64 The Oologists' Record, September 1, 1923. 



very much better than they have been at any time since the revo- 

 lution. What is more, eggs have been coming through again, and 

 every oologist knows that Russia, North Russia especially, is a 

 prolific field for some of the best eggs on the British List, not to 

 mention others. No doubt it will be some time before foreigners 

 will care to travel in Russia and to make expeditions comparable 

 to those of Messrs. Seebohm and Trevor-Battye, but the time is 

 not so far off as we thought even a month ago. 



Scribed Data. — We were recently looking over some of the 

 eggs collected by Capt. Pitman in Palestine and Mesopotamia and 

 elsewhere. Surely no oologist ever collected so carefully or made 

 such meticulous data ! Some of our friends in the U.S.A. would 

 consider his eggs too much " scribed " upon to rank as first-class 

 specimens, but Capt. Pitman's eggs will carry their records upon 

 them as long as the eggs are intact, and I hesitate to mention the 

 sum that was offered even for a rare egg collected by him that was 

 broken completely in two ! But many collectors, even in the 

 States, are coming round to see the advantage of the method, and 

 I would like to remind the others that I have seen eggs from the 

 States bearing a large number of almost illegible pencil numbers 

 only one of which figures on the data ticket. There is a " Field 

 No.," a " Data No.," and eke a " Cabinet No.," and in more than 

 one case we have received a set with a wrong data ticket on account 

 of the very natural confusion resulting from the use of all these 

 numbers. With eggs scribed like those we have mentioned above 

 this could never happen. What one marvels at is the patience 

 and the labour entailed and that in a climate like that of Mesopo- 

 tamia and Palestine. 



Carriger, Harlow and Others. — We had welcome news 

 recently of some old correspondents in the States where they have 

 a way of getting into the wilds for a matter of a year or more and 

 then answering letters that have accumulated in their absence. 

 We do like to keep touch with everybody, whenever possible, and 

 to know where they are and what they are doing or hope to do. 

 Mr. Harlow has been in Northern Alberta and, if he can find time, 

 will wTite us a record of what he has done, which is well worth the 

 telling. Mr. Carriger hopes soon to tell us quite a lot concerning 

 the nesting of the Californian Pine Grosbeak. Mr. Pemberton has 

 left Oklahoma for San Francisco, and in the interim spent some 

 time on the Mexican border with most satisfactory oological results- 



