74 



THE ORNITHOLOGIST AND BOTANIST. 



and we congratulated ourselves on hav- 

 ing saved him from drowning. But we 

 were surprised thereafter to see the 

 young repeatedly take to the water and 

 swim against a very perceptible current. 



Our side of the escape seemed to have 

 special attractions for the birds as feed- 

 ing ground. Bringing the young to the 

 water's edge they would fly over, then 

 giving their harsh call the young at 

 once took to water and swam across. 

 They usually ^ame to feed at from nine 

 to ten in the morning, returing to their 

 side of the stream at about five in the 

 afternoon. 



Notwithstanding their natural pro- 

 ficiency in swimming, some doubtlessly 

 tired out and were carried down to the 

 lake. One day when returning from 

 the village we saw one of these little 

 fellows who having become exhausted 

 had given up all attempts to steer for 

 the shore and was drifting helplessly 

 down, already far below where the rest 

 of the brood load landed, his feeble pad- 

 dling only serving to hasten his speed 

 down stream. Picking him up, I was 

 placing him on terra firana when I 

 caught sight of another small black 

 body crouched in the short grass; this 

 was followed by other similar discover- 

 ies until nine of the little fellows were 

 in my hat. 



We rowed over to the haunt of the 

 rails and had the good fortune to collect 

 a number of sets, ranging from 7 to 11 

 eggs, also finding in the same piece of 

 marsh, eggs of the American bittern, 

 pied-billed grebe and long-billed marsh 

 wren. 



The nests, which were in no instance 

 built near together, were platforms of 

 reeds and were built in clumps of reeds 

 quite near to the ground which was at 

 this point not very wet. The eggs differ 

 from those of the sora in not being 

 nearly so dark, nor, on the average, so 

 thickly marked. A set of eleven eggs 

 present an average measurement of 1.30 

 X .97 of an inch. Their color is a light 



cream, thickly marked over the entire 

 egg with dots and specks of light red- 

 dish-brown and lilac. In those we col- 

 lected the color varied from a decided 

 cream to a quite perceptible bluish tinge. 

 In none, however, was the buff shade 

 which characterize eggs of the sora. 



In plumage there appeared to be no 

 perceptible difference between male and 

 female. 



It is a curious fact that while these 

 rails were abundant throughout the 

 marsh, we did not see a single individual 

 of the sora, or, in fact, of any other 

 species. The rails were more or less 

 nocturnal in their habits and often dur- 

 ing the night their hoarse cries roused 

 us. Many of their notes were much 

 like the rapid '"quacking" of ducks: 

 others, somewhat like the call of a hen, 

 and many were like nothing else. Often 

 when alarmed they gave voice to a peep- 

 ing sound indistinguishable from the cry 

 of the young. The food appeared to be 

 small insects, molusks, etc., gathered 

 from the bank of the stream. 



THE WITCH HAZEL. 

 {Hamamelis Virginiana.) 



BY T. M. E., EXTER, N. Y. 



The witch hazel is a common and 

 well known shrub throughout eastern 

 North Aruerica. It is a characteristic 

 inhabitant of damp woods and thickets, 

 growing to the height of ten feet or 

 more. From its peculiar time of blos- 

 soming, and curious way of dispersing 

 its seeds, it is an object of more than 

 ordinary interest. The popular mind 

 has always regarded it with some degree 

 of superstition, and divining rods are 

 made of its twigs. 



The witch hazel reverses the seasons, 

 making autumn its spring. Early in 

 October, when the surrounding trees 

 are preparing for their winter's sleep 

 and the air is full of falling leaves, it 

 suddenly bursts into full bloom. The 

 careless observer, having noticed no 



