172 
about ten feet up. The others with the excep- 
tion of the fifth were about twelve feet up. 
These Herons are increasing every year as 
they have not been disturbed they have 
remained in the swamp and the young from each 
years nest, [ think, breed the mext year which 
accounts for an increase in the number of nests. 
All these nests with the exception of one are 
within a radius of about fifteen feet. 
A very amusing incident happened this spring 
in connection with the Ward’s Heron nest. A 
friend of mine, not a co!lector, went out to this 
swamp with one of the Tallahassee collectors 
and on seeing a nest he thought he would go up 
and peep into it. As he looked in three young 
herons popped up and startled him so; he came 
near falling out. 
R. W. WILLIAMS JR. 
Tallahassee, Fla- 
Queries and Replies. 
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THE OREGON NATURALIST. 
SERPENTINE, 
Serpentine is a mineral composed of silica 
and magnesia iu nearly equal proportions, with 
about 13 to 15 per cent of water and a little 
protoxide ofiron. It is generally green, black 
or red, the color sometimes uniform, sometimes 
It receives its 
name from the serpent-like form which the 
spotted, clouded, or veined. 
veins often assume, and is cut or turned into 
ornaments of various kinds. Precious or Noble 
Serpentine is of a dark green color, hard enough 
to receive a good polish, translucent, and some 
times contains imbedded garnets, which form 
red spots and add much to its beauty. 
The ancient Romans used it for pillars and 
Vases, boxes 
and other articles are still made of it, and 
for other ornamental purposes, 
highly prized. The ancients ascribed to it im- 
aginary medicinal virtues. 
‘“‘The birds of prey, the majority of which 
labor day and mght to destroy the enemies of 
the husbandman, are persecuted unceasingly, 
while that gigantic fraud — the house cat — is 
petted and fed and given a secure shelter from 
which it may emerge in the evening to spread 
destruction among the feathered tribe, ” 
[From ‘Hawks and Owls as Related to the 
Farmer.’ By A. K, Fisher, M. D., a paper in 
‘Yearbook of the U. S. Department of 
Agriculture, 1894.’ | 
the 
