27 



caughl Iht' huugrv rlmbs with grub-worms, grass- 

 hoppers or mussels, in this their favorite trysting place. 

 The birds' sharp aud angry notes induced me to hurry 

 to the spot Avheie I discovered a i)ryiug Red Squirrel 

 to be the originator of all the confusion. The squirrel 

 had detected a partly feathered young ground sparrow 

 and in endeavoring to catch it had knocked or scared 

 it into the water and it was struggling at the edge 

 of the pool when suddenly there was a splash, and the 

 bird vanished. A stone cast at the squirrel drove him 

 away as well as the birds he had annoyed. 



T. then directed my attention to fishing and cast my 

 hook baited with a "willow worm" into the pool, a 

 quick jerk and a taut line, told me I had a fish, which 

 when landed proved to be a sixteen inch chub. On 

 opening the stomach of this fish I found the young 

 sparrow which had so mysteriously, about fifteen min- 

 utes before, left the water's surface. 



FOREST FIRES VS. WILD AND DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 



The time is fast approacning when the ci^i/.i-us v»f 

 this great Commonwealth will be compelled to adopt 

 some stringent measures to prevent the destructive for- 

 est fires which occur yearly, generally in the spring 

 and autumn, and often also during the dry summer 

 season. 



FOREST FIRES INCREASING. 



During recent years or since forest fires have in 

 creased so markedly in many of the mount ainous por- 

 tions o(f Pennsylvania, there has been a great de- 

 crease in the number of woodpeckers, nuthatches and 

 different species of wood warblers, vireos, likewise the 

 sweet voiced thrushes, many of which subsist, to a 

 large degree, ou numerous forms of forest-tree de- 



