THE OOLOGIST 



19 



the young thinw have a little down 

 started, the mark is "A." This is about 

 as far as one can reasonably go; but 

 since even a whilom set of eggs, that is 

 almost ready to hatch may, if rare, be 

 saved by the enthusiastic collector, 

 such eggs might be appropriatly mark- 

 ed "c," that is practically complete, or 

 "C" if absolutely so. 



The complete code then would be as 

 follows: "0-b-B-e-E-a-A-c-C." But 

 one further mark remains to be consid- 

 ered, yet that nearly the most impor- 

 tant of all — infertile eggs should be 

 marked with an "I." 



The value and significance of such a 

 code may partially appear by the cita- 

 tion of an actual entry in my note-book 

 for the current year, opposite a set of 

 Sora, the eleven eggs of which are 

 marked, respectively, "0-b-b-b-b-b-e-e- 

 E-E E." Another set of thirteen eggs 

 tells this story, "0-0-0-b-b-b-b-B-B-ee- 

 e-e." 



The adoption of a code like this 

 would be practically useless, unless 

 such adoption should become practi- 

 cally universal. The problem then of 

 securing such uniformity would be 

 overwhelming, but for the hope that 

 the fathering of this little suggestion 

 by our dear little Oologist may im- 

 press the value of the idea upon a suffi- 

 cient number of thinking oologists to 

 give the idea a good start. 



If the thing "takes," as the politic- 

 ians say, this might, perhaps, be a wise 

 method of bringing the code into use. 

 Until the code had come into wide use, 

 and had become well understood, a 

 whole line, or even two, on the data 

 might be given up to the item "incu- 

 b'n," each abbreviation being fully ex- 

 plained. Then, in filling out the data 

 for, we will say the larger set of Sora 

 mentioned above, the collector might 

 set down over the "O" a "3;" over the 

 "b" a "4;" over the "B" a "2;" and 

 over the "e" a "4." Indeed this "3-0- 

 4-b-2-B-3-e" style of abbreviation might 



profitably be used in any case. 



Readers of the Oologist will surely 

 understand that I am not at all wed- 

 ded to this particular code. Any other, 

 which should give the same informa- 

 tion, in more compact and scientific 

 form, would be gladly welcomed. 



What I am aiming at is the adoption 

 of some uniform, simple and reasonab- 

 ly accurate system of symbols, easily 

 and quickly mai'kable on eggs, which 

 system will tell us, with reasonable ex- 

 actness, just when, relatively, the bird 

 begins to sit, and how uniformly she 

 sits, with other allied and equally valu- 

 able information otherwise unobtain- 

 able. 



"Too muchbother, "somebody growls. 

 Yes, perhaps, my dear fellow; but you 

 are not the sort of collector to whom 

 this sort of communication is address- 

 ed. P. B PEABODr, 



St. Vincent, Minn. 



Pinnated Grouse in the Pine Reg^ions. 



Dui'ing the latter part of September 

 I went upon a journey into a rather un- 

 settled I'egion seventy-five miles north 

 of Minneapolis. I did not go in pur- 

 suit of birds alone but made observa- 

 tions as I journeyed. 



We traveled by wagon and by foot 

 as much as fifty miles and along the 

 route I many times saw the Pinnated 

 Grouse. As the character of the coun- 

 try was such that I did not expect to 

 see this bird I give a short description 

 of it. 



A small river watered the region 

 through which we passed and along its 

 banks, and occasionally in tracts away 

 from the sti*eam, grew beautiful forests 

 of tall maples. But the whole country 

 is, for the most part, known in lumber- 

 man's pai'lance as "pine slashings." 

 The better timber has from time to 

 time been felled leaving here and there 

 a mammoth which for some reason was 

 not cut. Fire later swept this territory 



