of these under necessary 

 and proper regulations, the need be- 

 comes greater. 



A number of leading oologisfs, at 



the suggestion of Rev. H. E. Wheeler 

 of Conway, Ark., who wrote the com- 

 munication published in the December 

 Oologist, have determined to issue a 

 new catalog and make it as reliable 

 a mirror of the actual case value of 

 eggs as is possible. The Editor has 

 reviewed a very large number of com- 

 munications volunteering assistance, 

 in the preparation of this catalog since 

 the December issue. 



We all know that in an undertaking 

 of this kind that there must be a 

 clash of interests, as well as a frater- 

 nal feeling and determination to get 

 together, and do as near as we know 

 how the fair thing by all. It has oc- 

 cured to us that the best way is to ap- 

 point a committee of twenty-five of our 

 best known collectors scattered over 

 that United States and Canada to pass 

 on the values. The manner of the ap- 

 pointment of this committee is a most 

 serious step, in the formation of the 

 new catalog. If a non-representative 

 committee is selected, or a committee 

 that has some ax to grind, then better 

 have no committee, and no catalog; 

 for one, the product of such a com- 

 mittee will receive scant recognition 

 at the hands of the fraternity. On 

 the other hand a list of values that 

 really represents the combined judg- 

 ment of this number of real oologists 

 scatter equitably over the entire terri- 

 tory to be covered will be invaluable 

 to us all. 



It has occurred to the Editor of this 

 publication that there is no fairer way 

 to select this committee than to have 

 it elected by the rank and file of the 

 egg collectors themselves, rather than 

 have it a sort of hand picked affair, 

 no matter who might do the picking. 

 But what should be the basis of rep- 

 resentation has been the real stumb- 

 ling block? After a good deal of 

 thought we have concluded that the 

 best way is to divide the membership 



