THE OOLOGIST. 



^C'^') 



77 



appealing to our mind as at all satis- 

 factory- During over twenty years 

 of collecting we have secured many 

 exceedingly curious specimens of ab- 

 normal eggs of many species. At 

 this time we have runt eggs of the 

 following A_ O. U. numbers: 



51, Herring Gull; 119, Coot; 144, 

 Wood Duck; 388 Yellow-billed Cuckoo; 

 393, Hairy Woodpecker; 418 Red- 

 shafted Flicker; 816, Bank Swallow; 

 631, White Eyed Vireo; 637, Prothonot- 

 ary Warbler; 761, Robin; E. S. English 

 Sparrow; besides a considerable num- 

 ber of otherwise abnormal eggs of 

 numerous other species. It is our 

 purpose to color plate a number of 

 the rarer of these in due time in THE 

 OOLOGIST if the suport given this 

 publication justifies the expenditure. 

 There is also in this place another col- 

 lection containing splendid runts of 

 325 Turkey Buzzards; and 373b, Texan 

 Screech Owl. 



The laying of runt eggs is more 

 common with domestic fowl than with 

 wild birds, in our observation. — 

 Editor. 



An Apology. 



It is unpleasant to admit error, and 

 more unpleasant to apologize therefor; 

 and still much more so to be com- 

 pelled so to do at the very threshold 

 of an undertaking. A good maxim for 

 public speakers is "never commence 

 your address with an apology — no 

 matter what the excuse you might be 

 able to offer." 



Yet we deem it due our readers to 

 explain the wonderful and fearful 

 make-up of last month's issue — our 

 first. The copy of this issue was 

 mailed to the printer with very ex- 

 plicit directions as to the order of 

 printing the copy sent. But the 



printer being nearly a thousand miles 

 from us, turned the matter over to an 

 employee, without further attention, 



and the result is a number of THE 

 OOLOGIST of which we are heartily 

 ashamed. 



The portrait of the present proprie- 

 tor should of course have followed 

 immediately after the article giving 

 the reason for the purchase of the 

 publication by us. The blunder of 

 printing it amongst the advertising 

 matter, and substituting in its proper 

 place, a memorial notice relating to 

 some former subscribers who had 

 passed over, was bad enough; but as 

 it was personal to us, we could have 

 stood for it. 



But when we discovered Mr. Printer 

 had taken our humerous reference to 

 the newspaper note on "Disasters 

 Caused by a Horned Owl" on page 

 61 and transferred it to page 58, im- 

 mediately preceding the article relat- 

 ing to Mr. C. L. Rawson's Quail Trap 

 Eagles, it appeared to us the extreme 

 limit had been reached. Nothing more 

 foreign to our mind could be possible 

 than any intent to cast suspicion or 

 ridicule upon Mr. Rawson_ His stand- 

 ing as naturalist and rank as ^ col- 

 lector is too well and too long estab- 

 lished to be affected by an error of 

 this sort. It is a pleasure to thus 

 publicly set the matter right. 



Look but! 



Editor Oologist: 



I wish you would state in the pub- 

 lication and you are at liberty to do 

 so over my name, that there is a party 

 at Livermore, Iowa, who writes under- 

 two different names and who is offer- 

 ing some very rare sets of eggs many 

 of them species unknown to science. 

 Sets of Passenger Pigeons and Caro- 

 lina Paraquet seem to prevail and he 

 seems to be able to supply an unlimi- 

 ted number. I have seen sets of about 

 twenty of these very rare species and 

 I do not hesitate to pronounce them 

 fraudulent. Collectors should be wary. 

 Yours very truly, 

 JOHN LEWIS CHILDS. 



