THE OOLOGIST 



47 



DELOS HATCH 



This grand old man of Wisconsin 

 ornithology, known and beloved by 

 thousands of American bird students, 

 sends us a letter together with a 

 sample of his handiwork which is 

 truly remarkable for a man of his age, 

 afflicted and color blinded. 



It is worked in several colors with 

 precision and neatness equal to a 

 trained Japanese embroidery worker. 



This little momento will have a 

 place among the birds, nests and eggs, 

 which its maker loved so well, in our 

 museum, which contains hundreds of 

 •specimens of eggs taken and prepared 

 by this splendid man. May he live 

 many years to enjoy life and comfort 

 his family, is the wish of The Oologist. 



"I enclose money order for one dol- 

 lar for the New Egg Catalogue. 



1 don't expect to make much use of 

 it in exchange as I have not been able 

 to climb trees for Hawks' nests or wade 

 in marsh for Bitterns, etc. I have 

 taken up another hobby and I will en- 

 close a sample. I picked up a piece 

 of embroidery my graddaughter was 

 working on and I thought I could do 

 as well as it was done. I finished it 

 and my daughter said I could do so 

 well they hunted up work they ha'd be- 

 gun years ago and could not get time 

 to finish and I have embroidered over 

 seventy-five pieces in the last three 

 years. Since I left the hospital (I am 

 still in a rocking cnair most of the 

 time) I have worked from napkins to 

 bed-spreads. Have worked five bed- 

 spreads, pillow cases, sofa pillows, 

 a'nd bureau scarfs or covers. 



IN my 80th year color blind, wear 

 two pairs of glasses to read and write 

 and embroider. I never could be idle 

 or loaf on street corners I have 

 bought and collected several hundred 

 beautiful butterflies last year." 



Delos Hatch, 

 Oakfield, Wisconsin, 



ARTIFICIAL MELANISM 



Some readers of the Oologist may 

 recall that a suppositious new sub- 

 species of the Plain Titmouse was 

 differentiated some years ago on ac- 

 count of its sooty plumage. (But the 

 plumage proved to be actually sooty 

 and the sub-species did not stand) In 

 the same category, may be, will stand 

 a "black" Western Meadow Lark 

 which I chased all over the plains of 

 Newcastle, Wyoming, before I got 

 him; three decidedly melanistic "Can- 

 ada" Jays, from Newcastle, Wyoming, 

 the only Jays of this species ever 

 taken there; and a strangely wander- 

 ing Clarke Nutcracker which spent the 

 winter at Blue Ra'pids, Kansas, losing 

 his life because he became too familiar 

 with a neighbor's chickens. This bird 

 is very dark, very dark, indeed, al- 

 though the well known collector to 

 whom it now belongs has told me that 

 he wrought wonders of cleansing, with 

 that Nutcracker, by the use of strong 

 soap solution and gasolene. This bird 

 is notable as being the tenth, if I 

 rightly recall, to have been taken or 

 seen within the confines of Kansas. 



P. B. Peabody. 



AN OLD TIMER 



L. C. Snyder, of Lacona, N. Y. sends 

 us a leaflet announcing a Natural 

 History Exhibit of his collection at the 

 Salovay New York High School, the 

 week of May 10th-15th, 1920, in which 

 it is stated that this collection con- 

 tains 600 specimens of butterflies and 

 moths and 300 beetles, 50 mounted for- 

 eign birds and 300 birds' eggs, besides 

 150 shells and miscellaneous curi- 

 osities. We well remember calling on 

 Mr. Snyder at his home in 1913 and 

 looking over his collection of eggs, 

 which at that time though not large 

 included some very rare varieties. 



R. M. Barnes, 



