CERTAIN QUESTIONS ANSWERED. 271 



birds, kept away from dust and moths are an invaluable aid. 

 It is the fate of the vast majority of birds to die violent deaths, 

 and it seems to me that it is no worse* for the bird to live in 

 effigy for the interests of science than to die uncounted by the 

 talons of the hawk and owl and by the teeth of fox, skunk, 

 and weasel. Full well I know the thirst for knowledge that 

 prompts the boy to make a closer acquaintance of what he 

 only half sees at a distance ; full well I know, if parents and 

 policemen do not, the mysteries of the deadly air-gun and pop- 

 gun and sling-shot. " Better the eyes should see than that 

 desire should wander," said the Preacher, who perhaps remem- 

 bered that he had once been a boy. 



A representative and fairly satisfactory collection would be : 

 One of any species of Grebe, Gull, Duck, Grouse, Heron (the 

 least Bittern would be the smallest, the Bittern more fairly 

 representative), Sandpiper (or Plover, or both), Hawk, Owl, 

 Cuckoo or Kingfisher, Woodpecker, Blackbird, Sparrow, Fly- 

 catcher, Bluejay, Swift, Swallow, Warbler, Robin. This would 

 give types of eighteen of the best-known families. 



Specimens of the commoner species are not expensive, 

 from. 75 cents to $1.50. Small birds, if not of rare species, 

 cost less than large ones. All specimens should be mounted 

 on stands and fully labelled. All must be kept in air-tight 

 glass cases with locked doors, and with camphor or naphthaline 

 in the case to drive away moths and dermestes. If this is not 

 done, the collection is sure to be ruined shortly. 



While a local taxidermist may be able to supply good speci- 

 mens, I take pleasure in naming (without their permission) 

 two firms well known for their fair dealing: H. A. Ward, 

 2 College Ave., Rochester, N.Y., and Charles K. Worthen, 

 Warsaw, Hancock, 111. By merely stating that the collection 

 is for school use and the amount of money to be expended 

 on it, these firms will furnish a better selection of well- 

 prepared specimens than the novice would be able to choose 

 for himself. 



