136 
of mine. In this valley of the Western branch 
of the Susquehannah River, are many Indian 
mounds, which before the summer is over I 
expect to explore. I would like to correspond 
wlth Archzeologists of the West, 
LEE Roy J. TAPPAN. 
Newark Valley, N.Y. 
NEST OF THE MAGPIE. 
Description of a nest of the American magpie 
taken in Whitman county, Washington. 
March 22 a pair of magpies commenced to 
build their nest, eight feet from the ground, in 
a smail balm tree, — located in a dense thick- 
et of thorn shrubs, close by a small creek: — 
by first laying and interlacing small twigs of 
thorn, seemingly those having the most sj ines 
on them. The twigs were laid and buil led up 
until the nest proper was forined, 
between the twigs was filled with mud as the 
All spaces 
work progressed. The nest was then lined 
with fine roots, 
April 10 a roof was begun, made in the man- 
ner and of like material as the nest proper. 
This roof was built until it entirely covered 
the substructure, and becamea part of it, leav- 
ing only a suitable hole on the east side for exit, 
and a much smaller opening on the opposites de, 
The nest was now a bulky structure of dried 
mud and twigs, impervious to wind or rain. 
Leaves of the pine were then laid and arranged 
upon the roots previously used as lining. long 
horse hair incorporated with the leaves fiuished 
the lining, and the nest was complete. 
On May first the first egg was laid; on each 
alternate day one egg,until on May seventh the 
fourth and last egg was laid. Incubation began 
on the succeeding day. 
The eggs measureing 1.23x .81, 1I.22x.80, 
1.27 x .82, and 1,26 x .82, are pale, of a very 
slight greenish tinge and thickly spotted and 
dashed over the entire surface, with brown 
and paler purplish brown, 
The nest is a heavy bulky struciure; over 21 
inches in height, including the roof or covering 
and quite dilficult to handle, owing to the 
multitude of thorns projecting from al! sides, 
THE OREGON NATURALIST. 
In the selection of a nesting site, all the 
materiais were close at hand and easy to obtain 
some of the thorn was dead, thus furnishing 
the twigs. The mud was obtained from the 
banks of the stream that furnished the fine roots, 
the pine leaves from a tree growing close by the 
thorns, and the horse hair, that had caught on 
the thorns could be had in sufficient quantity for 
the purpose. 
After a week, the nest was taken, for the 
reason that some boys having discovered the 
nest were about to destroy it, the magpie being 
a bird ofill repute among them, not undeservedly 
so, for it has a strong habit of picking grnbs 
from the cattle’s h.des, — 
Would it stop with the grubs. all would be 
well, but not content with grubs alone, it 
continues, and a raw spet once found is pe ked 
by the magpie in their desire for flesh food, 
AC Be AG 
HOW MINFRALS CHANGE COLOR. 
It may not be generally known that many 
minerais lose their color or fade when expored 
to light. 
keep their most finely colored specimens in a 
Fluorite is especially liable to fade 
Experienced collectors frequently 
dark place 
Amazon stone, however, sometimes gains in 
color when exposed to light. 
A greenish gray feldspar from the granite veins 
of Ammerberg has been found to assume a 
bright emerald green when exposed to the air 
Experiments made by placing fragments in 
sealed tubes and exposing them to the light for 
a year, led to the conclusion that air and moist- 
ure had noinfluence, but that light alone effect- 
ed the change in color. 
I ain glad to say that I have never received 
more (or even as many) replies to my notices, 
than those in the ‘* Oregon Naturalist ” and [ 
think it is the best advertising medium I have 
ever tried. I exchanged all my sets listed in the 
Aug. No. ten days after the paper arrived. 
WALTON MITCHELL. 
