THE OOLOGIST 



U. S. Collecting Permits for 1920. 



We are in receipt of a letter from 

 the Bureau of Biological Survey of the 

 United States Department of Agricul- 

 ture containing information as to the 

 Biological Survey Bureau's construc- 

 tion of the Regulations governing the 

 issuance of collectors' permits for the 

 taking of birds, nests and eggs for 

 scientific purposes; in which the 

 Bureau announces a construction that 

 will meet with the approval of every 

 well thinking friend of Ornithology 

 and Oology, as well as every friend of 

 conservation and of the birds. 



It has been rumored abroad that the 

 reins would be drawn tight and the ap- 

 plication to be endorsed by two well 

 known ornithologists would be given 

 an unnecessarily strict construction, 

 which would exclude the endorsement 

 of many ornithologist because they 

 might not be "well known." And also 

 many would be applicants might not 

 know or might not be known by two 

 "well known" ornithologists and hence 

 be unable to get the necessary en- 

 dorsements. 



We are very glad to announce that 

 no such strained construction, is to be 

 adopted. As a matter of fact the 

 Bureau has adopted the reasonable and 

 sensible view of the matter. In its 

 communication to us under date of 

 December 6, 1919 it says, "As a mat- 

 ter of fact, the Bureau accepts the in- 

 dorsements of professors of Zoology 

 in high schools, colleges or universi- 

 ties, when the facts are shown on the 

 application, as readily as it does those 

 of the most eminent ornithologists, 

 and endeavors in every way possible 

 to encourage the scientific study of 

 wild life. No application for a scien- 

 tific collecting permit is turned down 

 until every effort has been made to 

 enable the party to secure satisfact- 

 ory indorsements, and so far as the 

 Bureau is aware, there has not been 



a single bona fide applicant to whom 

 a Federal collecting permit has been 

 denied." 



This is as it should be and we are 

 very glad of the stand of the Bureau 

 in the matter, and likewise to be 

 able to place it in the hands of our 

 readers. There is one matter connect- 

 ed with this issuance of Federal per- 

 mits, however, that we think could be 

 improved on and that is this: 



An applicant is required to state 

 where he desires to collect and his 

 permit usually confines him to one 

 state. Many of the more advanced 

 collectors have taken about all of the 

 specimens in their own localities that 

 they care for, except for unusual oc- 

 curances, and some of these prowl 

 about more or less, often very far 

 from home, and usually can take a 

 day or two in a new locality to add a 

 few things to the collection. One 

 hates to become a lawbreaker under 

 such conditions, specially when he has 

 a permit to collect elsewhere. The U. 

 S. permit should, we believe, cover 

 the entire United States, and its trib- 

 utories. No person who would be 

 favored with such a permit, would be 

 apt to abuse the same, we think, and 

 we hope to see the regulations modi- 

 fied in this respect. 



R. M. Barnes. 



New Hampshire Notes. 



The town (or as most people living 

 west of New England would call it, 

 the township) of Jaffery, New Hamp- 

 shire, was for ten years the locality 

 of my field trips for the observation of 

 birds. But for the last two summers 

 1 have been able to be there for only 

 a few weeks in the summer. In the 

 last three years I have noticed that a 

 change is occuring in the bird inhabi- 

 tants of the region. The more North- 

 ern forms are becoming more abund- 

 ant. In at least one case, that of the 



