180 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[December, 



WOODPECKERS. 



(Pici'ltr.) 

 -Not a sound was heard 



But the woodpecker taiipingtbe hollow beech tree." 

 This family cominises biiils cliaracterized 

 by straight, rigid, and sharp bills, whicli are 

 specially adapted to cutting into bark or 

 •wood ; and by lona, acute tongues, anned 

 towards their tijis with barbs, and capable of 

 great extension. They have stout feet, clothed 

 before with broad plates, long wings, ten pri- 

 maries, and twelve tail feathers, the exterior 

 being small and concealed. Woodpeckers 

 feed upon the larvae of insects, which they 



secure by intro- 

 ducing their 

 extensible 

 tongue under 

 the bark of 

 trees, or into 

 crevices, or in- 

 to holes which 

 they them- 

 selves have 

 m a d e, a n d 

 then transfix- 

 ing the larvie 

 w i t h the 

 barbed point ; 

 or the larvic 

 adhere to tlic 

 viscid glue 

 with which the 

 tongue is C(jv- 

 ered. They 

 are very com- 

 mon in both 

 hemispheres, 

 and about 

 twenty -five 

 species are found in North America." 



These birds vary very much in size, from 

 six to twenty-one inches long, and they also 

 vary very much in the distribution of tlicir 

 colors, which are mainly black and white. 

 Some are characterized " by red heads, red 

 crests, or other red markings, and in a few the 

 white is replaced by golden yellow, as in the 

 common Flicker (Colaptcs auratm). They 

 belong to the order Scaitsods, or climbers, 

 and their feet are well adapted for that pur- 

 pose. In the species jirovided with four toes, 

 two of said toes stand forward, and two back- 

 ward. In those having only three toes, two 

 are forward and one l)aekward. They exca- 

 vate holes into the dead branches of trees, and 

 make their nests therein, laying from lour to 

 six eggs, which are generally of a pure wliite. 

 The influence exercised by the woodpecker 

 family upon the agricultural and sylvicultuial 

 interests of the C(jiintry can never be properly 

 estimated. It is true 'that some of them will 

 occasionally purloin fruit, especially "small 

 fruit," but it is alleged in their defence, that 

 when they appropriate a cherry or a berry, it 

 is because they are infested' by worms, and 

 that the bird is more in quest of the animal 

 than the vegetable food ; and in support of 

 that theory, we are able to .say that we have 

 known the flicker and the "i-ed-hoded wood- 

 pecker" (Mekirierjics crt/throcfjihalus) to visit 

 both the domestic and the wild cherry trees, 

 and carry off the fruit, late in the sea.son, 

 when nearly every berry must certainly have 

 been infested by a worm, perhaps the larvfvof 

 a cunulio. In any event, the berry season is 

 a short one, and therefore the great bulk of 

 the food consumed liy the wood| eckers is tlic 

 larva; of insects, and their peculiar instincts 

 unerringly teach them wlien and where to find 

 tliem. Every boy i.s conversant with tlie 

 habits of the common "Sapsucker" (Pints 

 villosvs), and its industry and skill in dislodg- 

 ing worms from the trunks of old apple trees, 

 albeit their early impressions may have been 

 that they were engaged in sucking sap instead 

 of dislodging worms and destroying them. 



It will be noticed that all the biids belong- 

 ing to this family have the tail fiathcrs more 

 or less sharj) pointed; and it will also lie no- 

 ticed that in running up a tree or branch, the 

 tail is partially spread and pressed down ui)on 

 the surface over whicli they are passing, e3])e- 

 cially at the moment when they stop. There 



cannot, therefore, be a doubt that this form of 

 the tail, and this use of it, is for some special 

 purpose, and that purpose to facilitate their 

 movements, and to give them purchasing 

 ])ower. It acts as a sort of rudder in its pedes- 

 trian locomotion, just as a greater expansion 

 of it does, with birds in general, in steadying 

 their flight, especially when they are about to 

 alight. 



Our illustration represents one of the crested 

 species, of which we have several, one at least 

 of which is found in Lancaster county, 

 and commonly called "Cock of the Wood, "or 

 "Black Wood Cock," (Hylotonws palmtus.) 

