THH OOLOGIST 



153 



Bird Boxes. f 



This is the time of year when ar- 

 raugements should be made to provide 

 nesting places for the birds that nest 

 in the vicinity of dwellings and which 

 nest in hollow trees, old openings and 

 the like. In preparing nesting places 

 for the Wren no openings should be 

 left in excess of one inch in diameter 

 because if it is, it will be promptly oc- 

 cupied by the miserable English Spar- 

 row. 



I have taken a great deal of pleas- 

 ure in perusing these pages each 

 month, and would not miss it for any 

 amount. There are some very good 

 notes on various bird acts, and I have 

 also used the exchange notes and 

 have found my dealings with the var- 

 ious parties listed there entirely satis- 

 factory. I wish to compliment The 

 Oologist on its improvements the last 

 two years. 

 July IS, 1912. 



J. H. Trumbull. 



A Freak Set of Cardinals. 

 I found a set of Cardinal eggs May 

 1st, that I thought was unusual. One 

 egg was solid dark brown with no 

 markings; the second egg was pure 

 white with several brown spots on 

 large end; the third egg looked more 

 like a brown thrust, speckled all over. 

 The fourth egg was a cowbird. 



Ramon Graham. 



An Explanation. 



The following communication will 

 explain and clear up that which has 

 been more or less of a mystery for 

 some time past. — Editor. 



Aug. 11, 1915. 

 Mr. R. M. Barnes, 



Lacon, 111. 

 Dear Sir: 



Sometime ago when it was necessary 

 for me to give up active work in orni- 

 thology on account of my health, I 

 turned over my collection and library 

 to a very dear friend who is none 

 other than my mother, Geo. Priestly. 

 This is my mother's maiden name and 



*is a signature she uses in many of 

 her communications. I have power 

 of attorney from her as has my father 

 also to use this signature in various 

 advertisements as well as checks and 

 orders if necessary. Furthermore we 

 have not had one complaint in our 

 transactions, but have had many ex- 

 pressions of entire satisfaction. 



I hope you understand that this is 

 no ficticious signature and that the 

 above statement is correct. 



Yours very sincerely, 



P. F. Osburn. 

 August 11, 1915. 



Mr. R. M. Barnes, 



Lacon, 111. 

 Dear Sir: 



I wish to say that the enclosed ex- 

 planation is true and that through the 

 loss of health only could my son be 

 persuaded by me to give up his orni- 

 thology work which he so dearly loved. 



I have worked with him on many 

 of his collecting trips and have always 

 been extremely interested in it my- 

 self. 



I have advertised using his signa- 

 ture, Geo. Priestly, which is my name 

 and have given him power of attorney 

 to reply to the advertisements using 

 the same signature. 



I believe you still have an ad run- 

 ning in your magazine and I wish it 

 discontinued as it has run several 

 months. I not only attend to business 

 matters for my son but for my hus- 

 band also using my own signature. 



Trusting the above will clear the in- 

 quiry of yours, under date of July 24th, 



I am, 



Most truly yours, 



Geo. Priestly. 



This advertisement has been drop- 

 ped from THE OOLOGIST and will 

 not appear again while this magazine 

 remains under the present manage- 

 ment. We believe our patrons and 

 those dealing with our advertisers are 

 entitled to know exactly who they are 

 dealing with, and will do our utmost 

 to protect them from misapprehension 

 in this respect, regardless of how it 

 may arise. 



R. M. Barnes. 



