THE OOLOGIST 



material for the purpose I refer to, 

 fine red cedar sawdust. 



This material having a dark red 

 color, lends the proper background for 

 the specimens, it presents a neat and 

 perfectly uniform color scheme 

 throughout, it is a natural moth repel- 

 lant yet has a pleasant odor, it does 

 not harbor insects of any kind and for 

 this reason does not break down into 

 powder like ordinary sawdust, it does 

 not stain the specimens in any way, 

 and finally it is but the work of a 

 minute to arrange or rearrange the 

 specimens in small depressions made 

 with the finger tips. 



With ordinary cotton sheeting these 

 depressions must be made by piercing 

 and opening the material slightly. 

 Frequently the egg is covered to more 

 than half its diameter with the fibres, 

 thus hiding the markings. If the eggs 

 are allowed to touch in one large cen- 

 tral depression, they partially hide 

 each other and if small, are made dif- 

 ficult to pick up. Cotton also harbors 

 dermestes, the minute insects which 

 attack the inner lining of the shell. 

 Ordinary sawdust also harbors these 

 and other insects and in addition lacks 

 the rich red color of the cedar. Cork 

 lacks color and is a bit expensive and 

 hard to get. 



In using cedar sawdust, the tray or 

 drawer should be filled partially and 

 after raking off level with a card, tap 

 it to settle the material. Then, giving 

 the point of the finger a rotary motion, 

 make the depression to accommodate 

 the number and size of eggs in the set. 

 The eggs should be arranged in a 

 circle with points toward each other 

 and well separated to facilitate remov- 

 al when desired. The specimens will 

 "stay put," and jarring of the tray or 

 drawer does not tend to eliminate the 

 depressions if the precautions suggest- 

 ed above are taken. The sawdust 



should be sifted, using the fine for 

 small and the coarse for large eggs. 

 A. F. Ganier, 

 Nashville, Tenn. 



Flying Mallards Killed by Lightning. 



It may be of interest to readers of 

 the Oologist to report that on October 

 29th during a severe electrical storm 

 in Lonoke County, Arkansas, a flock of 

 Mallards were killed while in flight by 

 lightning. The flash is said to have 

 been so brilliant as to make the whole 

 heavens seem ablaze with fire. The 

 ducks fell near the home of Mr. W. K. 

 Oldham, an ex-senator of the state, liv- 

 ing at Pettus. Most of the ducks were 

 in condition to eat, but a few were so 

 shocked that they came to the ground 

 minus heads and feet, and some were 

 badly burned. 



H. E. Wheeler. 

 Conway, Ark. 



AT REST 



Lyman Belding, the oldest orni- 

 thologist in the United States and an 

 honorary member of the Smithsonian 

 Institution, died at Stockton, Califor- 

 nia, November 23, 1917. Mr. Belding 

 was one of the best known bird men 

 in the United States, several speci- 

 mens of birds have been named after 

 him, and in his lifetime he set the 

 songs of some of the feathered friends 

 to music. He published many scien- 

 tific papers in his lifetime. 



In the Lead 



H. A. Edwards of Claremont, Calif., 

 is entitled to the credit sent the larg- 

 est numbers of personal subscriptions 

 to friends entitling them to the Oolo- 

 gist for the year 1918, and for this 

 generosity the Oologist extends to 

 him its appreciation. 



