THE OOLOGIST 



seemed a most wonderful and beautiful 

 thing, as a flower to the botanist or a 

 star to the astronomer. His refined 

 artistic inclinations took very kindly to 

 the elegance in color tints and mark- 

 ings and these combined with the 

 variety of shapes and shell textures 

 naturally attracted attention and 

 aroused interest and he wished the eggs 

 where they could be compared and 

 studied, and so commenced a collection. 

 Later he learned to collect in sets and 

 the use of datas. In a few years his 

 collection was a voluma of field infor- 

 mation and a quadruple volume to him- 

 self as he read the most between the 

 lines. He was also of an active and 

 ■enquiring mind. Why did some birds 

 produce eggs so abnormally large for 

 their size and others the reverse, and 

 some deposit but one and others a doz- 

 en or more, and why the various shapes 

 from spherical owl to cone like guille- 

 mot, and why some thick shelled and 

 others very thin? Holding to the light 

 a fresh Flicker's egg he noticed that 

 the yolk in this transparent pearl like 

 gem arose to the top, no matter how it 

 was turned and he wondered why this 

 was and why there was a space in the 

 larger end, and other things. Perhaps 

 the books would telL and sure enough 

 they did, and what he learned in this 

 way was never forgotten. Thus he 

 mastered well known facts and could 

 give choice of many theories. He knew 

 the process of egg formation and color- 

 ation together with chemical properties 

 and could theorize evolution, natural 

 selection, etc., in relation to both birds 

 and eggs for he had also thoroughly 

 read up birds and all this time kept 

 pace with the opera glass adherant in 

 the field. But now he wished to extend 

 his knowledge beyond what could be 

 learned from books and mere observa- 

 tion. During the course of country 

 walks, especially in migration time, he 

 met with birds that were strangers to 

 him and he could not read them up be- 



cause their names were unknown. By 

 dint of careful research he identified a 

 few of the strongly characterized 

 species but this was little satisfaction. 

 It was necessary to procure the birds, 

 and the most joyous moment of his life 

 was when he realized the ownership of 

 a gun. Armed with this dangerous 

 weapon and borne onward by irresist- 

 able enthusiasm, he brought panic and 

 death into the haunts of birds, and yet 

 no one loved them better nor rejoyed 

 more in their society, for in childhood 

 he had wept over "The Death of Cock 

 Robin," and applauded bird kindness 

 in "The Babes in the Woods," and 

 from these early impressions of sym- 

 pathy and affection had sprung a last- 

 ing friendship. Had they come to his 

 call and allowed themselves to be 

 fondled and examined, not one would 

 have perished at his hands. It was- 

 now in his power to gratify a longing 

 to handle them and compare the dif- 

 ferent shapes of wings and bills and. 

 feet and plumage variation, and ascer- 

 tain their identity. By the aid of his 

 key it was an easy matter to trace from 

 family to genus but often he could get 

 no further, and sent parts that could be 

 saved to older heads and learning in 

 this way it was impossible to forget. 

 The anticipated pleasure in securing 

 birds was discovered an illusion, for 

 even though shooting them for study, 

 it seemed a waste of precious life be- 

 cause in a day or two they went the 

 way of all dead things. They must be 

 preserved, and he passed through the 

 taxidermist's hands and came out com- 

 petent to prepare them in a scientific 

 manner. This was a period of deep 

 interest in books on taxidermy and he 

 read much and comprehended what he 

 read since he had mastered the practi- 

 cal work. To further his study of mults 

 and learn eft'ects of captivity upon 

 plumage, besides observing character- 

 istics more closely and other things, he 

 purchased a trapping cage and aside 



