58 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 10-No. 4 



to rely on my hands more and not entirely on my 

 feet when shinning a big tree. The older a man 

 grows the wiser he becomes as a rule, and very 

 few men of reason will attempt to climb a danger- 

 ous tree after arriving at the age of discretion. 

 If I should see a man of 40 or 50 shinning a large 

 rough-barked tiee with climbers, I would say 

 " an old fool is the biggest fool of all." Don't 

 risk your life for one set of eggs. 



Lunch. Hard boiled eggs and bread and but- 

 ter are enough for any man if he likes them. A 

 slice of meat goes well. Don't take too much 

 along, but a gootl sciuare meal. No coffee or tea. 

 Plenty of good water almost eveiy where. I used 

 to collect with a friend who carried lemons and 

 sugar, and insisted on making lemonade several 

 times during the day. He was a first rate hand 

 at a picnic. He sold out his collection cheap and 

 soon lost his interest in Natural History. An 

 enthusiastic collector often forgets to eat his lunch 

 tor lioius aftertime, and the majority I think, 

 when collecting eat their lunches on the move. 



W/ii(t You Don't Want. Do not encumber 

 yourself with a hatchet, revolver, cartridge belt, 

 heavy game bag, duck C!\ll, dog, heavy boots, 

 wliiskey bottle or any other of the dozen useless 

 things to a collector, but generally considered 

 necessary to a hunter. Go light. Wear the old- 

 est clothes you have. You are not a dude on e.v- 

 hibition, but a collector at work. Wear a flannel 

 shirt; a slouch, or straw hat according to season ; 

 Light i)anis and vest, a light coat too if necessary, 

 but you had better leave it at home if the weather 

 permits. Wear the lightest slioes you can get of 

 good leather. Never wear boots. No danger of 

 snakes. If you are afraid, stay at home. Never 

 mind the color of your clothes, any color is good, 

 only let them be dirty and worn. If they are not 

 so, they soon will be. Many writers talk of dead- 

 leaf suits and pepper and salt as the best to wear 

 in the woods, as the game can't see you. Don't 

 be afraid of that. If you go slow the game won't 

 see you, and if you are not good at woodcraft, no 

 matter what you wear you will be seen as soon as 

 j'ou reach the game. And further, you don't 

 want a lot of fellow collectors along with you or 

 little boys of the neighborhood. Never go out with 

 more than two, a single companion is better. 

 Most of my collecting has been done when en- 

 tirely alone, and my best work has always oc- 

 curred when on a long tramp alone. 



CAMPING OUT. You need something addi- 

 tional when camping out while on a collecting 

 trip. Jlore food and clothing as well as ammuni- 

 tion, arsenic, iic. I have slept on the bare ground 

 next to a fire many times after a hard day's work 

 in woods and fields. But it is not agreeable. I re- 



call to mind one frij) when we camped in a small 

 grove near a large marsh which we had been col- 

 lecting in, and from which we emerged wet to 

 the skin, having been in the water a good deal. 

 We only had straw for bedding, and did not bring 

 any blankets, as they occupied too much space in 

 a twelve miles tramp. We might have gone to a 

 farm house, but were too enthusiastic to sTecp be- 

 neath a roof, and the chances are that the farmer 

 would have rejected any such an offer wlien he 

 saw our muddy condition. The night was quite 

 cool, and as the fire partially died out, we turned 

 uneasily on our hard beds and changed sides, 

 freezing on one side and roasting on the other. 

 A gust of wind caused a spark to ignite the straw 

 on which Ben was sleeping, and before we could 

 lend a hand the flames had caught his coat, which, 

 though warranted " all wool" soon had a hole in 

 it of such magnitude, that the wearer had to loop 

 it uj) with string, and on his return to the city, 

 caused him to steal to his home after the shades 

 of night had fallen. A good heavy blanket is 

 enough for a healthy man during May and June, 

 if lie understands building a fire. A small shelter 

 tent large enough for two, is not inconvenient to 

 carry. I would recommend the readers of the 

 "O. and O." to secure Nessmuk's "Woodcraft," 

 price |1.00, which contains a great deal of valu- 

 able information, and particularly on the point of 

 camping, and camp cookery. When you go for 

 a few days' collecting trip, I advise you to sleep 

 at night in farm houses, if possible, or in the 

 barns, if the farmer thinks you unfit for the house, 

 but if you prefer to sleep out, take blankets. 

 Always walk. Don't ride unless you have a 

 limited time for collecting, and the grounds are a 

 good way off. I don't think much of collectors 

 who always ride to the woods and lakes. They 

 miss a great deal on the way. When you go 

 camping and want to economize in space and 

 weight, carry dried beef. There is nothing like it. 

 Your Work in. the Field. Rise at 1, 3 or 3 

 .\. M., according to the distance you have to go to 

 reach the grounds. You want to be on the spot 

 when the birds begin to sing. I have arisen at 

 3, and had my days' stock of birds to skin before 

 5. 1 have walked twelve miles before breakfast. You 

 can't get up too early in the Spring, when the 

 birds are migrating or laying. Your most im- 

 portant work, of course, if you are a thorough 

 student of Ornithology, is the keeping of records 

 of arrivals, dates of nesting, observations of all 

 kinds, on song, habits, food, &c., ifcc. Your note 

 book is rapidly filling as you walk along. You 

 add a new arrival here, speak of the first nest of 

 a species there, and keep writing as you stop now 

 and then in your walk across country. Finally 



