authenticity. Definitions are numerous 

 of words which, while perfectly legiti 

 mate and of Saxon origin and of com 

 mon usage in the age of Elizabeth, are 

 omitted at the present day from lexi 

 cons in deference to the prevalence of 

 a more delicate taste. 



The book contains about one thou 

 sand pages, is printed in a style little 

 dissimilar to present unabridged dic 

 tionaries, and must have been of pro 

 digious assistance to the author's suc 

 cessors. He does not deprecate the 

 labors of his predecessors, whom he 

 acknowledges to have saved him much 

 trouble, but he claims to have omitted 

 their redundancies in order to make 

 room to supply their deficiencies to 

 the extent of several thousand words, 



" in no English dictionary before ex 

 tant," and that he is the first who at 

 tempted an etymological part. 



This very important contribution to 

 English literature far more important 

 then than any similar performance 

 could be now is, strange to say, no 

 where mentioned in what is regarded 

 as the best history of English litera 

 ture. And just here the remark might 

 be appropriately made that omissions 

 of this kind in standard literary his 

 tories and cyclopaedias go far to call 

 in question the qualifications of the 

 editors. A word may be overlooked 

 or forgotten, but a scholar who has 

 contributed substantially to the growth 

 and enrichment of a great language de 

 serves a better fate. 



STELLER'S JAY. 



(Cyanocitta stelleri.} 



The jay is a jovial bird Heigh-ho! 



He chatters all day 



In a frolicsome way 



With the murmuring- breezes that blow 

 Heigh-ho! 



Hear him noisily call 



From the redwood tree tall 

 To his mate in the opposite tree Heigh-ho! 



Saying, "How do you do?" 



As his topknot of blue 

 Is raised as polite as can be Heigh-ho! 



Oh, impudent jay, 



With your plumage so gay, 

 And your manners so jaunty and free 

 Heigh-ho! 



How little you guessed, 



When you robbed the wren's nest, 

 That any stray fellow would see Heigh-ho! 



THIS is an abundant and interest 

 ing cousin of the bluejay and 

 is found along the Pacific coast 

 from northern California north 

 ward. It is a very common resident of 

 Oregon, is noisy, bold, and dashing. 

 The nest of this bird is built in firs 

 and other trees and in bushes, ten to 

 twenty feet from the ground. It is 

 bulky and made of large sticks and 

 twigs, generally put together with 

 mud, and lined with fine, dry 



grasses and hair. The eggs are three 

 to five, pale green or bluish green, 

 speckled with olive-brown, with an 

 average size of i.28x.85- There seems 

 no doubt that many jays have been 

 observed robbing nests of other birds, 

 but thousands have been seen that 

 were not so engaged. It has been 

 shown that animal matter comprises 

 only about twenty-five per cent, of 

 the bird's diet. 



no' 



