10 



THE YOUNG OOLOGIST. 



Notes from Durand, Wis. 



I found the first bird's nest of the 

 season last January. It was an (old. 

 —Ed.) Indigo Bunting's, and con- 

 tained one egg, which the Blue Jays 

 had doubtless overlooked. 



Two Bald Eagles have been found 

 dead here this spring, supposed to 

 have been killed by poison which 

 had been placed upon a dead horse. 



Waxwings have been quite plenti- 

 ful this winter. They live on the 

 crab-apples left on the trees. The 

 only birds that have returned from 

 the South, as yet, (March 19,) are 

 Crows and Hawks. E. S. B. 



A Genuine Curiosity. 



We take the following item from 

 a letter written us by Wes Hocking, 

 of Dodgeville, Wis. : 



" I received a few days since from 

 a friend, who resides in Ellendale, 

 Dakota, a spinal joint of a buffalo, 

 which he picked up on the prairies, 

 containing a steel point of an Indian 

 arrow, which is about live inches 

 long and half an inch in width at 

 the base, tapering to a sharp point. 

 The point of the arrow struck the 

 bone immediately above the spinal 

 column at the base of the vertical 

 process, penetrating through the 

 process about one-half inch, where 

 it now remains firmly imbedded, 

 having slightly checked the bone at 

 the intersection of the process witli 

 the vertebra. I prize it very highly." 



Ground Dove. 



(CHAM^EPELIA PASSERINA.) 



This bird is very common with tis 

 in this locality during the entire 

 year. I have often shot them dur- 

 ing the coldest winters. They com- 

 mence to build tlieir nests about the 

 last of April. I have found nests 

 with eggs as early as May 5th. I 

 have been collecting eggs about fif- 

 teen years, and during that time I 

 have never found a nest of this bird 



on the ground. The nest is a very 

 simple structure, generally consist"^ 

 ing of a few twigs and pine straws, 

 and is usually placed at from two 

 to four feet from the ground, and 

 have known them, in one instance, 

 to build as high as eight feet on the 

 branch of a tree. This nest con- 

 tained two eggs, slightly incubated.. 

 About three weeks afterwards, I was 

 collecting in the same place, and 

 chancing to look in the old nest, 

 found two fresh eggs. Whether the 

 eggs belonged to the same pair of 

 birds or not I am unable to say. I 

 am certain that they raise two, if 

 not three broods during the season, 

 for a friend of mine found a nest as 

 late as Aug. 31st, which contained 

 one fresh egg. I think this is the 

 latest on record. The Ground Dove 

 lays two white eggs which vary in 

 size. T. D. Perry. 



Savannah, Ga., April, 1884. 



A Doubtful Specimen. 



NoEMAL, 111., March 22, 1884. 

 Mk. F. H. L. : Dear Sir: 



Enclosed find "Sea Gopher" just as received. 

 Is that what you call a '■ Sea Gopher?" If not, 

 please send me one, if so. I am disappointed. 



Tours, &c., H. Z. W. 



The specimen friend W. enclosed very much re- 

 sembled a mess of cracker crumbs. Of course we 

 sent him another " Gopher." Between March 

 15th and 20th we ran out of packing boxes, and 

 as we were receiving from twenty-five to thirty- 

 fi.ve orders per day, we did not dare to let them 

 accumulate on our hands unfilled, so packed in 

 almost anything we could find. In two or three 

 orders, at least, the specimens were broken, and 

 these orders were gladly refilled, as we believe the 

 breakage to be due to our negligence. In the fu- 

 ture we shall exercise the greatest care in pack- 

 ing, and shall use nothing but strong, well-made 

 boxes (most of which are made expressly for our 

 use). When specimens are broken in transit 

 through neslect or carelessness in packing, either 

 gf ourself or assistants, we will re-fill such orders 

 gratis, providing the damaged specimens are re- 

 turned to us withiu three days after they have 

 been received by the parties ordering. 



Contributor : Your poem on * ' Easter " is 

 a little too late in the season for iis. Send 

 it to the Old Cimosity Shop. They are pay- 

 ing big prices for poems like yoiu's. 



