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FANCIERS' JOURNAL AND POULTRY EXCHANGE. 



every body in Paris cried, "Well done dog," and was more 

 than ever satisfied of the truth and justice of " trial by bat- 

 tle." We can readily understand that the faithful dog, 

 having nobly avenged the death of his master, took up his 

 quarters with his master's friend, looked after the rats and 

 was made comfortable the remainder of his days. This is 

 for conjecture only, however, because he may have been put 

 in the dog-pound for non-payment of the tax ; but what is 

 not conjecture is the fact that over a chimney in the great 

 hall of the ancient chateau of Montargis, in France, there 

 is a curiously carved representation of this memorable com- 

 bat; and as long as the old chateau stands, and the wrought 

 oak wainscoting is spared the inroads of the worm, that car- 

 ving will stand as the monument of the fidelity of a dog. 



paws futmisitfafl and gwuwtofl. 



figgfSix black foxes have been caught in Cumberland 

 County, Nova Scotia, this fall. These animals are very 

 rare, and their skins sell at fabulous prices. 



J8@*" " Take a wing,'' inquired a pompous upstart of a 

 sensible young lady at the close of a prayer meeting. " Not 

 of a gander," she quickly replied, and walked home with 

 her mother. 



fiST-Old Phin. Teeple, of Preston, Wayne County, Pa., 

 is seventy years old, though remarkably vigorous, and looks 

 hardly fifty. Since eleven years of age he has killed 2985 

 deer, and 438 bears. His favorite hunting ground is in 

 Potter County. 



J8@™ Seth Green now proposes frog culture for food. He 

 says : " We have many stagnant pools about the country 

 that are useless in their present state, and believing that 

 there is nothing made in vain, I do not know of anj' other 

 use for them than to make them into frog ponds. I also 

 believe it would make the man wealthy who could raise a 

 million frogs and get them to market. All I would claim is 

 giving him two years' experience in experimenting." The 

 hind quarters of the frog are a great delicacy. We have 

 eaten them many a time. 



8®°" Among the attractive exhibitions in San Francisco, 

 has been that of a bear boy. This ursine youth walks on all 

 fours when he walks, and squats on his hind feet when he 

 squats. Near the termination of the spine he has a scar, 

 caused, as the keeper affirms, by the amputation of his tail. 

 Formerly there was a ridge of hair down his back. This 

 has been removed, and nothing but marks of glue are now 

 visible to the naked eye. 



Jggj^° A suit was recently brought before the sheriff of the 

 Dundee (Scotland) Small Debt Court, to obtain damages 

 for injuries sustained from the bite of a dog. A man was 

 about to enter the house of a neighbor to complain of the 

 noise made by his dog, but being somewhat violent in his 

 manner, the dog jumped upon the intruder and bit him in 

 the face and hand. At the trial, the plaintiff having failed 

 to prove the dog's previous bad character, the sheriff deci- 

 ded the case in favor of the defendant, saying that it was 

 somewhat singular that, according to Scotch law, a dog was 

 entitled to the first bite out of a man without attaching a 

 penalty to the master, while the master was liable for the 

 first bite taken out of a sheep, however good the previous 

 character of the dog might have been. 



J3@-The following from the Field seems to prove that 

 the eagle of the Tyrol has the power of carrying off full- 

 grown chamois. It is taken from the journal of an English 

 chamois hunter :— " June 27, 1871.— When taking out a 

 young eagle from the Falknervaud, near Johanneslaus, I 

 found in the nest (which was quite inaccessible except by 

 means of a fifty fathom rope) the half-devoured carcass of a 

 full grown chamois; three pairs of seven inch chamois 

 horns, and the corresponding bones of the animals ; one 

 pair of goat horns ; the remains of a mountain hare, and the 

 head of a roedeer fawn." 



B@§- A letter from Kussell, Kansas, dated January 9th, 

 to Forest and Stream says: — "Game is not very plenty in 

 this county at this season. Antelope were plenty in the 

 fall, but I have not seen any lately. When seen they are 

 very wild. Elk are scarce. I saw two last week, but as I 

 had only a shot gun with me I could only look at them run. 

 What leaps they did make in the snow ! Buffalo keep far- 

 ther west, although they sometimes wander through here. 

 Deer scarce, ' Jack rabbits' plenty, coyotes and gray wolves 

 plenty, quail are rather scarce, prairie chickens scarce, and 

 generally crossed with the sharp-tailed grouse. Now and 

 then a dusky grouse." 



figg?" Scattered about the prairies in Kansas are little ponds 

 and puddles caused by the collecting of the surface water 

 after rains, the occasional overflow of streams, and some- 

 times by springs at the bottom. These ponds average per- 

 haps thirty yards in length by eight in width and three feet 

 deep in the middle. To them all kinds of animals and wild 

 fowl resort to quench their thirst and eat the varieties of food 

 which always collect or grow in damp and marshy places. 

 It is quite customary for sportsmen and travelers with 

 depleted larders to build screens near by and lie in wait for 

 the approach of game, which is sure to come and afford fine 

 sport, and a bag can soon be filled. 



f$g° The Rattles of the Rattlesnake. — The forma- 

 tion of rattles upon the tail of a rattlesnake is a curious phe- 

 nomenon. The notion that one is developed each year is in- 

 correct. Young ones have been known to have six or more ; 

 sometimes two or three appear in a single year. The num- 

 ber seldom exceeds fifteen. The skin of one that was six 

 feet long, now in the Museum of the Long Island Histor- 

 ical Society of Brooklyn, has fourteen rattles. De Kay 

 cited, in 1842, the Clarion newspaper, published at Bolton, 

 New York, which stated that two men killed, in three 

 days, in the town of Bolton, at lake George, 1104 rattle- 

 snakes, some of which carried fifteen to twenty rattles. 

 They were killed for their oil. The same author states, on 

 the authority of the Columbian Magazine for Nov., 1786, 

 that a rattlesnake was killed, having 44 rattles, which 

 seems an incredible number. The use of the rattles is a 

 subject of discussion. They are evidently well developed — 

 not rudimental merely — and the conclusion is irresistible 

 that they are of service to the creature. We cannot sup- 

 pose that organs which are constant in a class of animals, 

 could have originated, if entirely useless and unserviceable 

 to it. Professor Aughey suggests that the whirring rattle 

 is a call-note by the animal to its mate. That it was thus 

 used on one occasion he was an eye-witness. Again, it may 

 be used to terrify its enemies; or to paralyze its victims 

 with fright, or to call assistance in danger. He says : " I 

 once witnessed an attack by seven hogs on a rattlesnake. 

 Immediately the snake rattled, and three others appeared ; 

 but the hogs were victorious." — Popular Science Monthly. 



