114 



THE OOLOGIST. 



leaving no outlet. However I found 

 several nests of the Wrens, but none of 

 them contained eggs. 



We searched out a Least Bittern, and 

 saw a Virginia Rail skulking around 

 among the grasses on edge of marsh, 

 but found no nest of either; by this time 

 it was getting dusk, so we determined 

 to eat our supper and prepare for the 

 night. In going back, we ran across a 

 boy who lived near by, and we asked 

 him if any one would have any ob- 

 jections if we stayed in the old barn 

 that night, and he told us of an old 

 house, which 'had formerly been used 

 for a club house and that nobody eared 

 who stayed in it. We found when we 

 reached this house we had struck a 

 snap, there were bunks with plenty of 

 straw, and the boy let us take a couple 

 of blankets, and if it had not been for 

 mosquitoes we could not have slept 

 more comfortable that night. 



After eating our supper, we listened 

 to the birds a little whi'e, and if we had 

 not been true lovers of nature we would 

 have thought we were in a haunted 

 place. The boom of the Bitterns, the 

 different noises of the Rails, squawk of 

 the Green Heron, the croak of the 

 Great Blue Heron, saucy note of Marsh 

 Wrens, and Blackbirds, croak of frogs, 

 and worst of them all the hum of mo- 

 squitoes, all joined in the concert to- 

 gether. 



Just as soon as day break we ate a 

 hearty breakfast, and were soon ready 

 for the marsh; I put on the-^ old pair of 

 pants I had brought, picked up an egg 

 box and started, and as there was an- 

 other short marsh that connected this 

 in another direction, and as we wished 

 to get on the lake side of the marsh, we 

 had to go around this. In goiflg around 

 I took a set of four Song Sparrow eggs 

 in among some briars, and a set of 

 three Red-eyed Vireo in a small woods. 



When we reached the beach we found 

 several sets of Spotted Sandpiper; we 

 took two sets apiece, leaving the rest to 



hatch. We found in a bank, over a 

 thousand nests of Bank Swallows and 

 dug out several nests which either con- 

 tained badly incubated eggs, young or 

 incompleted nests, and we never took 

 a good set of them. 



After searching in the marsh a little 

 while, and finding nothing, decided to 

 go back to camp; as we said we would 

 never go back the way we came, we 

 thought we could cross a little above, 

 it looked like a comparatively dry 

 woods and we rot knowing at that 

 time it connected all the way. 



My cousin went along on top of the 

 bank of marsh iu the woods and I kept 

 along the edge, going into it wherever 

 I thought a likely place. In taking dif- 

 ferent courses we got separated from 

 each other. My cousin being at top of 

 the bank of marsh, could view the 

 whole thing and thought it easier to go 

 back the way he came, and I, not know- 

 ing where he was, commenced to cross. 

 Where I started in I found it too wot, 

 and kept on going up expecting to find 

 a better place, and iu looking around I 

 found a set of^six Yellow billed Cuckoo, 

 one egg of which was undoubtedly that 

 of the Black-billed, being a little dark- 

 er and smaller. 



After packing up the eggs and writ- 

 ing the notes, I continued on searching 

 for dry land; after walking in the 

 tangled mess of briars, bushes and wil- 

 low saplings for about half an hour I 

 begaa to wonder if there was any end. 

 I climbed some cf the highest saplings 

 and could see nothing on either side 

 but a desolate mass of tangled saplings. 

 After walking in this place for about 

 an hour and a half (it seemed like five) 

 and climbing trees, I at last found an 

 edge, but was uncertain which edge it 

 was, I was so completely lost, but found 

 out afterwards it was the side I wanted* 

 Oh, what a sight I was, one pant leg 

 gone clear up to knee, and other leg 

 torn to shreds, and not a square inch 

 on my legs but had at least a dozen 



