THE OOLOGIST. 



247 



delphia; but after taking into more ser- 

 ious consideration the advanced age of 

 Mr. Bartram and the weakness of his 

 eye-sight and other inabilities to en- 

 counter the fatigues of such an extend- 

 ed journey, he had given up all hopes 

 of accomplishing the enterprise; till he 

 learned of the expedition the goA r ern- 

 raent contemplated dispatching to the 

 Red River, the Arkansas and other tri- 

 butaries of the Mississippi. He assured 

 his Excellency that his services would 

 be of advantage and at the same time 

 would afford an opportunity of procur- 

 ing subjects for the work which he had 

 so much at heart. Being accustomed to 

 the hardship of travel, without a family 

 and an enthusiastic in the pursuit of 

 Natural History he begs leave to offer 

 himself for any of these expeditions. 



For some unknown reason Wilson 

 failed to receive a reply to his letter, 

 nor did he receive an appointment to 

 accompany the expedition. One of 

 Wilson's biographers has chose to re- 

 gard his not receiving a reply to his 

 courteous application as "so little did 

 Mr. Jefierson regard the pretensions of 

 genius and the interests of science " 

 We beg to differ with his biographer in 

 this particular as Mr. Jefferson had 

 ever manifested an earnest interest in 

 Natural History. In fact he had pre- 

 pared "Notes upon the Nativral History 

 of Virginia" and had furthermore point- 

 ed out to Wilson a species of bird of 

 which he was unacquainted and of 

 which he wished enlighlment. We may 

 more reasonably suppose that Wilson's 

 letter was miscarried than that it was 

 intentionally neglected. What ever 

 may have been the cause of his failure 

 to receive a reply, Wilson was greatly 

 mortified and disappointed and regard- 

 ed it as having lost the golden oppor- 

 tunity of his life. Although Wilson did 

 succeed a few years later in accomplish- 

 ing a journey down the Ohio, yet the 

 advantages to be gained by accompan- 

 ing a governmental expedition were 

 manifold and wanting in this later 

 journey. 



The American and Least Bitterns in Henry 

 County, Ills. 



American Bitteen. 



This year I was very fortunate in 

 procuring sets of eggs from this bird. 

 Last year a thorough search did not re- 

 veal a single nest and they were almost 

 unknown to the "boys" with whom I 

 visited while hunting in the swamps. 



These swamps cover about a town- 

 ship and are at times covered with 

 water from a few inches to 3 feet deep. 

 Most of my sets were taken in- ponds 

 around the margain or on the divide be- 

 tween this swamp and one sourh of it. 



My first set was taken May 22nd and 

 was of 5 eggs. Fresh. 



The nest was the most elaborate of 

 any I saw and was about 2 feet long by 

 18 inches across and 8 inches thick com- 

 posed of dry rushes of last years growth 

 laid on a bunch of broken down rushes 

 over 3 feet of water, in a pond, perhaps 

 an acre in extent. The rush used in 

 nearly all the nests is a round rush, 

 about the size of a lead pencil and 3 or 

 4 feet high, which is very common in 

 the swamps. 



The nest was nearly flat. 



The eggs vary in color from a dead 

 grass or straw to the green one often 

 sees in grass dried in the shade, the 

 first eggs laid being the most faded and 

 nearly the color of the dead rushes of 

 the nest. The eggs measure 2.02x1.44, 

 2.00x1 42, 2.03x1.41, 2.06x1.42, 2.01x1.44, 

 average 2.02x1.42. 



The bird was on the nest and another, 

 the male perhaps, a few yards away. 



The second set, of 6 eggs, was found 

 in a pond of about 20 acres. 



The nest was a platform of dry rush- 

 es, in a thick patch of green rushes, 

 nearly flat, and only a few inches thick. 



The eggs were nearly all fresh, one 

 or two showing signs of incubation. 

 They measure 2.00x1.46, 2.08x1.47, 2.00x 

 1.46, 2.02x1.42, 2.04x1.46, average 2.03x 

 1.45. In color they run from a yellow- 



