THE OOLOGIST 



377 



have you indicted for libel. Our postal 

 system does not admit such outrage 

 and the penalties are severe. Be care- 

 ful; you have no case whatever 



against me Now do as you 



please .... If I do not hear from 

 you in ten days I shall take action to 

 defend my character." 



Perhaps this diction will read fa- 

 miliarly to some who have been inter- 

 ested in oology in years past. So far 

 as we are advised no action such as 

 is threatened in the above communica- 

 tion has been commenced, and if any 

 such is commenced, we will try and 

 keep our readers advised of the pro- 

 gress of the threatened litigation. 



It will be good for the honest oolo- 

 gist when all of the crooks are driven 

 from the game, and be well for the 

 honorable man when others learn that 

 they cannot assassinate reputation 

 without reason. 



An Orange County Wood Ibis Rookery. 



Bay Lake is located in the West 

 Central part of Orange County and 

 about 28 miles from Orlando, which 

 is situated about the center of the 

 county. It is a small lake, perhaps 

 three-quarters by a half mile and con- 

 tains a well wooded island. The 

 Northern end of the lake is bordered 

 by a thin fringe of cypress trees drap- 

 ed with Spanish moss, which is so 

 becoming to them, and the remainder 

 of the shore is fortified against human 

 intruders by a thick, dense, and impen- 

 etrable jungle of tangle and matted 

 vegetation extending down to the 

 water's edge rendering it next to im- 

 possible to reach the lake from any 

 other direction than that of the 

 North. 



There are but very few people liv- 

 ing in the immediate vicinity, and the 

 closest village is twelve miles dist- 

 ance. The lake is rarely visited and 

 then only by those who go there 



to fish, and the birds are never mo- 

 lested, and is resorted to year after 

 year for breeding purposes. 



In 1911 on April 1st, I started out 

 shortly after sunrise with a young fel- 

 low as a companion and helper, to 

 visit the rookery that I had heard 

 about so frecpiently, and to discover 

 if there were any truth in the state- 

 ments that Wood Ibis were to be found 

 breeding in abundance there, and that 

 they had resorted to this same breed- 

 ing grounds for years. 



It was late in the evening when we 

 arrived at our destination, and by the 

 time everything was unpacked, and 

 supper over we found it too late to do 

 any investigating so we sat around 

 the camp fire, and talked of the mor- 

 row's prospects, estimating the num- 

 ber of sets of different species that 

 were in store for us, etc; until drow- 

 siness reminded us that a little sleep 

 would probably be good for us after 

 so long and tiresome a journey. That 

 night it appeared as if it were going 

 to blow up quite a storm before morn- 

 ing, so preparations were made to ar- 

 range thing's to be kept as dry as pos- 

 sible; however, the clouds passed 

 over, much to our satisfaction, and 

 the weather cleared up nicely by morn- 

 ing. Next morning found me up at 

 dawn and ready to begin the day. 

 Everything locked as if we were going 

 to enjoy a splendid day's collecting. 

 It took some little persuasion to arouse 

 my companion to activity, but finally 

 all drowsiness disappeared, and he 

 was soon ready to take part in the 

 fun that was to come. 



I had brought a boat along for an 

 emergency, but as we had discovered 

 a small homemade scow, we did not 

 trouble to unload our own. The home- 

 made affair was not fitted out in mod- 

 ern style, and was minus the oar-lock 

 fittings, which compelled me to resort 

 to the tiresome task of paddling with 



