THE OOLOGIST. 



29 



round ; ten to one if you do you will land 

 on the ground below before many feet are 

 consummated. If your nerves are not 

 strong, never look down, nor higher up 

 than is necessary to take one step above an- 

 other : keep the eyes familiar with all ob- 

 jects on a level with them, which will make 

 it seem that you are on the ground. Take 

 off the coat, but leave on a heavy vest or a 

 short coat without arms : this will in a 

 measiire protect the lungs from being strain- 

 ed and from other injuries. 



Having prepared for the climb, it will be 

 next in order to see what nests there are, 

 that are liable to baffle all reasonable efforts 

 of obtaining. We have : 



1st — Small nests, on or about the small 

 limbs of large trees. 



2nd — Large nests, in huge, high trees, 

 limbless and dangerous. 



3rd — Nests on sides of precipices, or oth- 

 er rocky positions. 



These three classes cover the entire 

 ground of general climbing, and the remarks 

 on each are nearly applicable to all other 

 cases or minor divisions. In making oolog- 

 ical excursions it is necessary always to 

 have some implements along, such as rope, 

 hammer and nails, and some heavy spikes. 



In treating of the first class, if the trees 

 are small the liinb on which the nest is 

 placed can be sawed off and the nest care- 

 fully brought to the person engaged . Where 

 the limbs are large and extend to quite a 

 distance from the tree, do not attempt to 

 saw it off, but fasten a rope of sutficient 

 length at the intersection of the limb and j 

 tree and securely around the body under the ' 

 arms, and clamber to the sinall part of the i 

 limb, Avhere, if the nest is on the end, the 

 limb may be sawed off and secured. I^his 

 is the most perilous climbing, and the idea 

 of keeping the eye on objects of the same 

 level must be rigidly kept in view. It is a 

 place, too, where all one's wits and strata- i 

 gems must be brought to bear. The meth- ; 

 od showing how to get to that limb is treat- 

 ed under the second class. 



Under the second class we have those 

 huge dead (usually) trees in which Eagles 



and various other birds of prey erect their 

 strongholds. Probably of this class there is 

 no bird equal to the California Vulture for 

 defiance to the arts of man in its selection 

 of nesting places, which are usually on gi- 

 ant trees on precipitous cliffs. The quick- 

 est method of ascending such trees is by the 

 use of a rope of about an inch and a half 

 in diameter and six or seven feet long. 

 Pass this rope aroimd the tree and body and 

 tie it so that you fit nicely between ; push 

 the rope up with you, keeping it about the 

 middle of the body. When you wish to 

 rest push the rope up as far as possible on 

 the opposite side of the tree and sit on it. 



Another method is to make a ladder of 

 the tree by nailing slats up the entire dis- 

 tance or by driving in heavy spikes. Ei- 

 ther way is often well worth the trouble of 

 employing, and will enable one to climb 

 any tree. There is but one safe way of 

 reaching nests on the sides of precipitous 

 cliffs, and that is by being let down on a 

 rope or in a basket. A gaff hook should 

 be carried with a long light handle, to draw 

 nests or limbs up to one. 



In reviewing these methods, it is done in 

 hopes of bringing out views from all par- 

 ties, and it is hoped that a goodly collec- 

 tion of methods may be obtained. 



]\Ir. Ballou of the Northern Lake Sur- 

 vey party writes from Toledo: "On the 

 Big Chicken Reef shoal, of Hen and Chick- 

 ens group of Islands, Lake Erie, five-hun- 

 dred eggs of this species (the Arctic Tern) 

 were taken per diem for a period of twelve 

 days. On the Old Hen island seven-hun- 

 dred, on the Little Chicken island, three- 

 hundred, and on the Chick island, one-hun- 

 dred eggs per day were averaged for the 

 same length of time. These eggs were tak- 

 en by the survey party and people of the 

 Bass Islands. They made very palatable 

 dishes. Six-hundred specimens were pre- 

 served. One-hundred of these presented 

 colors ranging from pure white to burnt 

 umber, and in size from a Blue Bird's egg 

 to a hen's egg of the usual size." 



