THK OOLOGIST 



13 



The Oologist. 



A Monihly Magazine Devoted to 

 05L0GY AND ORNITHOLOGY. 



FRANK H. LATTIN, Editor and Publisher, 

 ALBION, N. Y. 



Correspondence and items of Interest to the 

 student, of Birds, their Nests and Eggs, solicited 

 from all. 



TKRMS OF SUBSCRIPTION: 



Single subscrl pllon ncc per an num 



Sample copies .5c each 



The above rales Include payment of postage. 



Each subscriber Is given a card good for a 

 Want. ExcliauKe or for Sal*^ Notice. (This card 

 Is redeemable at any time within one year from 

 date thereon.) 



Subscriptions can begin with any number. 

 Back nunobers of the OOLOoisr can be furnished 

 at reasonable rates. Sena stamp for descrip- 

 tions and prices. 



O^Kemember that the publisher must be noti- 

 fied by letter when a subscriber wishes his paper 

 stopped, and all arrearages must be paid. 



ADVERTISING RATES: 



6 cents per nonpareil line each Insertion. 



12 lines in every inch. Seven inches in a col- 

 umn, and I wo columns to the page. 



Nothing Inserted for Uss than 25 cents. No 

 "special rates," i5 cents per line Is 'net.'' "rock 

 bottom," 'Inside," 'spot cash" rate from which 

 thr^re is no deviation and no commission to 

 agents. If you wish to use 6 lines or less space 

 It will cost you 2.') cents; loo lines, $5.00; lOiiO lines, 

 $.■50.00. "Trade" (other than cash) advertise- 

 ments will be accepted by special arrangement 

 only and at rates from double to Ave times cash 

 rates. Due Bills and Cards payable In advertis- 

 ing will be honored only at regular rates In force 

 at the date ot issuance of said bill or card. 



Remittances fhould be made by Draft, Express 

 or Postofflce Money Order, Registered Letter or 

 Postal Note. Unused U. S. Postage Stamps of 

 any denomination will be accepted for sums un- 

 der one dallar. Make Money orders and Drafts 

 payable and address all subscriptions and com- 

 munications to FRANK II. LATTIN. 



Albion, Orleans Co., N. Y. 



■htehed «t TMe post cnce at Albion, h. t., as secono-class matter. 



— 



Are Ornithologists Cruel? 



BY Charles L. Phillips, Taunton. 

 Mass. 

 Cruelty is many times unjustly at- 

 tributed to naturalists, and especially 

 to ornithologists, by thoughtless per- 

 sons. I do not mean to assert that or- 

 nithologists are never cruel, but that 

 the true avian scientists are, as a rule, 

 just as human as many other classes of 

 intelligent men to whom inhumanity is 

 very seldom imputed. Of course we all 



know that in nearly every walk of life 

 certain piMsons are encountered who 

 are wantonly cruel. This unfortunate 

 characteristic appears to be natural, 

 and further, they do not seem to realize 

 that they possess a tendency which in- 

 duces others, of a more gentle and kind 

 disposition, to judge them harshly. 



But let us revert to ornithologists in 

 general. Are they cruel'' Many will 

 say so l)nt principally illiterate or shal- 

 low minded persons Why/ Because 

 they do not give ihe matter logical con- 

 sideration, but speak on the impulse of 

 the moment. Very likely the ornitholo- 

 gist has a deeper alVection for his favor- 

 ites of the feathered tribe, a more sin- 

 cere admiration, and would do more 

 for their general protection, than the 

 very ones who call him cruel. In fact, 

 I know he would, and I take my own 

 inner-consciousness as a criterion, be- 

 cause I am an ornithologist, and my 

 thoughts and inclinations are open to 

 my revisions, while those of my fellow 

 lovers of the science are not. Orni- 

 thologists kill birds and preserve their 

 skins, because they have a thirst for 

 knowledge; because they wish to know 

 the birds better than can be done by 

 meandering through their sylvan re- 

 treats and making observation at a 

 distance. 



I think that thirst for knowledge was 

 placed in man by the Creator as an es- 

 sential factor toward progression. And 

 it is just as natural for man to satisfy 

 that craving, as to drink to quench 

 thirst, or to eat to appease hunger. We 

 follow that pursuit, for which we have 

 a natural tendency, and if our brain 

 development leads us to become an or- 

 nithologist, we must sacrifice more or 

 less harmless birds so that we may not 

 only educate ourselves but that we may 

 learn that which will interest others to- 

 whom it is transmitted. 



Reptiles, beasts, and birds of prey, 

 hesitate not to appropriate birds by the 

 million annually to satisfy their hunger 



