no 



THE YOUNG OOLOGIST. 



as 48 eggs have been counted in one nest. 

 The eggs average about 3xlf inches ; the 

 swampers say that the oblong eggs produce 

 males and the oval ones females. The 

 eggs i-esemble porcelain ; the internal pel- 

 licle is very thick and strong ; it is com- 

 posed of tvi'o membranes, the fibres in one 

 extending longitudinal and in the other 

 laternal ; this conjoint pellicle on the inner 

 side is as smooth as glass, and seems 

 enameled. The transverse white band 

 seen on the egg, while fresli, is only the 

 whiteness of the internal membrane, in 

 those parts, seen through the semi-trans- 

 parent shell. The yellow spots, of diff- 

 erent shades, seen on some eggs, are also 

 situated on the pellicle, but are permanent, 

 while the former disappears as incubation 

 advances, or when the egg is emptied of 

 its contents. The alligators fecundity is 

 wonderful, but many of their eggs are 

 destroyed by animals and reptiles. It 

 requires from sixty to ninety days of 

 warmth and sunshine befoi'e the young 

 escape from the shell. They then average 

 nine inches long, and respond to their 

 parents call by following them, but in a 

 few days care for themselves. The greatest 

 length] attained by an alligator that I am 

 cognizant of, is eighteen feet. They grow 

 very little in a year ; those over twelve feet 

 long are over a century old. 



E. C. W. 



Houma, La. 



Collectiig in the Marshes. 



BY B. A. G. 



Early in June of this year two of us 

 made a collecting trip to the marshes of 

 the Seneca River, or, as they are often 

 called, the ''Montezuma Marshes," and as 

 1 had there the pleasure of seeing the nests 

 of several birds which were new to me, 

 some .account of the trip may be interest- 

 ing to the readers of this paper. 



In order to collect in these marshes it is 

 necessary to have both a boat and a pair of 

 hip-boots of rubber, for in many places it 

 is too deep to wade, and in many others 

 the flags are too thick to push a boat through. 



I The first nests we found were those of 



I the Long-billed Marsh Wren. These were 



placed in the flags from a foot to six feet 



above the water, and were composed of 



i last year's flags very neatly and cunningly 



: woven into a ball about as large or a little 



j larger than a cocoanut, with a small round 



i hole on one side about large enough to 



admit one's finger. They were lined with 



the down of the " cat tail," and we found 



the complement of eggs in almost all cases 



to be six. These were about the size of 



the common chipping sparrow, and of a 



beautiful chocolate color. They were in 



all stages of incubation, from perfectly 



fresh to almost hatched, but we found no 



young birds. 



One very odd thing about these birds is 

 the number of nests they build. Without 

 having kept any accurate record, I should 

 estimate that not more than one nest in 

 eight or ten was occupied. Whether these 

 birds build these nests for safe roosting 

 places out of the reach of night prowling 

 animals, or whether they are not suited 

 vfith. the first, second or third, and con- 

 tinue to build till the desire to lay over- 

 comes their critical taste, or whether they 

 build so many nests (as some have claimed) 

 to deceive and annoy their enemies, neither 

 I nor any one else can say positively, but 

 it is certain that no one can spend a day in 

 these marshes without coming to the con- 

 clusion that these wrens are among the 

 most interesting of our many interesting 

 birds. 



One of the most plentiful birds on these 

 marshes we found to be the Florida 

 Galinule. This bird is decidedly mis- 

 named. It should be called the American 

 Galinule, for it occurs almost all over the 

 United States. It breeds in great numbers 

 here, building its nest among the fiags and 

 grasses generally far out from .shore. The 

 foundation is made by breaking down the 

 fiags till a little platform is made which 

 will, .to a small extent, rise and fall with 

 the water. On this the nest proper is built 

 of last years fiags newly placed together 

 and one might think, except for its location 

 over the water, that some small hen had 



