74 



THE OOLOGIST 



been on a tramp through the woods 

 to a certain pond where we were in 

 the habit of going in bathing, and in- 

 cidentally where I came within an ace 

 of being drowned on one occasion. On 

 our way home one of my comrades 

 was lucky enough to flush a female 

 Maryland Yellow Throat from her set 

 of four eggs. The nest was situated 

 in some weeds alongside of a stream. 

 As the boy had no collection I thought 

 he would give the nest and eggs to 

 me and you can imagine my keen dis- 

 appointment when he decided to keep 

 them for himself. Years afterward he 

 presented the set to me. 



The following year in almost identi- 

 cally the same spot I found a fine set 

 of four Yellow Throats. Both this set 

 and the one described above are still 

 in my collection though they too are 

 prepared "antique." 



By 1885 my interest had grown in 

 intensity and I spent more time in the 

 woods and took my first sets of such 

 species as Acadian Flycatcher, Red- 

 eyed Vireo and Scarlet Tanager. It 

 was this same summer that my 

 father's long dormant love of oology 

 burst into flame again. Just what it 

 was unawakened his interest I don't 

 exactly remember but I think it was 

 the sets I was beginning to find in 

 increasing numbers all of which he 

 prepared for me. 



I am rather inclined to think also ' 

 that a copy of The Oologist must have 

 fallen into his hands about this time 

 and this of course helped the good 

 cause along. 



On the 31st of August, 1885, I found 

 a set of twelve Quail and one of six 

 Goldfinch, two examples of very late 

 nesting. The former, though heavily 

 incubated, was saved, but the latter 

 was broken in getting it down the 

 tree. The next day, September 1st, 

 will always stick in my memory, for 

 on that occasion I saw for the first 



time a real collection of eggs and 

 met for the first time one who has 

 proved to be a life-long friend, Thomas 

 H. Jackson, of West Chester, Pa., that 

 sterling oologist and true man. Then 

 as now, Tom Jackson had a choice col- 

 lection of finely prepared sets arranged 

 in a most artistic manner. Greatness 

 has always been one of the most pro- 

 nounced of this veteran oologist's 

 characteristics. The impression made 

 on my father by seeing this collection 

 was such that he thereupon deter- 

 mined to acquire a real collection of 

 his own. 



Such was the start of the Norris 

 collection. This being the fact, is it 

 any wonder that this occasion should 

 stand out in my memory? 



Shortly after this we met Harry G. 

 Parker, in his day one of the most en- 

 thusiastic of oologists who had during 

 a period of fifteen or twenty years 

 through fine collections, the last of 

 which is known as the Jean Bell col- 

 lection was one of the best in the 

 country. 



Parker then lived in Philadelphia 

 and my father and myself spent many 

 a pleasant evening looking over his 

 oological treasures. Parker had a 

 lively, breezy manner that made him 

 very good company and he retains 

 those characteristics to this day, 

 though his health is none of the best. 



In January, 1886, my father became 

 one of the editors of the famous Orni- 

 thologist and Oologist, one of the best 

 ornithological magazines ever pub- 

 lished in this country. Through his 

 energetic methods the paper for the 

 next five years contained a splendid 

 lot of articles. In the spring of 1886 

 I met for the first time, Samuel B. 

 Ladd, universally known to his in- 

 timates as "Sam" Ladd. Lad was one 

 of the oologists that have made West 

 Chester famous. Ladd, a lively, jolly 

 soul if ever there was one, was in my 



