Vol i90? IV ] General Notes. 449 



279 some what resembles it. I copied this from A picture in Mr. Clark's 

 Collection of Paintings." Some of our modern bird skinners might get 

 amusement, if not inspiration, from the methods in vogue over two hundred 

 years ago, for in his "Directions for preserving All Animals, viz; Beasts, 

 Birds, Fishes, Serpents, Insects, Shells, Fossills &c. so as to keep" he says: 

 "Thirdly, as to Fowls, those that are large, if we cannot have their Cases 

 whole, their Heads, Legs and Wings will be acceptable: but smaller birds 

 are easily preserved entire, by Opening their Bodies which is best done by 

 cutting them under the Wing, and take out their entrails, and then Shutt 

 them with Oakham or Tow mixt with, pitch or Tar and being thoroughly 

 dried in the sun, wrap them up Close & keep them from moisture." 

 I know nothing of Roger North who so laboriously transcribed these 

 works but if he had a monument of marble it is not better preserved than 

 this one of paper and nut-gall ink. — Frank S. Daggett, Oak Park, III. 



Supplemental Note to 'A Lapland Longspur Tragedy.' ' — Mr. A. D. 

 Brown of Pipestone, Pipestone Co., in replying to the letter of inquiry 

 sent to him said that twice before in his experience in southwestern Minne- 

 sota, extending over a period of twenty-five years, there had been similar 

 considerable destructions of Lapland Longspurs occurring in the spring 

 of the year under like climatic conditions. One of these he describes in 

 some detail as he observed it at Pipestone. A sleet had fallen which 

 froze as it fell, covering the earth with a layer of ice on which three inches 

 of soft wet snow fell. That night the migrating Longspurs entered this 

 ice and snow covered area, many of them hungry and weary, and being 

 unable to procure food finally fell from exhaustion and were either killed 

 by injuries received in striking various objects or remained fluttering 

 about on the ground until the sun rapidly melted the snow and ice the next 

 morning, thus uncovering the fallen seed supply, from which they secured 

 sufficient food to restore their strength and permit them to continue on 

 their way. By afternoon all these birds were gone. Mr. Brown thinks 

 this failure of the food supply the correct explanation of the phenomenon, 

 because when the live birds were picked up that night they fed greedily 

 from seeds provided and quickly gained sufficient strength to fly away. 

 Also the stomachs of many dead birds examined were empty although 

 the bodies were fat. During the early winter, when the Longspurs are 

 abundant, the snow is dry and blows off the ridges and fields, and then, too, 

 the weed tops projecting above the snow still contain many seeds which 

 are later shaken out by the high winds. During the wet snowfalls of early 

 spring, conditions are quite different and the ground-feeding seed-eaters 

 occasionally find their food supply suddenly withdrawn over wide areas. 

 Three was no snow at Pipestone at the time of the last destruction and 

 although the Longspurs were present in great numbers none perished at 



1 Published in this number of 'The Auk', pp. 369-377. This note was received 

 from the author too late to be added as a footnote at the end of the article. — Edd. 



