166 



THE OOLOQiST 



of the mea'sure resulted in remodeling 

 this law. 



In a bulletin of the American Game 

 Protective Association, Commissioner 

 F. N. Bilisoly reports, "Up to this 

 time, we have destroyed in Virginia 

 10,000 vagrant dogs. The result is 

 that there are in Virginia more Quail 

 than during any period in the last 

 twenty years. In addition we have re- 

 stored the sheep industry in Virginia 

 which is a large and important one. 

 This year our dog tax collection will 

 amount to $300,000." 



The elimination of stray cats and 

 tramp dogs which destroy tho eggs of 

 Quail, Grouse, Larks, Ducks, Plover, 

 and other magnificent game and seed- 

 eating birds has been appalling. Only 

 the sportsman or naturalist apprec- 

 ciates the significance of eliminating 

 these destructive creatures. Curtail- 

 ing the havoc wrought by the sheep 

 killing dog amounts to more than im- 

 portant tariff on wool. 



Tariff is designed to make sheep 

 raising profitable by making the price 

 of wool and woolen goods higher. 

 Restoration of the sheep raising indus- 

 try by enforcement of dog laws, makes 

 it possible for farmers to put millions 

 of now idle acres to work at a profit. 

 Eradicate sheep killing dogs, and both 

 wool and mutton can be procured at a 

 low cost. 



The combined effect of the sheep 

 killing dog and the prohibitive protect- 

 ive tariff on wool would be to the con- 

 sumer the reverse of the effect of the 

 enforcement of dog laws. The sheep 

 raiser has a much better chance to 

 profit without the dog as a limiting 

 factor, than with the high tariff as pre- 

 caution against competition. 



However, there is a preponaerance 

 of evidence which greatly convinces us 

 that dog law enforcement will be of 

 little consequence to any community 

 if it is left to the county authorities 

 for enforcement. Gerard Alan Abbott. 



BIRD HOUSES FOR 1922 



Having a few minutes of spare time 

 we went through again "The American 

 Bird House Journal, Volume 5, No. 1, 

 issued by J. Warren Jacobs, of Waynes- 

 burg, Pennsylvania, and it occurred to 

 us it would be a good notion to call 

 our readers attention again to this val- 

 uable publication, if they proposed to 

 endeavor to coax the Martins to nest 

 on their premises next season, it 

 would be a good idea to take up with 

 Mr. Jacobs and his concern the ques- 

 tion of procuring suitable quarters for 

 these feathered friends during the fall 

 and winter and before the spring rush 

 comes on. 



We have no doubt that orders placed 

 at this time so as to give winter em- 

 ployment to the winter mechanics 

 would be acceptable to those that 

 might be otherwise unemployed and in 

 all probability would receive special 

 terms. 



At any rate the readers of The Oolo- 

 gist should in placing their orders for 

 this kind of construction remember one 

 of their own guild who has been as 

 kind to The Oologist as has J. Warren 

 Jacobs — R. M. Barnes. 



SOME NOTES ON THE PREPARA- 

 TION OF MAMMAL SKINS 

 By Alex. Walker 



In a recent number of The Oologist, 

 the editor solicits notes from those 

 who might offer some hints and sug- 

 gestions useful to ornithologists and 

 oologists. It has occurred to me that a' 

 few remarks relating to the collecting 

 of mammal skins may also be of inter- 

 est to readers of this magazine. 



The collecting of mammals by ama- 

 teurs has not been as popular in the 

 past, as the collecting of birds, but 

 partly due perhaps to the active work 

 of the U. S. Biological Survey along 

 this line, and the dissemination of 



