72 
THE SCIENTIST. 
Even the extremes in any one species 
differ to sucli an extent that, without the 
intermediate forms, they might be easily 
mistaken for two, and, doubtless, many 
of the now accepted species will, in the 
future, prove to be synonyms. 
While the Burlington Limestone is 
crowded with remains of Crinoids, at 
most exposures it is so hard and so stcmt- 
ly resists disintegration that the collector 
finds little to encourage his search. A 
perpendicular rift in the strata, down 
which the water of ages has been di ip 
ping and wearing away the hard surface 
often yields a few good things and the 
softer spots in some of the layers, under 
the action of frost and water, offer up 
their gems. In one of the quarries at 
Louisiana, Mo., I have kept close watch 
on a soft weathered place in a yellow 
laj^er, for about lifteea years, obtaining 
a few nice Crinoids and Blastoids at 
every visit. Fortunately this spot is in 
the Codonites stetliformis horizon and 
among the finds are a few specimens of 
this peculiar Blastoid. 
Another favorite spot is a weathered 
outcrop at the very base of the Burling- 
ton beds, in a little run or ravine on a 
hillside. In twenty years I have dug 
out of this ledge a number of good fossils. 
Last Christmas, the weather being fine, 
I traced this stratum to another little 
run, and, with the aid of a pick and 
shovel, obtained four or five Crinoids, 
scattering the clay and broken rock 
along the hillside to await the action of 
the spring rains. A few days ago I 
visited the place again and picked up 
loose, in the scattered clay, several nice 
things, increasing the find to twenty five 
by a few hours labor with the pick. 
This particular horizon or stratum is un- 
usually interesting as most of its Cri- 
noids are new and undescribed species, 
and the fauna is mixed Chouteau and Bur- 
lington, the following fossils being read- 
ily identified; Atlnjris missouriensis, 
Spirifera marionenses^ Syringothyris 
hannihalensis^ Orthis stvallovi. Strrptor- 
hynchus ci^enistriatum, Spirifera grimes i, 
Chonetes illinvisensis, Productus Jiemingi 
Zaphrentis calceola^ Cryptoblastus melo^ 
Batocrimis langirostris, B. calviiii, Dory- 
crinus unicornis, Foteriocrinus meekanus 
and Flatycrinus planus. 
Of the unidentified forms there are three 
or four of Flatycrinus^ three of Batocri- 
mis, three or four of Actinocrimis, two 
or three of Zeacrinus., two or three of 
Agaricocrinas, one Dorycrinus^ one Ferb- 
tstella, two or three species of Za2yhrentis, 
one 3Iichetinay a Flotyceras and an Ich- 
thyocrinus. 
For the Scientist. 
The Great Blue Herou. 
By Dr. Vv^. S. Strode, Bernadotte. 111. 
Whether standing in statuesque pose 
in the shallow waters of some swampy 
lake which reflects its tall form, ap 
parently less animate than the clouds or 
lilly buds those waters mirror, or slowly 
winging its way down some river's course, 
the Great Blue Heron is always a striking 
and picturesque figure in the landscape. 
It has a wide distribution, ranging from 
South and Central Am^irica, along both 
seacoasts, to Labrador, Hudson's Bay, 
Sitka, Alaska, and through the interioi-. 
About seventy-five species of Herons 
are known, with a distribution world- 
wide. The torrid and temperate zones 
claim the greater number. 
Their greatest enemy is man, and ow- 
ing to the destructive methods of the 
plume hunters, these birds, the Ardea 
herodias are rapidly diminishing in num- 
bers. In the tamarack and cypress lagoons 
and bayous of the southern states, where 
the great heronies are situated, they have 
been almost exterminated, nor have 
they fared much better in some of their 
more northern haunts, where they are 
destroyed many times, not from any mer- 
