THE SCOOP-NET AND MIRROR. 21 



Another plan, in the case of long, dangerously 

 weak branches, is to tie a rope securely under your 

 arms, and attach it firmly to the trunk at the right 

 height above you. You can then crawl out upon 

 the shaky limb and take the chances of its breaking, 

 assured that the rope will save you from falling very 

 seriously. This sort of thing should be a last resort, 

 nevertheless. 



THE SCOOP-NET AND MIRROR. 



A young ornithologist at Westerly, R. I., has de- 

 vised an ino^enious method of securin": es:s^s from 

 nests at the extremities of limbs, and other inacces- 

 sible places, where the nests are not Avanted. It was 

 suggested by his desire to obtain woodpeckers' eggs 

 where he could not reach down into the burrow and 

 was not allowed to cut into the tree, as one can some- 

 times do in wild land. To overcome the difficulty 

 he took a piece of steel-spring wire, brought the ex- 

 tremities together, and inserted them into the split 

 end of a handle, about the size of a lead-pencil, 

 which is scarfed at that end. A little muslin bag is 

 then fitted to the wire, forming a scoop-net. When 

 not in use the wire and l>ag are rolled around the 

 handle and confined l^y a metal cap, for which pur- 

 pose a pistol-cartridge shell answers very well, and 

 can easily be carried in the vest-pocket. When the 



