NATURAL HIvSTORY SKETCHES 349 



down into soutliwcst Florida. I aftorward saw Iiim in Minne- 

 apolis and ho consented to send the skin, which Ik; had tanned, to 

 Washington as a fur specimen. This wildcat {L. riifus) is very 

 ahundant in Floiida, hut much smaller in si/e. Hair thin and 

 coarse even in winter. — Forest and Stream, November 24, 1892. 



Woodcock arrive in Maine not long after the arrival of the 

 robins, or as soon as the ground lias been softened by the sunny 

 days. The female soon builds a poor little nest of leaves upon 

 the ground, lays four eggs of a dull clay color covered with 

 brownish spots. The eggs are large for the size of the bird, 

 nearly as large as the eggs of the partridge. The male assists in 

 incubation. The young are a funnj' little downy crowd and will 

 quickly hide under a twig or leaf, while the old bird often takes 

 them through the air to a place of safety. Twice I have found 

 the chicks in Florida, so a few breed far south and a few have 

 been found in winter as far south as Jamaica. I never iu my 

 shooting found tliem iu California. — The Calais Times. 



