laubom ilote^ m ilatural |bton) 



Vol. 1. 



PROVIDENCE, SEPTEMBER, 1884. 



Entered at the Providence Post-Offiee as Second-Class Matter. 



No. IX. 



!]|anbom !f otos on !f atural f isiori|. 



A Monthly Devoted to the Distribution of Usk- 

 FUL, Knowledge Concerning the Various De- 

 partments OF Zoology, Mineralogy, and 

 Botany. 50 Cents a Year. 

 Address all communications to 



SOUTHWICK & JENCKS, 

 258 Westminster St., Providence, K. 1., U.S. A. 



SPECIAL NOTICE. 



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 if desired. 



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Article-s are continually appearing in 

 the newspapers, stating facts pertaining to 

 natural science, but giving no authority for 

 the same. Many times these reported facts 

 are the fruit of some scribe's brain, and 

 very interesting ; but what we want to know 

 is, are they true? A New Orleans paper, 

 under the title of "The War on the Con- 

 dor," gives quite a lengthy account in sub- 

 stance as follows : That the Chilian gov- 

 ernment has declared a war of extermina- 

 tion against tlie condor, and offers $5 a 

 head for them, that they are so shy as to 

 render it nearly impossible to kill them, and 

 it is* further suggested that the only pos- 

 sible wa}' seems to be by destroying their 

 eggs. 



This latter clause seems so improbable 

 as to cause a distrust of the entire article. 

 We would like to know why the condor is a 

 nuisance, and if so, why he ma}' not be dis- 

 posed of in the same manner that has well 

 nigh exterminated our California Vulture? 



This was by poisoning tin* carcasses of ' 

 animals for tlie wolves to eat. r.iid Uk; vul- 



ture eating also, shared the fate of the 

 wolves. 



The author remarks that "birds soon 

 learn to avoid danger, as has been proved 

 since the erection of telegraph wires, few 

 birds now being killed b}' flying against the 

 wires." We are constantly receiving birds 

 killed in this way, but with few exceptions, 

 they are night-flying birds. Was the mor- 

 tality greater in the earlier days of teleg- 

 raphy than now ? The cuckoos seem to be 

 most foolish in this respect, even flying 

 against windows and screen doors in broad 

 daylight. 



The present is an age for exploding set- 

 tled theories and statements, so oft repeated 

 as to be accepted l)y ad for facts. The 

 prairie-dog, burrowing owl, and rattlesnake 

 no longer live in harmony, hoop snakes no 

 longer exist, etc. But the bighorn sheep 

 is still allowed to make long leaps and 

 alight on his horns. The editors of Ran- 

 dom NoTEi^ invite their readers to pick to 

 pieces this modern mythology. Barnum 

 says the American people like to be hum- 

 bugged. Were it not so it is not likely so 

 many oft-repeated bogus facts would have 

 survived so long unchallenged. 



A statement has lately appeared that the 

 prairie-dogs are acquiring new areas cast- 

 ward, and bid fair to be a serious pest. 

 Will some of our correspondents living on 

 the eastern border of the range of the prai- 



In rei)ly to our question why he advo- 

 cates the opening incision being made from 

 top of breast-bone, Mr. Lucas replies : 



" In every work on taxidermy, we are 

 told that in skinning a bird the cut should 

 commence at the lower part of the breast- 

 bone. After much experience in mounting 

 dried skins, we would say, commence near 

 the top of sternum. In the majorit}' of dry 

 skins the opening is too short to permit 

 ready manipulation and has to be prolonged. 

 Now the edges of the original cut will be 

 found shrunken and thickened, and stitches 

 taken therein do not pull out. But in the 

 new cut the edsres are thin and weak, and 



