172 



A FLYING TRIP TO THE TROPICS. 



oakum. I obtained the oakum 

 on the river steamer. The Span- 

 ish name for it is " estopa." The 

 best preservative is dry arsenic, 

 which should be carried in a tight 

 can with a screw cap. The can 

 should be conspicuously marked 

 with both the English word " Poi- 

 son " and the Spanish word "Ye- 

 neno." 



And now, to change the subject 

 abruptly, I would say a few words 

 about photography. The ability 

 to sketch rapidly and accurately 

 ^ is much to be envied, yet for one 

 person with Mr. Gather wood's tal- 



RED-TAILED HAWK (LIVING BIRd). ^ T • 1 



ent, there are ten thousand with- 

 out ; and then, too, how rapidly a camera does its work ! I believe 

 a camera to be nowadays an essential part of every traveler's outfit ; 

 yet it has its limitations. In regard to choice of cameras, it is like 

 choice of shot guns ; every one thinks his own the best. I took 

 with me a " Hawk-eye," taking 4x5 plates, and used glass plates 

 entirely, which were developed upon my return. Many of the pre- 

 ceding illustrations are from my photographs. I purchased my cam- 

 era several years before for the purpose of taking pictures of objects 

 of natural history ; and it is of this class of work that I wish to 

 speak. 



Considering birds first, although I am aware that some students 

 have taken fine pictures of them, I have not met with success. 

 Those pictures that I have taken of birds in a state of freedom have 

 not turned out well, usually because of the smallness of the figure 

 and of the impossibility of selecting a suitable background. I have 

 had wounded birds from time to time ; but it is very difficult to 



