'72 



THE OOLOGIST. 



makes no difference to them whether it 

 be clay or night. It is the hunters par- 

 adise. Bears are few, although several 

 have been killed there in the last few 

 years. Deer are more- common, while 

 wild-cats, raccoons, foxes, oppossums 

 and squirrels abound in numbers. 



The specimens- Avhich T value most, 

 however, are the skins of three fine 

 Ivory-billed Woodpeckers. I saw eight 

 of the birds and also saw one of them 

 leave a hole, high up in a hickory tree 

 — How I wanted to get up there ! But 

 it was utterly impossible. 



As we traveled on, during the third 

 day the trees became smaller— under- 

 brush began to appear, and we were 

 through the hammock, but that day we 

 came upon a sour orange grove and it 

 was a beautiful sight, as the trees were 

 full of the white, wax-like flowers with 

 the previous crop of golden fruit, which 

 does not fall still upon the branches. 



Leaving this we came to the open 

 country and at once obtained quantities 

 of smaller game— rabbits, quail etc., 

 and soon came upon a large plantation 

 the owner of which entertained lis with 

 stories of adventures with wild animals 

 and with the Seminole Indians who 

 once inhabitated those parts. These we 

 took with a grain of salt and next morn- 

 ing started for home, this time prefer- 

 ing to go around the hammock instead 

 of through. 



If any of the readers of this ever have 



the chance, by all means make the 



trip. 



R. B., Whitehead, 



Westfield, N. J. 



A True Naturalist- 



There are Oologists of many descript- 

 ions, some collect for the money there 

 is in it, some to outdo their friends and 

 again there is the true lover of nature, 

 who is prying into the secret lockers of 

 Dame Nature in search of new truths, 



and in their pursuit he finds the study 

 of Oology a great assistance. 



I have a very poor opinion of a man's 

 morals who will collect birds eggs for 

 the money there is in it. 



Such a man cannot give us true de- 

 scriptions of the birds, their habits and 

 surroundings. His aims are selfish and 

 sordid. His preceptions are blunted 

 and the beauties of nature effect him 

 only in regard to their ■ market value . 

 Not so with the enthusiast, the true 

 lover of nature, Ask him what he sees 

 in taking long tramps through the 

 country in rain and snow in the winter 

 and in the torrid heat of summer, often 

 returning empty-handed. Ask him 

 why he does this, and he will say I 

 know not, a voice seems to be calling 

 me away to the forests, I have no 

 choice but to go. I seem to enter into 

 a new life. The forests are no longer 

 lonely, but the birds are singing hymns 

 of praise, the old oaks are whispering 

 their secrets to the south wind, and all 

 nature animate and inanimate seem to 

 be uniting in praise to its Maker. 

 . Oh! that all naturalists had that finer 

 preception that they might see into the 

 secrets of nature. We would be nobler, 

 truer men, what a bond of brotherhood 

 there is between naturalists, what con- 

 fidence they place one in another. I 

 have often been asked when making an 

 exchange. What do you know about 

 that fellow ? Why do you send him 

 those valuable specimens? What guar- 

 antee have you that he will return 

 value for value? I smile and say, that 

 man is a naturalist, he and I belong to 

 the same brotherhood. He will not 

 cheat me, how do I know this? I know 

 that a man who can read the pages of 

 the book Nature has laid before him, 

 gains good habits and good thoughts, 

 and I know a true naturalist is a true 

 man. 



I have corrosponcled with a number 

 of naturalists for several years. I do not 



