94 BIRD STUDIES WITH A CAMERA 
properly arranged would make an excellent field 
blind. 
It is difficult to carry one of these blinds in 
addition to a camera, etc., without assistance, and 
I fear that the inconvenience attending their use 
will restrict them to the few enthusiasts who count 
neither time, labor, nor cost in attaining a desired 
end. 
For my own part, I prefer, when possible, to con- 
ceal my camera and make the exposure from a dis- 
tance rather than to weight myself with a portable 
blind and to endure the discomforts of being con- 
fined within it. 
Sundries.—The bird photographer will find that 
he requires numerous articles not usually to be found 
in the regulation photographic outfit, as, for exam- 
ple, climbers for ascending trees and stout cords for 
hauling the camera up after him; a dark-cloth, green 
in color, to aid in disguising the camera, and a mir- 
ror. The latter should be of plate glass, and meas- 
ure at least twelve by ten inches. A good plan is to 
buy a piece of glass of desired size and frame it sim- 
ply in white pine. It may then be attached to a 
limb, a stick driven in the ground, or other conven- 
ient object, by means of the ball-and-socket clamp 
mentioned under Tripods, which may be screwed into 
the back or the outer border of the frame. Sucha 
mirror will reflect sunlight many yards to shaded 
nests, where, in photographing old or young birds, a 
quick exposure is necessary. A vest-pocket mirror, 
for use in reflecting the reading of the diaphragms 
or time on the shutter, will permit one to make the 
desired changes from the rear, and thus prove help- 
