86 



THE OOLOGIST 



This progressed for several days and 

 they were growing fat, but disaster 

 was approaching. They continually 

 quarreled among themselves, and one 

 day in a general free-for-all one of 

 them was killed. When I discovered 

 what had happened the departed one 

 was half eaten. 



This gave me an idea, and I shot 

 several gophers, of which there were 

 large numbers in the vicinity of camp. 

 But I had my trouble for nothing for 

 my pets would not touch them. They 

 had had a taste of fresh blood, and 

 the lust of battle was inherited from 

 many generations of ancestors. They 

 kept fighting among themselves, the 

 stronger killing the weaker, until only 

 one was left. However, the survivor 

 did not stay with me long for in a few 

 days he too died. 



The alpine Three-toed Woodpecker 

 was very common, in fact was the 

 only woodpecker observed in the 

 Big Hole Basin. The Lodgepole Pine 

 in that vicinity was attacked by a 

 beetle known as Dendrochnas monti- 

 cula. The adult beetles bore through 

 the bark and lay their eggs in perpen- 

 dicular channels. The larvae is a 

 small white grub which cuts channels 

 around the tree and will completely 

 girdle it. They will kill a tree in one 

 season. Hundreds of acres of fine 

 timber have been killed. However, the 

 Forest Service has been hard at work 

 and now has the scourge under con- 

 trol, and I think that another season 

 will see them exterminated. 



I frequently saw the Alpine Three- 

 toed Woodpecker on an infested tree 

 searching for Dendrochnas larvae. 

 The bark by that time had become dry 

 and dead, and the woodpeckers chisled 

 it off in large pieces. A number of 

 trees were found from which they had 

 entirely stripped the bark without in 

 any way damaging the channels and 

 workings of the insects. One of these 

 trees is shown in the accompanying 



photograph. This particular tree had 

 been peeled by these woodpeckers 

 from the ground to the top. The tree 

 was about two feet in diameter and 

 about fifty feet high, and very limby. 

 Eashington, Pa. Earle R. Forrest. 



Just From Georgia. 



This is my first time to write, but 

 I love nature and have studied the 

 birds for many years. I may say near- 

 ly ten years for I am ten years old. 

 My mother used to put me in my cart 

 and roll it out under the trees for me 

 to take my nap, and it seems now that 

 I can recall my lullaby from the tree 

 branches overhead: "Phoe-bee-ee-e, 

 Joree! Joree!! Horee!!" 



When I was able to stand alone, 1 

 had a "pen" to stay in. My mother 

 used to place it under the oaks and 

 my face was always turned upward as 

 I answered them back in glee, "Tweet! 

 weet! weet!" 



We are still having frosts in Geor- 

 gia, but it seems to me about all our 

 birds have come back. The Brown 

 Thrush and the old Blue Jay spent the 

 winter with us and the Mocking Bird 

 has been here a month; but this morn- 

 ing the grove surrounding our house 

 is fairly alive with songsters, and 

 bright colors. At one time, I could 

 see a yellow hammer, some Robins, 

 Red-birds, Jays, Red-headed Woodpeck- 

 ers and a limb full of wild canaries. 

 I am watching to see how many are 

 going to nest in the houses I have 

 made for them. 



Flying squirrels have taken posses- 

 sion of one house. They are such cun- 

 ning little creatures, I just let them 

 stay. Chipmunks come to our sleep- 

 ing porch and scamper across the bed 

 and so do the flying squirrels. We 

 live in a pretty wood and as we never 

 harm the wild life about us the little 

 creatures do not fear us. 



n ii T-, i ^ • Lynn Taylor. 

 College Park, Georgia. J 