 This is an exceeding shy bird, and when fol- 

 lowed by a hunter it giies in quick succession 

 from one tree to another, generally alighting 

 on the highest limbs, always taking good care 

 to keep on " tother side" of the limb. We 

 recall a " wild goose chase " we had after one 

 of these birds about forty years ago, in which 

 we were decoyed hither and thither by the 

 wily creature until we had traversed about 

 seven miles. Finally, when the evening 

 shadows began to lengthen " we stole a 

 march " on him, and blowed him nearly to 

 atoms, to our great disappointment, for we 

 intended him as a fine " specimen " for our 

 " collection." A fine specimen of this bird is 

 ill the museum of the Linna'an Society, Lan- 

 caster, Pa. The shooting of this bird ought to 

 be strictly interdicted by law, (excejit a very 

 limited number for scientific purposes) as it 

 feeds entirely on larvre and remains here un- 

 til very late in autumn, if not all winter, (we 

 have seen it in Kentucky in -lanuary.) In- 

 deed, the whole family of woodpeckers ought 

 to be protected all the year round. 



THE FACTS OF NATURAL HISTORY. 



No. 6.— A Dog Story. 



Dogs cannot laugh, except with their tails; and 

 then their laugh is a laugh of joy. I doubt the exist- 

 ence of a doggish sense of humor. But scorn and 

 contempt they undoul>tedly do feel — they show it to 

 other dogs, and I believe that they must feel it for 

 some men. At least I should not like to run the risk 

 of losing the respect of a dog of any character. I 

 should certainly see it in the contemptuous whisk of 

 his tail, and in the sidelong glances of his eye. The 

 most supreme exhibition of contempt that I ever saw 

 was from a dog of mine. He was a nohle beast, large 

 and beautiful. His sire was an English bloodhound, 

 his dam a St. Bernard mostitf. He was fawn colored, 

 brindled, and his ears were softer than the finest silk. 

 He was so big that be could stand on all fours and 

 take a roll with his mouth from the dining-table, and 

 that he could spring up, put his paws on my shoulder, 

 and look me in the face. And yet I had a little black 

 and tan terrier that would bully dear old Thor — for 

 so I named him — out of evcr3'thing ; everything, that 

 is, but bones, meatless bones ; for that is a subject 

 iipon which no dosr of any delicate sense of wliat is 

 due to himself will allow the least outside interfer- 

 ence. But Thor loved luck and would let the little 

 rascal do almost what he liked, and when his teasing 

 and impudence reached a point that was intolerable, 

 the grand old fellow, instead of taking bis tormentor 

 by the back of the neck and quietly drojiping him 

 somewhere out of the way, would meekly come and 

 jmt his great paw on my knee to lieg me to go out 

 and set matters straight. And yet for I'uek he would 

 light anything; and many was the row into which he 

 got by standing up for his quarrelsome little play- 

 fellow . 



One day I took Thor with me on a new walk, in 

 the course of which we passed the gate of a farmer 

 who had two large pointer dogs, which were very 

 cross and quarrelsome, both with man and beast ; 

 even so much so that they attacked men that came to 

 the gate. As we approached the gate, there they 

 lay together outside of it upon the close green sward 

 that stretched info the road. At the sight of Thor 

 they pricked up their ears, rose to their feet and be- 

 gan to ^rovvl. Thor, trotting on ahead of me, turned 

 his head a moment, but kept on his trot. As we 

 drew near they crouelied together upon their bellies 

 and began to move thus toward the middle of the 

 road; and when we were opposite fheir gate, with 

 one yelping bark, they made a simultaneous rush 

 upon the stranger. Oh, Thor, Thor, did the spirit of 

 Shakespeare enter into thee, that without even turn- 

 ing thy head again,thouheavedstuptby leg likeCrah's 

 dog, and served those dogs as he served the gentle- 

 woman's farthingale, and then joggcdst on as if noth- 

 ing had happened, leaving them to sneak back to 

 their lair, with their tails between their legs, less in 

 fear than in astonishment, and thy delighted master 

 to cleave the sky with laughter? Verily,! think ftiere 

 be some human curs, who like to spring yelping upon 



a man merely because he is a stranger, whom it 

 would be well if some big human mastiff would treat 

 somewhat after the same fashion. They deserve no 

 more respectful consideration. — Richard Grant White. 



