226 THE CONDOR Vol. XVlI could not.prove it, for when we left we made a wide detour to avoid driving her from her emerging ducklings. The next day during the first drops of a thunderstorm we hurried down for a look at the nest. This time the mother, instead of bursting out of the patch and flying off, flew low through the bushes, apparently dragging her wings. She might well use her best methods to decoy away intrdders, for all but two of her eggs had now hatched. As we leaned eagerly over the nest a hat- full of downy yellow ducklings huddled back under the bushes. We had barely time to notice their brown eye streaks, ducklike bills, and streaked backs, when the storm burst, and descending rain and hail drove us back to the farmhouse. Two days later, when we went down with the camera, only one egg and a few bits of shell remained in the nest. Our ducklings had gone! They had doubtless been spirited away to some safe harbor, but find them I could not. The parents--if it were they--I did see later, on the beach. Close to the water sat the duck, bill over back, apparently napping, while the drake kept watch. IIe lay at his ease on his side when discovered, but afterwards sat up on his feet like a rdore proper guardian, occasionally moving his handsome green head observantly. When his sleeping mate woke she flew off into the lake and he fol- lowed, after which they swam around side by side as serenely as if there had never been an Elsa and Lohengrin episode! Washington, D.C., May 23, 1915. A CONVENIENT COLLECTING GUN By LOYE HOLMES MILLER WITH ONE PHOTO HE MAN with questionable standards in the matter of Sunday observ- ance or of conformance to public park regulations is not the only man who may be interested in a collecting pistol. Despite the implied shadow upon his reputation, the writer asserts that he has found a collecting pistol an extremely useful weapon. The field trip of other than ornithological nature, where a twenty-eight inch gun barrel would be out of the question; the one hand-bag journey when nothing bigger than a holster gun can be crowded in; the country walk where one may be well within the law of both church and state, and yet not wish to be made conspicuous by a full-grown shot gun; the expedition after lizards ;--these are all occasions upon which the collecting pistol has served the writer well. It has added many valuable specimens to his collection and has established one record for the region west of the Rockies. l?Iy experiments began in the high school days, when an old Colt's navy revolver was bored out smoothe, carried to school in a clarinet case, and used on the way as a bird-call. The path to school was four mile s long. This rather heavy ordnance was later supplanted by an old Smith and Wesson pocket revolver with ten inches of brass tubing thrust down its throat and sweated in with soft solder. The most effective weapon, for its size, is the one now used and which forms the subject of this note. A Colt, .38 calibre, Police Positive Special revolver forms the basis of the
