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 residentof 

 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. 



