THE ORNITHOLOGIST AND BOTANIST. 



BOTANIST. 



A MONTHLY DEVOTED TO BIRDS AND FLOWERS. 



JOSEPH E. BLAIN, 



EDITOR AND PUBLISHER. 



Articles on subjects of interest to Botanists and Orni- 

 thologists solicited from all. 



TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION. 

 Single Subscription, one year, - - - - 20 cents. 



Single Copies, - - - - 3 cents. 



Advertising rates made known on application. 



If manuscript is accepted, the author will be notified 

 at once. Rejected manuscript will be returned when 

 accompanied by stamps. 



Address all communications to 



JOSEPH E. BLAIN, 

 8 Edward Street, - - - Binghamton, N. Y, 



Vol. I. 



FEBRUARY, 1891. 



No. II. 



The reception given our January number was 

 very encouraging. That we have obtained a 

 goody share of popular favor, is shown by the 

 numerous comphmentary letters that continue 

 to come in. Yet there is still room for im- 

 provement, and we shall not rest till we have 

 made our magazine, what it is sure to be, the 

 best of its kind. 



There is one way to discourage indiscriminate 

 egg-collecting, and that is to refuse to publish 

 articles on the subject. We shall always be 

 glad to receive articles on the nests, eggs or nest- 

 ing habits of birds, but we must decline any- 

 thing that is a mere record of egg-stealing. 



This month we have a new mailing-list from 

 which have been struck the names of all who 

 failed to respond to our January number. We 

 take their silence as an indication that they do 

 not care to subscribe, and we shall not continue 

 to send free copies. 'I'hose to wbom this paper 

 comes for the first time, will receive the next 

 number, free, by sending us their address on 

 a postal card. It is certainly worth a postal. 



In February, the birds from the North and 

 those from the South, meet in this latitude. 

 During the first half of the month the shrikes 



and snow-buntings are abroad in full force, and 

 in the latter half the blue-birds are sure to ap- 

 pear and perhaps the robins, also. 



We ask the indulgence of our readers, this 

 monthj in the matter of the advertisements that 

 have been allowed to crowd other things from 

 the last page. We are making arrangements to 

 assume a colored cover with the March or April 

 number, and then all advertisements will be re- 

 stricted to that. In the meantime, read the 

 advertisements; you will find them interesting. 



In winter the mosses and lichens become 

 prominent, but most of us look at them with lit- 

 tle interest because we do not know their names. 

 1 1 is true that the study of this class of plants is 

 quite difficult, but we ought to know the more 

 common ones, at least. If those who are famil- 

 iar with the subject will favor us with contribu- 

 tions we will gladly publish them. 



Compare this magazine with all others of like 

 character and note that we give twice the 

 amount of reading matter that papers of the 

 same price do, and fully as much as those papers 

 whose subscription price is double ours. Not 

 only this, but our reading matter, itself, is better. 

 It is our intention to make several important 

 changes in April, and after the first of the month 

 the price of the magazine will be thirty-five cents 

 a year. Subscribe now, and take advantage of 

 the rise. 



Now that the ice has made a solid floor in 

 the swamps and on the rivers, it is possible for 

 one to go on exploring expeditions through many 

 regions that were quite impassible in summer. 

 Go out and see what Nature is doing at this 

 season. You will find the buds of maple and 

 elm looking as if ready to burst open, the cat- 

 kins of the alder well developed, and the " pussy 

 willows " already peeping forth. In the midst 

 of snow and ice, these prophesy spring ! 



Our first issue proved much too small to meet 

 the demands made upon it. As soon as the 

 magazine was in the mails, requests for sample 

 copies began to arrive and have continued to do 

 so. These we have had to book for the Feb- 

 ruary number. We have lately obtained twenty- 

 five copies of the January number and these we 



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