THE OOLOGIST 19 
offered a set of six. There are said 
to be quite a number of Mute Swan 
eggs, in collections that are labeled 
California Vulture, and nobody can tell 
the difference unless he knows how 
to do it.” 
If any such practices as these come 
to the notice of any of our readers, it 
will be a pleasure to the publisher of 
this magazine to bulletin the guilty 
parties in our columns, and let the 
world know who it is that is engaged 
in swindling, and if possible to fol- 
low it up with criminal proceedings 
for use of the mails for fraudulent 
purposes. A year or two in a federal 
penitentiary for some of those engaged 
in this sort of work would go a long 
ways towards clarifying the oological 
atmosphere. Keep your eye on the 
frauds and when you get one of them 
dead to rights, send us the proof and 
then sit up and take notice as to what 
happens. 
a a 
The New A. O. U. Check List. 
We are advised, we have been advis- 
ed, we expect to be further advised 
that in the ‘near future” the new A. 
O. U. Check list for 1910 will be issu- 
ed soon. The delay in this matter, 
inconveniencing as it does, hundreds 
of ornithologists throughout the Unit- 
ed States is to say the least, not to 
the credit of the A. O. U. organization, 
of which the Editor is one; though we 
are thankful to say we are in no way 
responsible for this delay. 
Any person who has endeavored to 
keep track of the naming and re-nam- 
ing and changing the names of, and 
substituting the names for, and orig- 
inating names’ designating North 
American Birds during the last few 
years, will appreciate what we have to 
say upon this subject. 
It has been our intention to take up 
this matter of delay in regard to the 
A, O. U. Check List and set the whole 
matter before our readers this month, 
citing as our authority, the published 
proceedings of the A. O. U. in the 
Auk, but we refrain from so doing 
at present; though this would make 
interesting reading; particularly so 
to those who are able to read between 
the lines, especially if reading be- 
tween the lines were confined to such 
quotations as we could make and may 
yet make from the Auk in regard to 
this subject. 
We are heartily tired of waiting. 
Are you tired also, Mr. Reader? 
> Oo 
Our Need For Greater Care. 
Recently in an exchange I received 
a specimen of Rose-breasted Gros- 
beak and one of Black-billed Cuckoo; 
they were both tagged but the tags 
were exchanged; i. e., the one for the 
Grosbeak being on the Cuckoo and 
that for the Cuckoo on the Grosbeak, 
so it would seem that they were not 
tagged until the person was getting 
my wants together, which he listed 
as having on hand. 
How do I know that the sex of the 
Cuckoo was as he has it on the tag? 
He could have easily made a mistake 
on that the same as he did on the 
tags. 
Another instance was one where two 
sets of one egg each of Cassin’s Auk- 
let were sent to me. When I tried to 
find which data belonged to which 
egg I found it impossible to tell as 
they both had the same set mark, Also 
both datas read ‘Nest at end of bur- 
row from three to five feet long.” It 
looks as if he had collected quite a 
number and made one wording of data 
do for all. 
Let us use the greatest care in all 
our work! - 
H. P. WALKER. 
The triteness of the foregoing obser- 
vation is deeply impressed upon the 
