62 



THE OOLOGIST 



say, "Persimmon time brings 'possum 

 time." All our youthful Nimrod 

 wants are a few good traps and prob- 

 ably if he intends to do night hunting, 

 one or two curs of questionable pedi- 

 gree. This prowler also had to re- 

 imburse his voracity with his hide. 

 The juicy simmon had well served its 

 purpose. When the trap was ap- 

 proached the victim was feigning 

 death, but of what avail? His cun- 

 ning will not save his coveted pelt, 

 appear he ever so piteously, for Furs! 

 Furs! is the slogan of today. Oh, 

 Opossum! Could you but see into the 

 future you would not feed thus reck- 

 lessly upon the juicy persimmon. 



To look after the last trap required 

 a few minutes only. After putting 

 down some fresh bait we made a bee- 

 line for home that was standing invit- 

 ingly on the hillside, about a thousand 

 feet distant. Although unsuccessful, all 

 said to have well enjoyed these five 

 hours in the open. If we did not have 

 much else we had brought along an 

 A No. 1 appetite, and thanks to our 

 host it could fully be done justice, 

 although we had to dispense with rab- 

 bit a la farmer style. 



H. S. A. Insinger, 

 Valley Park, Mo. 



Two Exceptional Records 

 On March 29, 1919, I collected a 

 male Red-breasted Nuthatch here at 

 Lexington. Mr. Otto Widmann, in his 

 "Preliminary Catalogue of the Birds of 

 Missouri" (1907), said that until the 

 time of publication no Red-breasted 

 Nuthatches had been found in Mis- 

 souri between January 15 and April 

 15, except in the extreme southern 

 counties, more than one hundred miles 

 south of here. If others have been 

 taken in Missouri in this latitude I will 

 be glad to hear of them as I am 

 anxious to know if this is really an 

 important record. 



The thing of most interest to us here 

 has been a Lawrence Warbler collect- 

 ed by Clark Salyer, May 3, 1919. At 

 least that is why we have concluded 

 that it is. It is plainly a hybrid of the 

 Golden and Blue-winged Warblers, but 

 is unusual. The black is on the lores, 

 but does not extend through the eye. 

 The throat bears the usual black 

 patch, and the breast and under parts 

 are yellow. Moreover, the most un- 

 usual thing about it is the size. It is 

 six and one-fourth inches in length, 

 longer by an inch than either the 

 Blue or Golden-winged Warbler. An 

 excellent skin was prepared by the 

 collector, and is now a highly valued 

 part of his raj dly growing collection. 

 E. Landan Alexander. 



The Migratory Bird Treaty Law 



The Associated Press dispatches, of 

 April 19th, bear the very important 

 information that the United States 

 Supreme Court has sustained the con- 

 stitutionality of this law. Let us all 

 true bird lovers rejoice. Let it now 

 be enforced without fear or favor. 

 Let all real Oologists aid in its en- 

 forcement in every way. 



We hope the game bags and the 

 slaughterers who fouled, ignored and 

 defied this law for the first few years 

 will now be punished to the limit. 

 They not only butchered the birds by 

 the thousands when filled with eggs 

 on their way to their summer nest- 

 ing grounds but also set at naught 

 the law and defied the flag, in order to 

 satisy their brutal blood thirsty dis- 

 positions. This class were not and 

 could not be sportsmen in the true 

 sense of the word. They were simply 

 low grade killers who took their 

 chances and now we hope to see 

 Uncle Sam turn the pages back to 

 their scandulous conduct and punish 

 them as they richly deserve. 



R. M. Barnes. 