It is not quite certain that "dogs cannot 

 laugh except with their tails." No doubt 

 many persons have noticed facial grimaces 

 in dogs, that seemed to be equivalent to a 

 smile or laugh, from whatever feeling or emo- 

 tion they may have sprung, or for whatever 

 purpose. It is more certain, however, that 

 dogs do feel shame and guilt — so shamed and 

 guilty indeed, that they could not look their 

 masters and others in the face, and were glad 

 to slink in some obscure corner away from 

 view. They arc also keenly susceptible to 

 grudges, hates and revenge, and will remem- 

 ber ofl'enses, and teasing annoyances, a long 

 time. In short they are the most remarkable 

 compounds of fidelity, sagacity, affection and 

 lasciviousness, in addition to their other char- 

 acteristics, known to the animal kingdom. In 

 our youth we had two very peculiar experi- 

 ences with dogs, which illustrate some of the 

 characteristics adverted to in the foregoing. 



On one occasion we approached a farm 

 house, where we had persistently teased a 

 young dog about six months previously. We, 

 on this occasion, had no thought of the dog, 

 nor did we see him, until after we felt him ; 

 for, assassin-like, as soon as he saw us, he made 

 a detour, out-flanked us, and approached us in 

 the rear, and gave us "such a bite." His 

 master was astonished, for such an attack was 

 not a habit of the animal, so far as had been 

 observed. The dog must have known us, and 

 remembered our former teasing, and thus re- 

 venged himself before we could avail om-self 

 of the protection of his keeper. 



It was a mean attack, however, and the dog 

 himself seemed to be sensible of it, for he 

 closed his eyes, crouched himself, and fauly 

 whined with shame and guilt, under the repri- 

 mand of his owner. Another time we were 

 passing a house in the same street, and about 

 half a square from where we resided, in an in- 

 corjiorated borough, and found several boys 

 teasing a large dog tlirough crevices in a fence, 

 too small for the dog to pass through, and the 

 fence too high for him to leap over. Suddenly 

 the dog ran ofl' towards the lower end of the 

 enclosure, and leaped over into an alley, and 

 the boys sciimpered away as fast as their feet 

 could carry them. We passed slowly on, for 

 as we had no baud in the teasing, we thought 

 that was an end of the matter. Suddenly we 

 were seized by the arm and drawn into the 

 door of a house with a shriek, and the door 

 barely closed when the rampant dog, with fire 

 in his eyes, thundered againstit with the force 

 of an ordinary man. Previous to that time 

 we had passed that house every day and the 

 dog made no attempt to molest us, although 

 he was frequently sitting or lying on the door- 

 steps, or some other jilace in close proximity 

 to the house. From that time forth, however, 

 that dog never ceased in his attempts to attack 

 us, and even single us out, if there were fifty 

 others on the street; and many are the escapes 

 — " by the bare skin of the teeth" — which we 

 have made from his ferocious jaws. He was 

 a perfect incvhus to us, and in our dreams we 

 had many a " horrid fright " of him. With all 

 the sagacity usually attributed to dogs, here 

 was a clear case of mistaken identity. He 

 knew our previous character, for he had seen 

 us a hundred times, and had even permitted 

 our caresses, and we had given him many a 

 bone. Yet now he became a very devil incar- 

 nate, and all his pent up rage was vented on 

 us. He was eventually shot for tresspass, and 

 when we heard of it we were relieved from a 

 great weight of anxiety and fear, and life had 

 a dift'erent charm for us. 



One more case, and we will have done with 

 dogs for the present. A farmer had a fero- 

 cious dog, whose bad reputation was known all 

 over the neighborhood. We were then about 

 twenty years of age. In a cornfield, remote 

 from tlie farmhouse, was agroup of wild cherry 

 trees which we visited for the purpose of shoot- 

 ing robins and other game birds, which resorted 

 there in large numbers in those days. The 

 farmer and his employees were in a ccmtigu- 



