THE OOLOGIST'S EXCHANGE 



Vol. 1. 



AUSTIN, ILL., JULY, 1888. 



No. 7. 



TOM AND JERRY. 



While on a collecting trip one bright 

 day last month, I espied a bulky nest in 

 the top of a huge Oak and thinking to 

 enlarge my collection by a set of eggs, I 

 made the ascent, which by the way, would 

 have been well nigh impossible had it not 

 been for a stout pair of climbers, my con- 

 stant companions on every collecting trip. 



The sight which greeted my gaze im- 

 mediately that my head was above the level 

 of the nest, would have called a smile to 

 the face of the gravest and set the slug- 

 gard to thinking. 



There with their bodies raised as high 

 from the nest as their yet weak legs would 

 allow, their long necks stretched to their 

 fullest extent and the bright red visible 

 through their wide open mandibles vividly 

 contrasting with their dark coat of pin- 

 feathers, were five young Crows, their 

 bright eyes beaming and their whole 

 frames quivering with a hungry expect- 

 ancy. 



What a sight for the true lover of nature ! 



After enjoying it to its fullest and mak- 

 ing a hasty sketch I prepared to descend; 

 but how could I, how could I find the 

 heart to leave those five hungry Crows to 

 be fed and cared for by the two half- 

 starved parents, that all this time were 

 making the woods resound with their loud 

 cries of Caw, Caw, Caw! So partly led on 

 by a desire for information as to their 

 early habits and partly from a desire to 

 assist the old birds, I decided to relieve 

 hem of two of their progeny. 



Up to the present time I have had no 

 occasion to regret it and I dare say the 

 parents think the same way, as the quan- 

 tities of bread, milk, pie, custard, meat, 

 etc., etc., that they daily consume is sim- 

 ply enormous. In fact after seeing them 



feed one cannot readily conceive how two 

 old Crows can gather the quantity of food 

 required to properly support five young 

 and sufficiently satisfy their own wants. 



They are rapidly becoming accustomed 

 to civilized life and to all appearances 

 have a bright future before them. They 

 have been respectively dubbed Tom and 

 Jerry and even at this early age are fur- 

 nishing the fun for the neighborhood. 



What trouble their thieving and mis- 

 chievous ways will lead them into is as 

 yet a mystery but "sufficient unto the day 

 is the evil thereof," 



Watch the columns of the "Oologist's 

 Exchange" for further developments in 

 the life history of the twins, Tom and 

 Jerry. 



AN ANNOUNCEMENT. 



I desire to announce to my numerous 

 friends and patrons, that on account of 

 contemplated removal and engagment in 

 other business on the Pacific coast, I have 

 sold the "Oologist's Exchange" and my 

 entire stock of oological supplies, to the 

 well known firm of Dickinson & Durkee, 

 Sharon, Wis. With such managers as 

 these in charge, none can predict any but 

 a bright and prosperous career for this 

 little sheet. 



I still have the larger part of my stock 

 of eggs to dispose of. If you are in need 

 of eggs of any kind I shall be pleased to 

 supply you at a great sacrifice. Be sure 

 and write me before ordering elsewhere. 

 T. Veenon Wilson, Austin 111. 



— The bobolink, when it goes South, 

 changes its name to "reed bird" and be- 

 comes known as a vicious and destructive 

 creature, laying waste much of one of the 

 staple products of that region. 



