[Vol. 11-No. 5 


74 ORNITHOLOGIST 


annealed wire will sometimes bend in forcing it 
through. I have given this subject much atten- 
tion and consider it useless to give any other than 
the above method. There is no secret except 
patience and perseverance. 
RECEIPT FOR MAKING BIRD LIME, ETC, 
By request I give the following receipt for bird 
lime: Take one pint of linseed oil, put it in a 
pot of not less than three times that capacity ; 
place over a slow fire and stir while boiling with 
a wooden spatula; continue until it is thick as 
required. This can be determined by cooling the 
spatula in water and trying if it will stick to the 
hand. When sufficiently done pour in cold water 
and it will be ready for use. Use care that the 
pot is one that is not liable to break by the fire. 
This is a good undertaking for a mid-summer 
day, when the thermometer is 112° in the shade. 
A white paint that will not turn yellow can be 
made from either of the following formulas : 
1. Mix white lead and varnish, add a very little 
blue, not enough to shade it. 2. Dry white lead 
ground in shellac ; add enough blue to counter- 
act the yellow of the shellac. Keep in large 
mouthed bottle, well corked. If it becomes thick 
from standing, thin with alcohol. It is the oil in 
paint that turns yellow in time. 
CoRRECTIONS.—‘‘Practical Taxidermy,” page 57, second 
line from bottom of page, read shape for shake. Page 58, 
sixteenth line from fvot of first column, for ‘They claim 
the skull,” ete., read ‘They claim the skin,” etc. 


A Pennsylvania Law Against Hawks. 
BY. J. EN 
On the 23d day of June, 1885, the Governor of 
Pennsylvania approved a law which had been 
passed by the Legislature of that Commonwealth, 
and which is entitled ‘“‘An Act for the destruc- 
tion of wolves, wildcats, foxes, minks, hawks, 
weasels and owls, in this Commonwealth.” (See 
laws of 1885, p. 141). This act provides, cnter 
alia, that there shall be paid, by the respective 
counties in which the same are slain, “for every 
hawk fifty cents, and for every owl, except the 
Acadian Screech or Barn Owl, which is hereby 
exempted from the provisions of this act, fifty 
cents.” It further provides that upon the pro- 
duction of the birds before a magistrate, alder- 
man, or justice of the peace, in the presence of the 
person who killed the birds, the officer shall cut 
off the heads of the latter, and burn them. There- 
upon he shall deliver to the person producing the 
birds, a certificate stating their number and kind, 
and on the production of this certificate to the 
commissioners of the county, they shall give an 
order on the county treasurer for the payment 
of the premium. 
This is a most unwise law, and one which has 
evidently been passed in the interest of sportsmen 
wishing to preserve game, rather than for the 
benefit of farmers. Let any intelligent person 
carefully read the article entitled “A Plea for the 
Hawks,” which appeared in the March number 
of Tie ORNITHOLOGIST AND OO LOGIST, and it 
will be apparent that hawks are among the most 
useful birds to be found in the State. The preju- 
dice against them is due to ignorance, and thie 
law above cited is a disgrace to the intelligence 
of the law-makers of Pennsylvania, and it is hoped 
that it will be speedily repealed. 
—_—_—<2- 
Florida Birds in February, 1886. 

BY A. L. BROWNE, ORLANDO, FLA. 
The Red-winged Blackbirds and Purple Grackles 
have this month far outnumbered any other two 
species, except perhaps the Turkey Buzzard and 
Black Vulture. They were to be found in almost 
all situations, usually searching on the ground 
for food or flying over in flocks large and small 
besides many single birds. 
Though singing during the entire month, it 
was not until the last part that their peculiar 
notes became conspicuous; then they could be 
heard from morning until night. The two 
species frequented the same places together but 
each kept by itself. 
Robins also were as plenty as last month, and 
their quick alarm notes were a common sound, es- 
pecially in the woods. <A favorite situation was 
in the midst of the pines on the land which had 
been recently burned over, and thus cleared of the 
tall grass, leaving excellent feeding ground. 
The Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Savanna Sparrow, 
Maryland Yellow-throat »nd Yellowbird were 
not seen; the last two I think have left for good. 
Meadow Larks were abundant all the month in 
the pines. Chipping Sparrows greatly decreased 
in numbers, in fact became quite scarce. Red- 
poll Warblers were rather less plenty. 
The Yellow-rump Warblers which had re- 
mained mostly in the hummocks since November, 
spread gradually through the pines and_ into 
orange groves and even the city; here I first saw 
them on the 13th, about some low bushes near a 
house. Saw them there frequently afterwards; as 
usual they were always actively engaged in catch- 
ing insects. In the pines they were often in 
company with the Red-poll Warblers. The first 
prominent arrival from the south appeared in the 
Purple Martin, on the 18th, when I saw a female 
