3Jf The JYaturaUsts’ Companion. 
eredum^ is a very interesting plant on 
account of the s^unmetry of its parts: 
they being all in threes. The large 
purple flower is also gorgeous, but on 
account of its vile odor it is not gener- 
all}' admired. It is easily cultivated. 
Most of our commoner wild violets 
will grow under cultivation. I would 
mention the yellow species and the 
sweet scented white violet, ( Viola hlan- 
da)^ as easily grown and very pretty. 
Other plants are the fringed gentian 
and the closed gentian, ( Gentiana crim- 
ta and G. andrewsii); the Helumun au- 
tumnale.)OY sneeze weed; and the golden 
aster, or Chrysopsia manana. 
Many other species of our native 
flora might be brought under cultiva¬ 
tion. It onl}’ requires trial and pa¬ 
tience on the part of the grower. It 
aflbrds a large held for practical work, 
and I hope that in the few years to 
come much work may be accomplished 
in this line of investigation, and that 
our gardens may be increased by many 
handsome new wild flowers. 
Notes From a Long Island Col- 
le(5Ior, 
BY AliTHUll J. HOWELL, BKOOKLYN, N. Y. 
I was at Lake Grove, Long Island, 
from May until September, this year, 
and as I took a great deal of interest 
in studying the habits of our little 
feathered friends, I thought some of 
the readers of the Naturalists’ Com¬ 
panion might like to read a few of my 
notes and experiences. 
The Yellow-shafted Flicker,or ^Tligh- 
ole,” as it is called, is quite common 
in this localit}', but very little is seen 
of him after the breeding season, which 
is from the middle of May to the flrst 
of June. Then, and when the young 
are hatched, 3^11 may hear his loud, 
rattling call quite frequently, and if 
you should knock on a tree which had 
a hole in it, ^mu would be quite likely 
to hear a response from a number of 
rather uncultivated voices in the depth 
of the hole. The eggs are merel^^ de¬ 
posited on some chips at the bottom of 
the hole, which I have generally found 
in an apple tree; it may, however, be 
frequently found in oak or poplar trees, 
where it is to be found anvwhere from 
four to fifty feet from the ground; 
the average height being about ten to 
fifteen feet. 
On the 22d of Ma}" I took a set of 
six eggs, which were partial 1 \^ incubat¬ 
ed, and another set of the same number 
on June 1st, wdiich were fresh. The 
latter looked especially beautiful to me, 
as they lay in my hat in the sunlight, 
the yolk appearing through the gloss^y 
white shell. Two weeks later, on June 
16th, I went to the nest again, and 
found seven eggs, which, out of pity to 
the birds, I did not disturb. The bird 
is veiy cowardly when its nest is ap¬ 
proached, flying away without so much 
as a look back. 
The Kingbird is another common 
summer resident, but not particularly 
liked because of its pugnacious habits. 
It will attack almost any bird that 
happens in its way,and a Crow without 
several Kingfishers after him is an un¬ 
common sight. 
While out collecting one day, I no¬ 
ticed a Catbird stealing slyly toward 
a Kingbird’s nest, with the intention, 
probably, of sucking the eggs. In my 
indignation, I was about to throw a 
stone at him, when the owners ot the 
nest appeared, and with loud screams, 
drove the intruder away. Forgetting 
