Sept. 1890.] 



a:n^d oologist. 



U.'J 



working out on limbs, as far as I dared, I was 

 just able to reach the nest with the net, and 

 carefully pushing it in the nest and underneath 

 the eggs 1 had the satisfaction of seeing them 

 disappear within, and in a few seconds they 

 were in my possession and wrapped in the 

 wool, and packed away in the collecting box. 

 Then knocking the nest off with the net and 

 dropping both to the ground, I was soon with 

 them, right side up, and this time with my 

 eggs and nest safe and sound. Then shooting 

 the 9. I left for home. 



The nest is a very crude and shallow affair 

 made of lootlets and twigs and lined very 

 slightly with a little long, gray moss. The 

 nest measures 2J^ inches on the inside, 0% 

 inches outside, and 1'^ inches deep. The eggs 

 are very pretty, having a yellowish-white 

 ground with pale and dark reddish-brown 

 sj)ots. Both nests were built on black spruce 

 trees. Harry Austeii. 



Halifax, N. S. 



Woodchucks Climb Trees 

 Egg Collecting. 



When 



I notice in your last issue you speak of a 

 Woodchuek climlting a tree, and say you think 

 that is veiy unusual. While this is not exactly 

 within the province of either the ornithologist 

 or oologist, perhai)s it Avould not be out of 

 place to state that here in southern Wisconsin 

 it is by no means unusual to find woodchucks 

 in trees. When out looking after eggs I very 

 often see one biying along the horizontal limb 

 of a black oak or burr oak, and on several oc- 

 casions have thrown clubs at them and 

 knocked them down. 



You may put me down as in favor of the 

 old names in preference to the A. O. U. 

 While "arose" would smell as sweet if called 

 by any other name, it would be a great deal 

 harder to convey to other people the idea of 

 what flower you were talking of. The com- 

 mon names belong tn the people, and to try 

 to change them only adds chaos to confusion. 



Stoiifihtoil, Wis. IT" 11'. G. 



names they have started out with, what will 

 they be at the third or fourth change? The 

 following is as likely to appear as anything 

 else: 



OLD NAMES. NEW NAMES. 



Bay-winged Bunting, Snake in the Grass. 

 Snow Bunting, Whirlygig. 



Sparrow Hawk, Mouse Trap. 



Night Hawk, Insect Net. 



Bobolink, Grinde Organ. 



Road lUinner, .1 I C. [washee. 



Spotted Sandpiper, John Chinaman washee 

 Pied-billed Grebe, Sea Cow. 



Fish Hawk, Hell Diver. 



American Bittern, Maish Bull. 



Ruffled Grouse. Thunder Pumper. 



American Crossbill, Ice Tongs. 

 American Flamingo, Oyster Tongs. 

 Great Blue Heron, Straddle Bug. 



Bald Eagle, Jesse James. 



Turkey Buzzard, Old Fragrant. 



White or Whooping 



Crane, Johnny Jumji-up. 



These names will all be new when brought 

 out by the A. O. U. Who is running this 

 world, the Ruler and Preserver of all tilings or 

 the A. O. U.? If the latter, why kick or vote, 

 if they are not, why all this hubbub? 



Mosfihack. 



New Publications. 



Correspondence. 



Editor of O. it 0.: 



We would not object so seriously to the 

 adoption of the new names of some of our 

 birds as coined by the A. O. U. if that would 

 settle it, but it will not. In a few years these 

 new names will become old and must be 

 changed again, and so on from time to 

 time. Considering some of the ridiculous 



There has just come to hand a little book on 

 sanitary and economic cooking which is in- 

 tended to teach people of moderate means how 

 to liv<! cheaply and healthfully. This class 

 surely includes the average naturalist and col- 

 lector beyond a doubt, and our hearts bounded 

 with delight at the thought of being able to 

 economize sufficiently to live within our in- 

 come; but to our great disappointment we 

 could find no instructions how to advanta- 

 geously cook a Warbler after his skin had been 

 duly taken care of, nor how to make an English 

 Sparrow stew, especially available since the 

 late action of our legislative Solons, in putting 

 this bird among the rapacious birds of prey, 

 so injurious to the welfare of the agriculturist; 

 nor yet how to make the flesh of a ("row or 

 Hawk palatable and savory. But after a per- 

 usal of its pages we think that with our limited 

 knowledge of the culinary department and 

 the aid of the necessary scientific apparatus 

 of thermometer and stew kettle, we might be 

 able, with the assistance of an editress, to 

 concoct an appetizing repast out of a very 

 limited aniDunt of raw material. 



"Practical Sanitary and Economic Cook- 

 ing," a prize essay by Mrs. Mary Hinman 

 Abel. 12mo. 190 pp. I'ublished by the Ameri- 

 can I'nblic Health Association. 



