158 
ORNITHOLOGIST 
sporting in the water, looking in the dis¬ 
tance very much like ducks. One Winter 
when the river was nearly closed. I took 
considerable pleasure in watching their 
movements. The flats, so-c‘alled. were 
covered with thick ice, and near the chan¬ 
nel the broken ice was heaped up in ridges. 
There were some twenty or thirty gulls 
resting on the ice, with their heads toward 
tlie north ^vind, while some were returning 
from the flight up stream, and others were 
going out all the tune. One thing in par¬ 
ticular struck me as quite new—every bird 
on its retuiTi would go to the open chan¬ 
nel and take a bath, by plunging in the 
stream with more or less of flutter and 
flaiiping of wngs, after which it would 
gracefully take its place beside the other 
liirds on the ice for a rest. 
Besides their usual diet. Crows and Jays, 
as well as Chicadees, are not averse now 
and then to a stray kernel of com. The 
latter will steal corn from a corn-crib, if an 
entrance can be effected through a knot 
hole, or otherwise, returning to a particu¬ 
lar spot outside to feed, and will handle 
and peck a kernel, holding it between its 
feet, with quite the dexterity and skill of a 
Blue Jay. The few Crows and Jays that 
remain around the farms during the Win¬ 
ter, resort daily to the cattle yards and 
fodder grounds for stray morsels. One 
year I always made it a point when 
feeding the hens to throw a little com 
over the fence to a bare space of ground 
bordered by hemlocks and s 2 )otted alders. 
The Jays were always waiting in the copse 
for me, and came out as regularly as the 
hens for their morning meal. 
From time to time, in onr walks through 
the fields and by-ways, facts like the fore¬ 
going will i)resent themselves. Tlie nov¬ 
ice should always make a note of them. 
Some will be found (piite as important as 
the shape, color and size of an egg. — <i. 
li. f-’., \orwich. 
All subscriptions must commence with 
the current Vol.. an<l for the full Vol. only. 
[Vol. 7-No. 20 
Climbers and Climbing. 
Climbing Irons.— In “ Ingei-soll’s Bird’s 
Nesting” the following passage is quoted 
and approved : 
“Never attempt to use climbing-irons on 
a tree that you cannot reach around ; if 
you do, ten to one you will land on the 
ground below before any great height is 
gained.” If this is taken as adrice and fol¬ 
lowed. scientific climbing \vill soon be 
among the lost arts. But it must have 
been written hastily and most certainly 
from the standpoint of a novice. Now, 
our larger New England Hawks and Owls 
mostly breed in trees to large to “ reach 
around,’’ and yet. contra Ingersoll. climb¬ 
ing-irons afford the quickest, safest, and 
easiest way, to reach these nests. I have 
several hundred eggs of Raptores from 
trees of good circumference secured by 
the use of these handy implements, and 
though we read as above that falls will 
occur “ nine times out of ten.” yet in the 
voluminous records of my eggs not a sin¬ 
gle fall is chronicled. It is fair to say, 
however, that many of my sets were 
taken by experts, who have had yeai*8 of 
experience in scpiirrelling and hawking, 
and do admirable work. But with patience 
and observation there is no reason why a 
good degree of proficiency can not be 
gained by any one with the average amount 
of application. Like the beginner on 
skates your first efforts will be crude 
enough. You will sink your spurs too 
deep or will strike at random and ineffect¬ 
ually. When you get up alnnit twenty 
feet and your nerve begins to leave you, 
you will hug the tree and lose confidence 
in the footholds. And here is the fatal 
mistake. You must never hug the tree. 
It is by no means necessary to be able to 
“ reach around” the trunk. No sustaining 
power is required of the hands; the entire 
weight <»f the body goes upon ea<‘h iron 
in succession, the hands only being used 
to steady the body. When this itrinciple 
