THE OOLOGIST. 



35 



classes, viz.: Scientific collecting, and 

 collecting simply for the purpose of 

 having a collection. The former should 

 be allowed, the latter suppressed, and 

 the sooner the better. 



A great deal of complaint is being 

 made about the destruction of our 

 native birds by killing and by the rob- 

 bing of their nests, but this complaint 

 is mostly done by those who do not 

 stop to make any distinction between 

 these two classes of collectors. 



The destruction done in the name of 

 science is not one-half so great as the 

 wanton destruction done by the boys 

 who collect eggs, put them on a string, 

 and pride themselves on having the 

 greatest number of eggs of the robin or 

 catbird. 



One case comes to my mind while 

 writing, of two boys who, in one day, 

 gathered together 64 eggs of the cat- 

 bird, and all these were broken by 

 them, not one being kept to grace the 

 cabinet of even a "Great American Egg 

 Hog!" 



The nests robbed by this class of col- 

 lectors are mostly those of the small 

 insectivorous birds which nest in our 

 gardens and orchards, the collectors 

 usually lacking that knowledge of 

 birds which enables them to discover 

 any nests except those upon which they 

 stumble by mere chance. 



In most states there is a law prohibit- 

 ing the robbing of birds' nests. I think 

 that scientific collectors should be pro- 

 tected, but the other class should be 

 watched closely and punished to the 

 extent of the law for each and every 

 offense. 



To the "Egg Hog" the bird's egg is 

 nothing, and to him it appears as of no 

 more value than an oval stone, while to 

 the scientific collector it is the most 

 wonderful thing in the world. 



It makes my blood boil within me to 

 think of the great number of eggs that 

 are taken each year, without the cause 

 of science for the collector to lean on. 



But, after all the complaint that has 

 been made against the wanton plunder- 

 ing of birds' eggs, is there any way of 

 putting a stop to it? 



If any of the readers of the Oologist 

 have an opinion on this matter, I would 

 like to hear from them, either person- 

 ally or through the pages of the Oolo- 

 gist. 



"Aix Sponsa," 

 Nebraska City. 



A Perfect Collection. 



It has occurred to me to write a short 

 sketch of a valuable collection of eggs 

 made here in Michigan, and of its 

 owner who possesses some peculiar and 

 laudable traits as a collector. The 

 gentleman referred to is Mr. K. R. 

 Willhelm of this city, Kalamazoo. 

 The sketch given here would appear 

 like an advertisement for him did I not 

 assure your readers that M. W. has 

 never sold any eggs or made any ex- 

 changes from his collection. 



Mr. Willhelm has been engaged in 

 the scientific collecting of eggs for 

 eight years and has devoted his spare 

 time to this interesting pursuit from 

 February to July each season. His 

 occupation is such as to demand nearly 

 all of his attention during the spring 

 months and therefore his time in the 

 field is often limited to a very few days. 

 The devotion exhibited in collecting is 

 only surpassed by his superior skill in 

 preparation of his eggs, and for con- 

 scientious work in saving specimens 

 advanced in incubation, it is fair to say 

 that he has no superior. To my knowl- 

 edge he has removed the contents of 

 the larger hawks' eggs when ready to 

 hatch, through one hole of three-six- 

 teenths inch size. His skill and pro- 

 cess of preparing eggs are entirely 

 from his own efforts and study and are 

 the outcome of patience and love of a 

 perfect collection. 



Mr. Willhelm is an intrepid climber 



