164 



THE OOLOGI8T 



enough to keep at least the younger 

 students among us a-guessing for 

 quite a spell). 



Elsewhere I am offering a few of the 

 quantities of eggs accumulated during 

 the past fifteen years, and especially 

 of late, at ruinously low prices. This 

 is largely because I am not out after 

 money, but am simply selling in order 

 to buy. This, to the minds of some of 

 us, is absolutely leg/timate. To illus- 

 trate : 



Through the generosity of one of the 

 best known ornithologists in America, 

 I am to publish, next year, the results 

 of some seventeen years of study of 

 the Nesting Habits of the Yellow Rail. 

 My trips afield in this quest, have cost 

 from forty to sixty dollars per season. 

 Now, does any one suppose that a 

 plain country parson could afford all 

 this, unless rich men "paid the 

 freight?" What I have learned about 

 a bird whose nestings are known to 

 not over a half-dozen men in all of 

 America, will be published and circu- 

 lated throughout the known scientific 

 world All this is due far more to the 

 altruistic spirit of a few rich collect- 

 ors than it has been to the persistence, 

 the industry and the acquired acumen 

 of just an ordinary collector, like my- 

 self. So then, the ethic of egg-traffic, 

 where that traffic is strictly legitimate, 

 is just as healthful and as productive 

 of fine results as any other domain of 

 buying and selling. Did I not honest- 

 ly feel thus about the situation I 

 should certainly despair of ever reach- 

 ing, before I am too old, the goal I 

 have persistently set before myself, 

 namely, the final accumulation of a 

 series of eggs that shall fairly repre- 

 sent in shape, size, ground color, tex- 

 ture and markings every essential 

 variation occurring in the eggs of the 

 entire North American ornis (includ- 

 ing, of course, the extra' limitals). 



In closing, I must say just a word 

 about two of the latter: the Red- 



spotted Blue-throat and the Chaffinch, 

 (or, more exactly, the Brambling). The 

 wonderful markings and vermiculations 

 of these eggs cannot possibly be imag- 

 ined. They must be seen. 



P. B. Peabody. 



A VALUABLE FACTOR IN THE CON- 

 SERVATION AND PROTECTION 

 OF GROUND NESTING BIRDS 



One of the greatest destroyers of the 

 ground nesting birds is the underfed 

 or vagrant dog and cat. The greatest 

 loss sustained by the sheep growers is 

 caused by the inroads which vicious 

 dogs make in raiding these unsuspect- 

 ing gentle herds. Sheep are consider- 

 ed more important by a majority of 

 merchants than birds. Dog law en- 

 forcement has not been considered a 

 duty which should involve the game 

 departments of the various states. 

 Virginia offers a splendid exception to 

 this custom. The state's experience 

 with enforcem-ent of a dog law by the 

 game department through its wardens, 

 have developed such beneficial results 

 that other states should concern them- 

 selves about adopting similar meas- 

 ures. 



The adoption of the necesary pre- 

 ci^utionary measures are not difficult, 

 but the application of the laws and 

 their enforcement, is invariably second- 

 ary consideration. 



Prior to 1918, the Virginia Commis- 

 sioner of fish and game was making 

 little progress through the enforce- 

 ment of a dog law which was then on 

 its statutes. Another measure known 

 as the Baker Law was adopted and 

 went into effect subsequent to its pas- 

 sage in 1918. Prior to 1918, the maxi- 

 mum revenue by the state of Virginia 

 during any one year through the issu- 

 ance of dog laws was $70,000. The re- 

 turns for the first year after the en- 

 forcement of the Baker Law aggregat- 

 ed |264,000. The remarkable efficiency 



