62 THE CONDOR VOL. VII male hummer near the nest after the young were hatched. I was lying in the shade of the bushes a few feet from the nest one afternoon. For two whole days, I had YOUNG RUFOUS HUMMERS ON NEST IN BLACKBERRY BUSH been watching and photographing and no other hummer had been near. Suddenly, a male darted up the canyon and lit on a dead twig opposite the nest. He hadn't settled before the mother hurried at him. I jumped up to watch. They shot up and down the hillside like winged bullets, through trees and over stumps, the mother, with tail spread and all the while squeaking like mad. It looked like the chase of two meteors, that were likely to disappear in a shower of sparks, had they struck anything. If it was the father, he didn't get a squint at the bantlings. If it was a bachelor a-wooing, he got a hot reception. I can't believe the male rufous is an intentional shirk and a de- serter. I think somewhere back through the generations of hum- mingbird experience, it was found that such bright colors and such devotion about the home were dues, unmistakable for enemies. It is therefore the law of self-protection, that he keep away entirely during the period of incubation and the rearing of the young. Porlland, Oregon. The Future Problems and Aims of Ornithology LETTERS FROM PROlq'. ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE, DR. LEONHARD STEJIq'EGER, AND DR. PHILIP LUTLE SCLATER DITORIAL NOTE. Occasionally it is said, half seriously, that ornithology is becoming overworked, and this sentiment is usually evident in some of the less scientific literature of the day. Perhaps it is not stated boldly, but an acute reader may sometimes peruse between the lines. Concerning strictly scientific ornithology I am optimistic, because the limits of work in this line de- pend upon the limitations of the worker. In other words if a science, and espec- ially one ot the biological sciences, begins to play out, as it were, it is usually a good sign that something is wrong either with the scientist or his methods, or with both. Recently I sent a number of questions to several well-known ornitholog- ists with the intention of gaining their ideas concerning the future aims of ornith- ology, and its special problems. A few indulgent scientists have kindly respond- ed, and I feel sure the letters will prove of more than passing value to professional
