FANCIERS' JOURNAL AND POULTRY EXCHANGE. 



163 



items interesting and ^musing. 



8@- Wild ducks are plentiful in the Delaware, between 

 Laekawaxen and Hancock. 



8®"° There is an orange tree in one of the gardens at 

 Paris, that has reached the respectable age of 400 years. 



jggg= Giles Van Deusen, of Hudson, shot a Paraguayan 

 duck in Claverack creek, last week. This species is rare in 



these parts. 



jggg=A Rosendale (Ulster county) butcher, captured a 

 wild duck, which flew against him as he was carrying a lan- 

 tern, a few evenings since. 



J}@r Peter Cochran, last week shot two wild cats, on 

 the Kound Top, the heavier one weighing 27 pounds. D. 

 M. Stewart, also shot a big one. 



ggg- Theodorus Van Wyck, of East Fishkill, caught 

 eight foxes last year, and three this year, by the use of 

 strychnine. 



figg" P. S. Evort, and E. D. Slater, of Cairo, went out 

 gunning on Monday, 26th inst., and after an absence of only 

 two hours, returned with three lusty raccoons, the united 

 weight of which was 33 pounds. 



jagg?" The trade in ostrich feathers between the Cape of 

 Good Hope and England, amounts in value, to $200,000 a 

 year. The birds are reared like pheasants, and their feath- 

 ers are worth fifty guineas per pound. 



J3fg= The Acclimation Society of Cincinnati have pro- 

 cured three thousand dollars' worth of birds from Germany, 

 among them many varieties entirely new to this conntry, 

 which they intend to let loose in the spring. 



j()gg" A Georgia paper tells of an attempt by a powerful 

 eagle to carry oflf a girl fourteen years old. It saj-s the bird 

 lifted her from the ground several times and carried her 

 some distance. She was severely wounded by its beak and 

 talons, her sides and arms being terribly lacerated. 



ggg" An Exhibition of canaries and other song and cage 

 birds, at the Sydenham Crystal Palace recently, was the 

 most extensive that has ever been held in the country. 

 There were no less than 1300 entries, of which 600 were 

 canaries, and the remainder thrushes, bullfinches, gold- 

 finches, mules, nightingales, starlings, lories, parrots and 

 paroquets. The cages were ranged in a double row, in a 

 handsome pavilion, which had been erected in the south 

 nave for the accommodation of the feathered songsters, 

 talkers, and screamers, and every cage was so placed as to 

 be easily accessible to the spectator. 



jgg"THis wonderful dog story is told by the Boston 

 Traveller: G. P. Richardson, of Lowell, owns a magnifi- 

 cent Newfoundland dog. Mrs. Richardson took the chil- 

 dren and dog to the photograph saloon, to have the group 

 taken; but the dog was in a wilful mood, and would not 

 pose, and was turned out. The next day the dog put in an 

 appearance at the saloon and scratched at the door till he 

 was admitted ; he then proceeded directly to the spot 

 assigned him the day before, and placed himself in the 

 exact position desired by the artist. The photograph was 

 taken, and when completed put into a box and given to the 

 dog, who carried it directly to his master. 



J6@?» Shaking Down Crows. — A Delaware correspon- 

 dent of the Baltimore American, writes these queer stories 

 about crows: "A novel amusement, which is at present in- 

 dulged in to a great extent in the upper part of this State, is 

 crow shooting, as a substitute for pigeon matches. The rules 

 and customs are the same in either case. The substitute was 

 made out of a sort of humanitarian notion among the people, 

 as well as to pecuniarily benefit residents about Reedy Is- 

 land, in the Delaware, from whence the crows are taken. I 

 have been told that this spot is the favorite roosting ground 

 of these birds, and that towards nightfall they congregate 

 there by thousands. When darkness overspreads the island, 

 the catchers enter among the low trees with bags, and cap- 

 ture any desired number, simply plucking them from the 

 limbs like so much fruit. The birds cannot fly in the dark- 

 ness, and even if shaken from their roosts, they cling to the 

 first object that comes within reach. It is said that a man 

 standing beneath the tree from which the birds are shaken, 

 with outstretched arms, will soon be covered with them." 



J3@?" Salmon in the Potomac. — 1 1 is satisfactory to believe 

 that in a few years the Potomac will be stocked with salmon, 

 one of the finest and most desirable of food fishes. As stated 

 recently, over 30,000 young fish of this species have been 

 placed in one of the tributaries of the Potomac. The ex- 

 periment of stocking rivers with different kinds of fish has 

 been very successful in many instances, and there is no 

 reason why the salmon should not thrive in the Potomac at 

 well as in other waters in the same latitude on the Pacific 

 side. The 30,000 young salmon referred to were placed in a 

 small branch of the Shenandoah, near Winchester, Va.; 

 this point being selected because there are no black bass 

 there to gobble up the new-comers, and for the reason that 

 the water is cool and clear and better adapted to their growth. 

 By the time they get ready to go down the river they will 

 have attained a sufficient size to be able to protect themselves 

 from their enemies, the black bass. The young salmon re- 

 main in the water where they are first placed until they 

 weigh about a pound each, when they leave for the sea. In 

 a few years they return weighing from five to fifteen pounds 

 each. — Washington Star. 



THE NEW HAMPSHIRE POULTRY SOCIETY. 



The seventh annual exhibition was held in the City Hall, 

 Manchester, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, February 

 24th, 25th, and 26th, 1874. It was the largest exhibition 

 ever held in the State of New Hampshire, and was a suc- 

 cess. The following are the awards : 



Light Brahmas. — Fowls — 1st, Charles C. Russell, Nashua ; 

 2d, Andrew J. Tuck, Nashua ; 3d, G. A. Brown, Keene. 

 Chicks — 1st, Geo. F. Andrews, Nashua; 2d. G. A. Brown, 

 Keene; 3d, Charles C. Russell, Nashua. Special for best 

 trio Light Brahmas, Charles C. Russell, Nashua. Dark 

 Brahmas.— Fowls— 1st, John F. Reed, Nashua; 2d, W. E. 

 Hood, Concord ; 3d, C. M. Boynton, Concord. Chicks — 

 1st, .John F. Reed, Nashua; 2d, W. T. Evans, Manchester; 

 3d, C. M. Boynton, Concord. Special for best collection 

 Dark Brahmas, John F. Reed, Nashua. Special for best 

 trio, John F. Reed, Nashua. Buff Cochins. — Fowls— 1st, 

 A. T. Learnard, Derry ; 2d, Charles C Russell, Nashua ; 

 3d, C. M. Boynton, Concord. Chicks— 1st, C. M. Boynton, 

 Concord ; 2d and 3d, Charles C. Russell, Nashua. Special, 

 best collection, Charles C. Russell, Nashua. Partridge 

 Cochins. — Fowls, C. M. Boynton, Concord ; 2d and 3d, Win. 

 H. Knowles, Nashua. Chicks — 1st, C M. Boynton, Con- 

 cord ; 2d, C. F. Tilton, Concord ; 3d, William H. Knowles, 

 Nashua. Special, best collection Partridge Cochins, Wil- 



