THB OOLOOIST 



41 



breasted Merganser, Tree Swallow, 

 Ruffed Grouse, Arctic Three-toed 

 Woodpecker, Screech Owl, Downy 

 Woodpecker, Lost Flycatcher, Mary- 

 land Yellow-throated Warbler, King- 

 bird and Bronzed Grackle. 



During the summer a list of seventy 

 species were taken and data on the 

 same. Undoubtedly there are many 

 more species found around Cranberry 

 Lake, but lack of time made it im- 

 possible to make a more thorough 

 study of bird life. 



TOO TRUE AND TOO BAD 



In a personal letter received from 

 one of the leading ornithologists in 

 America, of recent date, we note the 

 following: 



"It is greatly to be regretted that 

 Ornithology has come to such dark 

 days. It was a great training school 

 for for ornithologists and we will miss 

 its graduates in the next generation, 

 even if we do not do so now. I could 

 mention a few names but they would 

 be the obvious ones with whom you 

 are as well acquainted as myself." 



A few days ago we received a com- 

 plete catalogue of the 50,000 and up- 

 ward specimens of birds' eggs in the 

 British Museum and in going over the 

 same we were impressed with the fre- 

 quency of the names of John J. Otto- 

 ban, T. N. Brewer, Robert Ridgway, 

 and other prominent American Oolo- 

 gists mentioned as having been the 

 collectors of many of these specimens 

 of eggs. 



In our own collection the names of 

 T. N. Brewer, B. F. Gluss, L. Cum- 

 mings, H. K. Worthen, Julius Grinnell, 

 F. M. Daggett, A. C. Bent, C. J. May- 

 nard, F. M. Armour and many other 

 frequently appear on the data blanks 

 accompanying our specimens. All of 

 these graduated from the school of 

 Oology. Practically all of the leading 

 Ornithologists in the last hundred 

 years have commenced their studies 

 in this way. — Editor. 



TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF A 

 COLLECTOR 



Doubtlessly we have all had our 

 little hardships while out collecting 

 which would be of interest to our fel- 

 low naturalists, and since the Oologist 

 is a collectors' paper it follows that 

 such contributions should appear in 

 its columns. There is usually more 

 interest in the bird tale when it also 

 contains some of the trials and 

 troubles accompanying the find, so let 

 us all think over our past experiences 

 and recount them to our brothers. 



During February 1917 I scouted 

 early for hawk and owl nests. I found 

 a beautiful large, nest of the Red-tail 

 situated in a heavy wood along the 

 Sangamon River in Piatt Co., 111. It 

 was 60 feet up in the top of a tall, 

 smooth sycamore tree. A pair of 

 hawks were sailing above the wood 

 so I immediately formed an image of 

 a fine set of three eggs which soon 

 would be collected there. 



The time being right I set out 

 March 17th to visit my nest. There 

 had been a thaw several days pre- 

 vious and much of the river bottom 

 was flooded, but the weather was no 

 longer warm for it had turned cloudy 

 and a sharp wind was blowing a gale. 

 Arriving at the wood I found it sur- 

 rounded by the river on one side and 

 by a forty foot overflow on the others. 

 Well, here was a problem! There 

 were no bridges to cross upon, nor 

 boats in which to row over, but finally 

 I decided to try to pole over on a log 

 which lay conveniently at the water's 

 edge. All went well until I reached 

 the half way point when the log start- 

 ed rolling over and over and I com- 

 menced a sailor's hornpipe to keep 

 balanced. The log soon rolled faster 

 than I could jig and I was tumbled off 

 in ice and water nearly up to my 

 shoulder pits. It didn't take long for 

 me to decide that the water was too 



