JOURNAL AND PROCEEDINGS. 107 
NATURAL HISTORY NOTES. 
Read before the Biological Section of the Hamilton Scientific Association. 
BY WM. YATES. 
Quite a big snow fall came upon us on Monday night, Dec. oth, 
and brought with it to our fields a vast assemblage of snow buntings. 
My grandchildren admired the birds’ evolutions much, as anon 
the white feathered chirrupers wheeled and careered from side to 
side of the oat stubble and cornfield. The snow also brought to our 
vicinity what the gunner boys who gave chase called a white eagle. 
After several futile gun discharges the quarry was discovered to be a 
large snowy owl. ‘The bird soon distanced its sanguinary pursuers 
and found safe refuge, for a time at least, in a neighboring cedar 
swamp. ‘The white owls are rare vistors to this district (very). 
During the summer (last July), I think some boys near here no- 
ticed several small cub racoons making calls of distress high up amid 
the branches of an elm tree in the swamp. ‘The tree was forthwith 
cut down and three of the young procyons captured, not much the 
worse for the fall to terra firma. The cubs were half starved and 
somewhat emaciate ; the supposition is that the parent coons had 
been trapped or killed some days previously. The racoons are now 
owned not far from here, and fed and petted in kennels. A young 
man who has one of the procyons has also a large, captive, horned 
owl (Strix Virginiana). The man tells one that the owl is confined 
in a big cage in the poultry house, and the captor gives forth its 
strange, ghostly hootings in the dread hours of midnight and at oc- 
casional other trysting hours (indicating, perhaps, weather changes), 
occasioning evident consternation to the tame poultry roosting in the 
same fowl house. 
My son, since the beginning of this week, accompanied a youth 
out onahunt. They, by the help of our terrier, captured two fine 
minks and several gray rabbits. Red squirrels they report of as being 
numerous, also ruffed grouse. Our chicadee friend, too, have put in 
