THE NIDIOLOGIST 



155 



tunity permit merely casual mention of a few 

 of the many interesting eggs. Mr. Jackson 

 has a very complete representation of Ducks' 

 eggs. His display of eggs of Partridge and 

 Grouse are the best we have seen. Among the 

 rarest is a set of Massena Quail; but rarer still, 

 and in fact a unique set (the National Museum 

 has but one egg, we are told), is a set of four 

 eggs of the White-tailed Ptarmigan, taken at 

 12,200 altitude, in Colorado. One of these 

 eggs is figured in Major Bendire's Life His- 

 tories of North American Birds, and when Mr. 

 Jackson placed the original by the side of the 

 figure in the colored plate it gave the appear- 

 ance of two real eggs, and twins at that. The 

 reproduction of colors and markings, so difficult, 

 was, in this case at least, marvelously well 

 done. It may be stated, to show the pains- 

 taking character of Major Bendire's scientific 

 work, that he actually measured with calipers 

 minute spots on all the eggs in his plates, com- 

 paring them carefully with the original eggs to 

 insure the highest degree of exactness. 



Mr. Jackson has a fine showing of Warblers' 

 eggs. Naturally enough his series of Limp- 

 kins' eggs is something " immense," we mean 

 for display, for Jackson, if not the inventor of 

 the Limpkin, was the first to distribute its 

 curious products among collections, ever since, 

 while going up a river on a Florida steamboat, 

 he saw his first Limpkin step off her nest and 

 eggs — treasures which the egg collector had re- 

 luctantly to leave behind. A fine set of eleven 

 eggs of the Snowy Owl were recently secured 

 by Mr. Jackson from an English collection. 



A call on Josiah Hoopes the next morning 

 found that pleasant gentleman in his garden, 

 but he very soon conducted us to his museum, 

 where the egg part of it is amply accommodated 

 in nearly a dozen fine cases. 



The compartment plan, with a printed card 

 with the name of species in each one, is fol- 

 lowed. A little saucer of tin, covered with a 

 thm layer of cotton, holds the eggs nicely in 

 each compartment. It gives the idea of a nest, 

 and as the eggs do not roll about as much as in 

 the ordinary trays, it has its advantages. Mr. 

 Samuel B. Ladd, of West Chester, introduced 

 this plan. Mr. Norris, by the way, always 

 places a small copy of the data in each one of 

 his trays, to avoid any mixing of sets. 



Mr. Hoopes has been interested in birds for 

 many years, collecting his first eggs, he says, 

 just fifty years ago. He has gone extensively 

 into series in his egg collection, particularly 

 with the Warbler family, his favorites. The 

 Hummingbirds' sets sho\\i' a fine representation 

 and have authentic data with each. Mr. Hoopes' 

 collection represents in all six hundred and 

 ninety species and varieties. A rarity he 



prizes is a set of Bell's Warbler, from the high 

 mountains of Mexico. Mr. Hoopes is interest- 

 ing himself especially of late years in birds, 

 both mounted and skins. A very handsome 

 thing is his case of mounted Warblers, arranged 

 as far as possible with the nest and eggs. He 

 has all our Warblers in this case, with the ex- 

 ception of Bell's and the Mangrove. He has 

 a case also containing almost all the known 

 Owls. A fine pair of Ivory-billed Woodpeckers 

 adorn the collection. 



Saying good-bye to Mr. Hoopes and his fine 

 collection, we finished the round by a call on 

 Samuel B. Ladd, another " old-timer," though 

 younger in years than the two others in West 

 Chester. " Sam" Ladd is given the reputation 

 in his neigborhood of being a phenomenal egg 

 collector. Mr. Ladd explains his success by 

 saying he works hard — doesn't hunt nests "like 

 walking along and picking fruit off of a bush." 



He has made some big " takes " of late years 

 in sets of the Black-throated Blue Warbler in 

 North Carolina. A great many rare eggs, par- 

 ticularly Warblers', have passed through Mr. 

 Ladd's hands in his time, and many of them 

 went no farther than his own collection. Part 

 of this we were privileged to see. As in the 

 other West Chester collection a fine showing of 

 Warblers, Titmice, and Nuthatchers are owned 

 by Mr. Ladd. Conspicuous is the set of five 

 eggs of Worm-eating Warbler, alb runts, and of 

 equal size. Two genuine sets of the Pileated 

 Woodpecker were seen. In sets in series of 

 Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets 

 the collection is especially rich. Sets of Lucy's 

 and Wilson's Warbler, Coues' Flycatcher, 

 Townsend's Solitaire, and a set of the rare Key 

 West Dove were noticeable. Mr. Ladd feels 

 keenly the recent loss, through a fatal accident, 

 of his friend and collector, John S. Cams, of 

 North Carolina. 



Philadelphia was of old the great scientific 

 center. Its Academy of Sciences contains one 

 of the two eggs of the Great Auk in this 

 country. It formerly owned an egg of the 

 California Vulture, which later was spirited 

 away. 



Nearer home we have a collection which in 

 many respects is unique, and which represents 

 the activity and enthusiasm during seventeen 

 years of its fortunate owner, Mr. C. W. Cran- 

 dall, of Woodside, N. Y. Mr. Crandall has 

 added largely to it of late, and the collection 

 now numbers from 18,000 to 20,000 eggs, 500 

 species American, 300 foreign. Owing to the 

 difficulty of obtaining authentic specimens, 

 the Ducks, and Geese, Sparrows and Wood- 

 peckers were neglected. The Raptores are 

 favorites, and among the rarities are Aplomado 

 Falcon, f, f ; Richardson's Merlin, \ ; Peale's 



