NATURE ADVENTURES IN THE NATION'S CAPITAL 



231 



such trips, including moths ciiid butterflies, the best way 

 to do is to follow the instructions given in the works of 

 some of our most competent entomologists and there 

 are a number of them. Perhaps one of the best of these 



ONE OF THE PRETTY AND INTERESTING LITTLE MINNOWS TO 

 BE CAUGHT IN THE POTOMAC 



I- :: 5. In some localities these litlle fellows are known as "Killifishes," 

 and are much sought after for bait by fishermen. 



is to be found in the last chapter of Dr. L. O. Howard's 

 work entitled "The Insect Book." 



Nearly every large city has a naturalist's establishment, 

 where the necessary outfit for collecting and preserving 

 insects may be obtained. Such work is extremely inter- 

 esting and important, not only 

 for explorers and field natural- 

 ists generally, but for all well- 

 informed forester^ and experts 

 on trees in general. 



Apart from being a naturalist 

 and explorer, it should be the 

 pride of every efficient forester 

 to collect, study, and rear speci- 

 mens of every insect pest in the 

 region where he is stationed, be 

 this in the District of Columbia 

 or elsewhere ; that is 'to say, such 

 insects or their larvae as are in 

 any way harmful to the trees of 

 our forests. It is not a bad idea 

 to devote one good-sized room in 

 one's home to this work, where- 

 in should be installed a special 

 library; cases for the collections Fi s- Th 

 and specimen exhibits ; vivaria 

 for breeding insects, and the rest. A small studio for 

 photographic purposes is a most useful if not necessary 

 adjunct to such an establishment. 



It goes without saying that one of the chief groups 

 presented for study and observation the one that has 

 as great an interest for us as perhaps any other are the 



birds of the region explored; and, as represented in the 

 District of Columbia, the number and variety of species 

 occurring during the vernal and autumnal migrations, as 

 well as during the intervening seasons, is sufficiently 

 great to occupy the time of any expert observer for the 

 better part of every day in the week. For years past' 

 the economic ornithologists of the various bureaux con- 

 nected with such work have collected large numbers of 

 the different species of insect-eating birds for the sole 

 purpose of examining the contents of their stomachs, in 

 order to ascertain whether any particular species of in- 

 sectivorous birds was inimical to man's agricultural or 

 other interests, or the reverse. Many hundreds of our 

 songsters have been sacrificed in that such information 

 might be obtained and made permanent record of for the 

 enlightenment of any one having use for it. It would 

 seem that researches of this order have been carried far 

 enough for all practical purposes ; so that, at this time, 

 the explorer may, in any section of the District of Colum- 

 bia, when listening to the early morning chorus of bird 

 songs in April, in the secluded parts of some piece of 

 woods or other, eliminate the thought from his mind as 

 to what the contents of the stomach of any species may 

 be. Surely one may now listen to and enjoy the rich 

 songs of our wood thrushes, our catbirds, and our many 

 other avian songsters, without the ever-present "com- 

 mercial" or "man's interest" idea being forever brought 

 to mind. 



There is plenty of work left for bird observers in the 

 case of those who make explorations into the wilder 

 parts of the District, aside from what most people regard 

 as rather gruesome researches. The relative number of 



A BIG SNAPPING TURTLE CAPTURED BY THE WRITER 



DISTRICT LINE 



IN A CREEK CLOSE TO THE 



s a most dangerous and vicious representative of its tribe, 

 very serious bite. 



and quite capable of inflicting a 



species seen during the migration always furnishes inter- 

 esting, not to say important, data for record. The in- 

 crease or decrease of the enemies of birds is always 

 worthy of investigation, as is likewise true of the dates 

 of arrival and departure of the various species during 

 the migrations. Sometimes it will be noted that a cer- 



