N 



(IV 



lS.s-2.] 



AND ooLoGIST. 



175 



The 'Rvrv {Machetes pngnax.) — The Ruff 

 is !i native of Europe, Asia and Africa kaA 

 is a rare visitor to North America. It frc 

 quents bogs and marshy grotind. being 

 met with far inland. Kuffs and Iteeves 

 (the females) used to be found in large 

 numbers in the English fens, but since the 

 drainage and cultivation of th<; fens and 

 marshes they have only been rare visitors 

 to England. In Winter the males and fe- 

 males are scarcely to be distinguished from 

 each other, but in the Spring the males as- 

 sume splendid ruffs or collars and become 

 very fine birds indeed. They vary much 

 in plumage, it being scarcely possilile to 

 Und two specimens alike. Their pecidiar 

 and striking appearance has no doubt been 

 one of the causes of their being shot down. 

 Eufl's and Reeves used to be in great request 

 for the table, and were captured in large 

 numbers by means of nets which were set 

 among the places frequented liy the Ruffs 

 for the piirpose of fighting. The captured 

 bu-ds were fed upon bread and milk which 

 they devoured in the most greedy manner, 

 and when they had laid on enough fat they 

 were killed and sent to market. During 

 the l)reeding season the males tight in the 

 most furious manner, frequenting certain 

 places, in which there are small mounds, 

 for the purpose of settling their cpiarrels. 

 In these fights the combatants never do 

 each other any serious harm, the loss of a 

 few feathers being the only result of the 

 most serious duel. Ruffs and Reeves do 

 not pair. The eggs are usually four in 

 number and are laid upon the ground. 

 They are of a greenish Virown, splashed 

 and spotted with brown and black. The 

 females alone perform all the functions of 

 ineuliatiori, and have all the trouble of 

 rearing theii- young. The males continue 

 to fight in the most furious manner during 

 the whole of the breeding season. The 

 food of Ruffs and Reeves consists of 

 water-insects, worms, larvfe and seeds of 

 aquatic plants. — ./. T. T. R.. Ryhnpe. Dur- 



Climbers and Climbing. 



Concerning the article on "Climbers 

 and Chmbing" in the September O. and 

 ()., I disagree with J. ]M. W. on some 

 points. Walking up a tree steadj-ing 

 one's self by the tips of the fingers will 

 do in many cases, but not in all, as I have 

 found from experience. I wOl give one 

 instance in proof. Standing in a swamp, 

 close on the lake shore in New York, is a 

 very large soft maple over seventy feet 

 high and nearly dead. On the top of this 

 tree a pair of Bald Eagles have nested for 

 many years and I have cUmbed to the nest 

 six or seven times. The bark of this tree 

 is nearly three inches thick, figuring the 

 rough outer part. The climbers that I 

 used on this tree, and similar ones, had 

 spurs two and three-fourths inches in 

 length — they were not a whit too long — 

 and it was necessary to strike twice and 

 often three times to knock off the ross and 

 get a firm hold. .A.S for converting my- 

 self into a horizontal letter V. ■' merely 

 touching the tips of the fingers in the 

 ridges of the bark. " it was entirely im- 

 practicable. I do not Ijelieve in hugging 

 a tree, but I must confess that I have 

 done a great deal of it on this particular 

 tree. There is another very important 

 thing, not mentioned in the article, that 

 collectors should look well to. It is that 

 the spurs of their climbers are properly 

 tempered and without flaws. "Five or six 

 3-ears ago I was climbing an ash tree, 

 steadying myself by the fingers. When I 

 was up . about twenty feet the spur broke 

 that I was resting on. I slipped five or 

 six feet, tripped on a limb, keeled over and 

 landed on my back in soft, black mud and 

 water. It wasn't very pleasant. I hanlly 

 think that the climbing of telegraph men 

 is a fail- example, for they have only small, 

 smooth, soft pine or cedar to work on. 

 In conclusion. I'm not a disciple of Inger- 

 soll, for I have never read his work 

 referred to. — 7>. E. Sfo»t: Jfinicock. Col- 

 orndo. 



