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93 THE EEPORT OF THE No. 36 



Society. Since those days it has been strangely mixed up with the English Pontia 

 napi Linn. It is now said to be one of several forms of this species. By a " form " 

 I suppose is meant a variety that reproduces itself. I think we may fairly ask, Does 

 the form ever return to the type ? Has anyone ever raised napi from eggs of oleracea, 

 or vice versa, has anyone ever raised oleracea from eggs of napi? 



The mountain did not always present to me the charm of a smiling countenance. 

 My duties as a Deacon in old ^St. George's under Archdeacon Leach and the Eev. 

 W. B. Bond, often took me to C6te-des-]Sreiges ; and friends there showed me a short 

 cut over the mountain, which brought me out near the Reservoir not far from the 

 head of Drummond Street. 



On one occasion I was detained till nightfall, and a thunder storm overtook me 

 on my way home. My walk was a dreary one, but I amused myself by stringing 

 together these lines : 



The Ethiop, Night, her darkest shadow flings; 



With densest cumuli the sky is spread; 

 And solemn Silence, on her owlet wings, 



Glides fitfully around the mountain's head. 

 The city's many lights below are scatter'd, 



And, here and there, a fire-fly's lamp is seen, — 

 Ah, now the tempest comes ! The clouds are shatter'd. 



And from the Thunderer's hand ithe lightnings gleam. 

 Birches and pines above my pathway quiver; 



And, for a moment, blue, unearthly bright, 

 The city and the mountains and the river 



(Oh, wondrous fairy vision ! ) burst in sight. 

 A moment more, and deafening is the din. 

 As if high heaven's huge dome were tumbling in. 



How wonderful is the illuminating power of the lightning ! Not only the im- 

 mediate surroundings were momentarily brought into view hy it, the far-away moun- 

 tains "were also shewn. I wondered what sort of folk lived among those distant hills. 

 I little thought that twenty years of my life would be spent among them. During 

 those twenty years I gathered, and since that time I have been gathering scraps of 

 information in Natural History, and with your permission I will say a few words 

 respecting (1) some of the mammals; (2) some of the birds, and (3) some of the 

 insects I have learned of. 



Mammals. 



A few months ago my son Mr. Francis F. Fyles of Riverdale, Abercorn, Sutton 

 Township, took me for an automobile ride up the Pinnacle, as far as the last farm on 

 the shoulder of the mountain. On our way we passed two Skunk Preserves, or 

 " farms " belonging respectively to Mr. Byron Spencer and Mr. Ernest Johnson. 

 A short account of Mr. Johnson's farm appeared in Rod and Gun for May last, with 

 an illustration showing the owner and four friends holding up live skunks each by 

 the tail, but very little information is given respecting the animals. 



The skunk-yard is enclosed with sheet-metal sunk to a considerable depth, and 

 bent inward at the top, that the animals may not escape, either by burrowing or 

 climbing. Snug dens are provided for the comfort of the animals, and divisions are 

 made in the yard for their separation when necessary. 



A few skunks captured by the aid of a dog, were placed in the pens. They rapidly 

 increased in number, for the females bring forth from three to nine young at a 

 litter. These are pretty little creatures as frolicsome as kittens. They are in their 



