20 
ORNITHOLOGIST 
[Vol. 6-No. 3 
ORNITHOLOGIST and OOLOGIST. 
A MONTHLY MAOAZINK DEVOTED TO THE STUDY 
OF BIUDS, THEIR NESTS AND EOOS. 
JOS. M. WADE. - - - . Editor 
S. L. WILLARD, - - - Ass’t EdUor 
With the co-operation of able Ornitliologieal 
Writers ami Collectors. 
Subscription.—S i.oo per annum. Foreign 
subscription 25 including postage. Specimen 
copies 10 cents each 
JOS. M. WADE. 
Rockville, Conn. 
Entered at the Rockville P. O. as second-class matter. 
EDITORIAL. 
Recent Publications.— The stud} of or¬ 
nithology has lately developed to such an 
extent that we come naturally to look upon 
its literature with a more critical eye than 
a few years ago, when each new publication, 
of whatever pretension, was hailed—and 
justly—with much interest and cordiality. 
Books were not written for the sake of the 
author’s fancied appreciation of seeing him¬ 
self in print. We encountered little that 
did not bear the evidence of true value; 
because it was a lawful piivilege, respected 
by the younger students of the science, of 
the ablest men to form the results of the 
current investigation for public use. In 
these days of rapid growth and increased 
interest in the study of birds, and the grad¬ 
ual lifting of popular misconceptions and 
old and often taught errors, we look for a 
higher scale in the literature from wliich 
we must of necessity derive the bulk of our 
information. We are quicker to discover 
an imperfection than formerly. The rapid 
perfection in book making and art in illus 
tration, have excited our discrimination to 
such an extent that we are apt to discour¬ 
age that publication which does not teach 
us more than the one which preceded it. 
To be sure we make all allowances for the 
nature of the work. We can not criticise 
books of fiction and books of science in the 
same way; the elements are too unlike. 
But the latter must be read; they must 
consist of facts, and. unlike the former. 
must be exact: we can not tolerate errors. 
There are several reasons for an increased 
attention to this department of our jour¬ 
nal. We believe that we are called upon 
to guide, in a measure, our readers’ selec¬ 
tion of bird publications. We Owe it to 
the coming generation of young ornitholo¬ 
gists to keep before them a resume of the 
current ornithological literature, the mass 
of which is from the nature of the case, in¬ 
accessible to all. We shall endeavor to 
make this portion of the Ornithologist and 
O oLOGisT of especial value by pronouncing 
candidly, decisively, and when possible, at 
length, upon all ornithological publications 
that come to our notice. 
Rake Eggs.— We have just received from 
Wilhelm Schluter, Halle on the Saale, Ger¬ 
many, three sets of eggs which are rare in 
this Country. They came through in per¬ 
fect order and are fine specimens. First a set 
of six Snowy Owl, Nyctea scandiaca, (406) 
These eggs are dated January 7th, 1880, 
and are from Tornea in Lapland. Second 
a set of four Great Gray Owl, Ulula cin- 
erea, (339). This set is dated May ‘20th, 
1880, and are from Kittila, in Finland. 
Third a set of six American Hawk Owl, 
Surnia funerea, (407.) This set is dated 
May 2‘2d, 1880, and is from Labrador. 
With the above we received an exceedingly 
fine skin of the Eagle Owl, Bubo muxi- 
mu8. It is a female and a very large fresh 
skin. Although it is an expensive business 
importing eggs, we must say that Wilhelm 
Schluter has our entire confidence. 
Our Contributors, who have favored us 
so liberally with valuable observations, and 
whose articles do not immediately appear, 
will please bear with us for awhile, and we 
hope will still continue to supply us with 
such observations as they may make during 
the present collecting season. We would 
earnestly request our reiulers while collect¬ 
ing and when matters new come before them 
to observe carefully and immediately note 
down the facts for publication. 
