Nov., 1908 ARRANGEMENT OF AN OOLOGICAL COLLECTION 225 



as each egg has not to be separately packed. I have had eggs so arranged for over 

 30 years, and the cotton wool is as clean as when it was put in, showing that at 

 any rate the boxes are dust-proof. We are fortunately not troubled with many 

 insect pests, our great enemy being the damp, and this as a rule can be guarded 

 against. 



I enclose a few photographs showing the different sizes of the boxes. [Two of 

 these photos are reproduced herewith. — Ed.] 



Burnage, England. 



A MONTH'S BIRD-COI.I.ECTING IN VENEZUELA 

 By JOHN F. FERRY 



AFTER a four days' sea journey from Panama, in a large English steamship, 

 I arrived in Ea Guayra, Venezuela on April 21, 1908. An enormous moun- 

 tain, Ea Sella, frowns down upon the little seaport huddling upon the nar- 

 row strip of shore at its base. The town is hot and unhealthy, and I was glad to 

 spend but one night there and leave next morning for Caracas. The railroad jour- 

 ney thither is one of the most magnificent in the world. The steep ascent requires 

 the track to wind in and out along the sides of deep canyons, and affords a view of 

 the deep blue Caribbean sea and its palm-lined shore for great distances. The day 

 after arriving in Caracas my bird-collecting, for the Field Museum of Natural His- 

 tory, began. 



The valley in which Caracas lies is an extensive level plain surrounded by 

 stately hills. To the north lies the great Sella mountain, which rises 9000 feet al- 

 most perpendicularly from the sea, one of the grandest spectacles in the world. 

 Most of the mountains about Caracas are bare, the soil being red and sun-baked. 

 Canyons are usually forested, as are also many of the mountain tops. The plain 

 during the dry season is extremely arid and parched, but like our dry southwest 

 the rainy season transforms such a waste into fields of waving grass and flowers. 

 Irrigation is carried on extensively and fields of cane and other crops relieve the 

 eye with their broad stretches of green. The little river Guaire flows thru the val- 

 ley and most of its course is thru cultivated fields. Its banks are lined with dense 

 brakes of cane. Coffee plantations are much in evidence. They are very attractive 

 to the eye of the traveller. The coffee bushes resemble a miniature orchard, the 

 trees being planted in rows and of a dark green color. The blossoms are beautiful 

 and are very fragrant. But the most curious feature of the coffee plantation is 

 the magnificent, tall shade trees whose branches interweave far overhead, and keep 

 the hot tropical sun from the delicate coffee bushes. These plantations are usually 

 favorite bird haunts; and particularly so in the Caracas Valley where there are 

 practically no native forests. In these coffee plantations birds are found in sur- 

 prising numbers, and here the collector strolls back and forth, often not knowing 

 which one of several desired species to shoot, so great is the variety of birds there. 

 One tall tree growing in the coffee plantations bears red, star-like blossoms which 

 contain a small fruit. This tree is as popular with the birds as our choke-cherry 

 tree at home, and often most of a morning's collecting was done beneath one tree. 

 At one time I have seen several species of hummers, coerebas, euethias, yellow war- 

 blers, flycatchers, several species of tanagers, orioles, paroquets, robin-like thrushes, 

 grosbeaks and woodpeckers. The only difficulty encountered was the great height 



