THE OREGON NATURALIST. 
GREAT HORNED OWL. 
his cabinet but observing his every habit is in 
my estimation a true Ornithologist. 
An old settler who came to this country some 
fitty yeais ago tells me that the Great Horned 
Owl—Hoot or Bat Owl he says they called it— 
used to be very common in this region at that 
time, and that they were frequently reminded 
of his presence by his midnight raids among 
the domestic fowl. How pleasant it must have 
been inthe days gone by to hear at night two 
or three of these birds answering each other 
from the different woods around. Those days 
are past and gone and I[ am afraid they will 
never again return to us. In the past two 
years only three specimens have come under my 
observation, although I have heard indirectly of 
one or two others being seen. The bird is very 
shy in this locality and seeks as a nesting place 
some very retired sj ot, where its nest may be 
found in some lofty tree or else in some hollow 
rotten limh in an almost inaccessible tree. In 
my experience of collecting I have found it 
nesting near a house or in a small tree hut twice, 
one of these times the nest was placed ina 
white oak about 20 feet from the ground and 
151 
contained two eggs. The other nest was built 
in a hollow limb of an oak about 25 feet up 
which was situated about 20 rods. back of 
mans barn and commanding a full view of th: 
house, Asa general rule in this locality the 
nesting season extends from February 25 to 
March 25, but of course it varies with the season. 
FLoypD T. Coon. 
Milton, Wis. 
EVOLUTION AND DISEASE: ::»»: 
_ BY THE EASTERN EDITOR 
A discussion like the present may at first 
sight seem out of place in a paper devoted to 
the study of natural objects, but upon examining 
closer the object is plainly seen, Most persons 
believe Patbology, as the science of disease is 
called, to be so outside the comprehension of 
ordinary individuals, and even in its general 
bearings so utterly devoid of interest to all but 
medical men, that much misconception prevails 
in the minds of even educated persons in regard 
to its fundamental principles. As a matter of 
fact Pathology is only a department of Biology, 
and in order to study the origin, cause and spread 
of disease, we must go back to the primary cell, 
even to the begining of life. Here we intrude 
upon the domains of Biology and in order to 
make our understanding of that subject as com- 
plete as necessary, we must again intrude upon 
another plane, that of Natural Life. And it is 
by reason of the latter that I intrude this dis- 
cussion upon my indulgent readers. 
Paradoxical as it may seern, while so many 
regard disease or the Pathology of Life as occu- 
pying an isolated position among sciences, med- 
ical writers aiways point out the difficulty in 
framing a definition of the term, or indeed in 
pointing out the exact line where health ends 
and disease begins. Ifit be difficult to define 
disease when our remarks are restricted to the 
human family, it becomes obviously more diff- 
icult, when we attempt to investigate disease 
upon a broad zoological basis. As the great 
barrier which exists between man and those 
members of his class most closely allied to him, 
consists, not in stiuctural characters, but in 
