Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-02-14

few. Among the bills presented for
payment, was one by Mr.. Charlie Line
berger for $25, for rescuing w. J.
Parlier, an insane inmate of the coun-
ty home, who came near drowning In
a pond near Dallas on Dec. 8, 1904.
The bill was not honored. A number
of minor matters, chiefly the auditing
and payment Of bills. were transacted.
HUNTING BIG BIRDS EGGS.
How the Collector Gets His Specimens
and How He Preserves Them.
Those who think deer or mountain
lion hunting to be hard work ought to
try hunting hawks nests for while
and get taste Of the really strenuous
life. Hawks nest all over the world,
from the equator to the far north; they
make up one of the largest and most
widely known of any Of the bird fam
lilies. To them belong the great bald
eagles and the tiny sparrow hawks
every body knows. But their habits
are all different, so that methods which
will result in the finding Of one hawks
nest, says the Los Angeles Times, will
take the hunter directly by the home
of another species. The little sparrow
hawk lays it's eggs in a hollow tree,
while the eagle builds bulky nest OF
all sorts Of sticks and places 1t In the
very tiptop Of the highest available
tree.
The hawk hunter-who, by the way
calls himself an 'oologist"-takes with
him as much Of an outfit as would a
deer hunter. First of all, he wears
suit of duck or khaki, lemon, or, pre-
ferably. forest green in color, and In
stead Of the usual heavy shoes or a
hunter, light leather creations which
Weld to every movement Of the foot
and cling as tenaciously to the bark
of trees as would the bare foot. To aid
him in climbing still further, he car
ries a pair Of the climbers" used by
telephone and telegraph linemen. Add
ed to this is a tin box having straps
on each end so that 1t may be easily
carried, and in which the eggs are
carefully packed in cotton.
Entering the forest or the cliff
walled canon, the modern hawker
strikes out carefully, treading as ST.
lently as any deer hunter. searching
the skies frequently with field glass
I'D ha
eagles and most Of the owls nest In
early spring, from the first Of Februa-
ry to the end Of May, so that the COL
lector must be afield early in order to
get eggs in which incubation has not
commenced. He scans the tops OF
trees or such likely places as he knows
and, finding some great bulk Of sticks
looming darkly against the sun, he lays
down his paraphernalia and ascends
the tree. If the hawk be one Of the
large species known as buzzard hawks.
a rap on the trunk of the tree will usu-
ally send the nesting bird in screaming
flight from her home. With the small
er hawks this test does not apply. but
the experienced hawker rarely climbs
to a nest from which no bird can be
induced to fly.
Once secured and brought safely
home, the next thing for the "oolo-
gist" to do is to preserve the eggs.
This he does by drilling a small hole
in one side Of the egg and removing
the contents by means Of blowpipe.
instruments are manufactured for this
purpose, and many are Of Intricate
make for use when the eggs are val
liable and so far incubated as to be un-
savable with the unaided blowpipe.
When the eggs are emptied Of their
contents, they are thoroughly dried
with hot air and then laid carefully
away in trays Of cornmeal to become
entirely dry in case the air has LETT
any drops Of moisture. In day or
two they are placed In their final nest
Of cotton in the drawer Of cabinet
where many other hawks eggs have
preceded them. Each collection Is
catalogued, and the eggs are marked
with a known symbol. so that not only
may each set be distinguished from all
the others, but each species may also
be known by a glance at the egg and
without reference to the printed cata-
logue.
Many thousands Of dollars worth Of
hawks and other birds eggs pass an
nually through the mails Of this coun-
try. They are sent in exchange be-
tween collectors living in widely sep
arated parts of America, and many
come from Europe, where the study Of
birds eggs and the sport Of collecting
them have been developed to much
greater extent than here.
rare merlin found only in the
northern part of Canada during the
breeding season lays an egg worth SIS
to it's fortunate finder: and not only
this, but the merlin usually lays some
three to five eggs in every nest, so that
"set" (as the full number Of eggs
laid by a bird Is called) may be worth
a neat sum to the hawker who finds 1t.
But It Is not for money that most OF
these men who have taken up this kind
Of sport go out: many Of them are
independently rich, others are in lucra-
tive positions, but they take it up as
a means Of getting out into the world
of the wild, and bring home the eggs
as souvenirs Of their trips. In time
this has grown to be regular study,
until now almost all the large mu-
seums have a department devoted ex-
clusively to the study Of the eggs OF
birds. living and extinct.
BANKER AFRAID OF WESTINGHOUSE.
Mr.. George Westinghouse, the IA
nous inventor of the air brake. has
remarkable power over men. An incl
dent demonstrating this occurred In
the presidents office in one Of the
largest Pittsburg banks a few years
ago. The presidents private telephone
rang several times. and finally an