64 
more than amply represented, to the éxclusion of many 
others equally important, or in some cases a great mining 
State was not represented at all. In all but one or two 
cases the labels, by means of which the public derives all its 
concrete information, were without other than local and 
Superficial information; very often they were carefully 
concealed beneath the specimens they should have de- 
scribed, or illegible, or in aforeigh language unknown to 
the average visitor. In the German exhibit no account 
was made of the products and methods which for seven 
hundred years have made of Saxon Freiberg the Mecca 
of the miner and metallurgist. The superb collection of 
iron from Sweden, which was one of the chief attractions 
of the Centennial, was not represented by anything worthy 
to be mentioned in comparison, and though Germany ex- 
hibited a fine column of steel rails and the peerless Krupp 
products, these latter were housed in the Krupp building 
by themselves. 
So far as this part of the fair was designed as a means 
of instructing the public, its value was much less than 
that of the corresponding department of the earlier ex- 
position. While it is not claimed that there may not 
have been sections in which the display at the Columbian 
fair was superior to that of 1876 in other respects than in 
mere size, the writer firmly believes that the earlier fair 
was better as an educator and that its influence on 
American industrial progress will prove to have been more 
far-reaching and salutary than the stupendous Spectacle 
just concluded. 
OWL NOTES. 
BY A. W. ANTHONY, SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA. 
In arecent number of Sczence Mr. E. J. Hill gives an 
interesting account of capturing an owl under circum- 
stances that might lead the reader tothink that members 
of the owl family were dazed by sunlight. This may be 
the case with some owls, but I have, as yet, never fallen 
in with any so affected. There is no doubt that the 
bright glare of the sun is disagreeable to some species, 
but after flushing a short-eared ow] and witnessing the 
ease with which it threads its way through tangled shrub- 
bery, despite the sunlight, all doubts regarding their 
vision at such times will be set aside. 
Very often, however, an owl will, in hopes of remaining 
unobserved, allow a person to pass remarkably near, often 
assuming an attitude suggestive of the knots on the limb 
on which it is perching, 
Long-eared owls are often very averse to flying, judging 
from my observations. I have suddenly come upon one 
face to face, and sometimes several that were passing the 
day in a dense willow, and they immediately assumed a 
rigid, stick-like position, drawing themselves up to twice 
their natural length, evidently trusting to their resem- 
blance to the surrounding stubs and branches, which was 
by no means slight. Lo escape notice—so great is their 
faith in the protection afforded them by this resemblance, 
when several are together, as is often the case in winter— 
one or more may be shot without the rest showing so 
much as by the movement of a feather that they are 
disturbed. 
On one occasion a friend with whom I was hunting came 
upon five of these owls all in a row ona limb of a giant 
cottonwood. Beginning at one end of the line he shot 
them all, one after another, his last shot starting a sixth, 
which he had not seen, from a perch in the same tree. 
When I arrived upon the scene we began looking for the 
. escaped owl, but failed to discover it. As we were leaving, 
SCIENCE. 
Vol. XXIII. No. 574. 
however, my eye chanced to fall upon what, at first, 
appeared to be an abnormal growth on the trunk of a 
small sapling near us, but which, upon a second glance, 
proved to be a little screech-owl. With its back against 
the trunk of a tree it was drawn up to its fullest height, 
all its feathers drawn tight against its body, its ear tufts 
erect. It looked to be twice its normal length, and so 
closely didit resemble the gray bark and branches that, 
unprotected as it was by leaves or twigs and in the strong 
glare of a bright winter’s day, its discovery was purely 
accidental. Our tracks in the snow provedthat we had 
several times passed within ten feet of the bird, and it 
was quite evident that it was aware of our presence; for 
while it made not the slightest movement, it watched us 
constantly through its half-closed lids, trusting, no doubt, 
to escape detection, but ready to fly if the occasion re- 
quired. 
On another occasion, while collecting birds along the 
Platte River, I discovered a screech-owl in a very similar 
position. T he mor ning was very cold, and Megascops had 
sought the sunny side of a small cottonwood, where, with 
its back against the trunk, it was enjoying the gratefnl 
warmth of the bright sun. When discovered it had 
assumed such an attenuated position that, although quite 
close, I was by no means sure that it was not a broken 
branch that had attracted my attention. Thinking to 
secure a specimen but slightly mutilated, I fired at it with 
dust shot, but was surprised to see not the slightest move- 
ment from the statue in gray before me. Could it be that 
Ihad been deceived after all and had fired at a knot? 
Half inclined to believe that such was the case, I went for- 
ward to investigate and when within fifteen feet could see 
that I was closely watched through narrow slits between 
the lids. Not a movement was made, however, until I 
was about to lay my hands on it, and then my owl quietly 
slipped around the tree and was gone. It is probable 
that my shot, being so fine, had not penetrated the 
feathers, as it was not injured in any way apparently. 
I once caught a screech-owl on her nest, and while I 
was by no means gentle in bringing her out into the open 
air, she was, apparently, sound asleep, and no amount of 
handling would awaken her. I whistled in her ear, 
opened her wings and laid her down on a limb, all to no 
purpose. Megascops had evidently been out all night and 
did not propose to be disturbed by such trifles. While in- 
vestigating the contents of the nest she was allowed to lie 
on a branch for some minutes but gave no sign of life, 
but I no sooner attempted to drop her to the ground than 
she revived. Before she had dropped a foot the wings 
opened, and away sailed my owl, as much awake as any 
bird and probably congratulating herself upon a piece of 
very clever acting. 
—D. Van Nostrand Company, 23 Murray and 27 Warren 
streets, New York, design issuing the new edition of their 
complete catalogue of scientific books in sections, of which 
Parts 1 and 2 are now ready. The others are in prepara- 
tion and will be issued in the order named, and copies wiil 
be sent gratis on application, as soon as issued. Part 1, 
Steam and Mechanical Engineering; Part 2, Electricity 
and Magnetism; Part 3, Chemical and Physical Science; 
Part 4, Civil Engineering; Part 5, Manufactures and 
Industrial Arts and Processes; Part 6,Geology, Mineralogy, 
Mining and Metallurgy; Part 7, Hydraulics and Water 
Supply; Part 8, Astronomy, Meteorology and Navigation; 
Part 9, Architecture, Building, Carpentry and Decoration; 
Part 1o, Shipbuilding, Naval Architecture, Yacht and 
Boat Sailing and Building; 11, Drawing, Painting, and 
Photography; 12, Mathematics. 
