TIIK CANADIAN 8P0KTSM W wo S \Tl RALI8T. 





habit of hiding its surplus food ; il always hunts 

 i( up when in need of it again. I also po 

 two great Horned Owls and they also hide their 

 (ood when satisfied', returning to it again when 

 hungry. Watching the movement oi these birds 

 led me to think that they must be able to reason 

 in a small degree. I hope to I" 1 soon able to 

 send you an electrotype of my Deer head, o 

 that you can insert il al the head ol m\ adver- 

 tisement. 



I : l 1 1 1 yours, &c, 



. II. B. SCRIVEN. 



G ravenhurst, Ont., ) 

 25th March, 1881. J 



Note. — Mr. Scriven is just the kind oi man 

 we wan! to hear from periodically. His ques- 

 tions are so far interesting and in order, as they 

 invariably lead to the advancement of our 

 knowledge of Natural Science. In regard to the 

 Deer horns, our answer was given in harmony 

 with his description and drawing. We could 

 i ml answer cit 1 1 cruise, as all the North American 



O&vidce arc described. It may be possible that 



the heads in his possession are those ol a sup- 

 posed deer called the Little Moose, isaid to occur 

 in the northwestern forests. We have no 

 knowledge of the animal excepting from cor- 

 respondence. We do not believe birds can 

 reason. They are doubtless provided with 

 acute instinct, and the biding of food when not 

 required by them is a force ol habit, derived 

 from the stability of the species through ages 

 ipast. The crow family possess it to an extraor- 

 dinary degree ; they not only hide (heir surplus 

 food but steal and hide every light article they 

 place their eyes on. For instance the European 

 Jackdaw and our Blue-Jay. 



Sir, — I see in your March number a letter, 

 signed " Hammerless Greener," in which he 

 states he has made an extraordinary pattern 

 with 2.1 drams of powder and .' an ounce ol 

 shot ; but he does not say anything about the 

 penetration. For the last five years I have 

 tired upwards often thousand shots at Pettit's 

 Pads, and lately at a Force Gauge made on 

 the same plan as the " Field Gauge" used at 

 the London Gun Trials of 1ST'.), excepting 1 use 

 a pendulum (3 feet long) with a circular plate 

 5 inches diameter, instead of a 10 inch plate, 

 attached to a platform suspended by lour rods. 



I have tried 2 



No. G) and '. an ounce of N 



ed (270 pellets to the oui 



boree by W. W. G . I send 



■e of 12 shots with the al 

 also the average ol charges tha 

 best , so thai your correspoi di i 

 them. I always fire Irom a n 

 gun is held, the recoil being taken I 

 breeching passed round the heel plal 

 Hammerless (Inn. SO Inch barrels, weight 

 Chai 



.'. in. .Ii.nii'r | 



21 .1 '. p'r, ok. B't I 2.12 



I " .. H LMI 



\" 2 Qun, 30 in. I, barrels, weight - 

 iz. B't. . 2 i 95 



:; . ■■ i " . . in 2.37 



No. 3 Gun, 28 inch barrels, weigh! 7 pounds. 



H d'8 |i - i\ '. <>/.. B't. , 7 



■'■ ■' i " . 'i 2.23 602 



Out of the thirty-six shots fired, four balled 

 with No. .'*> gun, and one with No. l! gun. 

 Throughout the trial the pattern was ven un- 

 even, being in clusters, appearing as it the shot 

 had balled on leaving the gun ami separated 



a lew yards iii front ol the target. A<- -ding 



to my experiments a force ol 2.40 is equal to 

 about 30 sheet- of the pad. Could " Hami 

 less Greener " suggest any other charges, 

 I would be mosl happy to give them a trial at 

 my force gauge and report the result through 

 your columns, providing you would kindly 

 grant me space. 



Yours truly. 



1 2-Bork Grek: 



bad, inc. P.Q., April 5,1881. 



INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS. 



ARE THEY BENEFICIAL TO THE PARMER AM) 



I'm i r i;i:oh 1:1;. 



Sir. — In the Eleventh Annual Report of the 

 Entomological Society ol Ontario, the Presi- 

 dent, Wm. Saunders, in his annual add 

 states his com ict ion that but comparatively 

 little help is pit from birds in keeping in sub 

 jection injurious insects, and having examined 

 the contents o\' the stomachs <>( a large number 

 ol birds, he has only found occasionally an 

 injurious insect therein. He mentions the 

 swallows, 11 ii;r\ni\in i' ; kingbird. Ti/nniiins 

 < Carolirn iis/s : pewee, Sayornis Juscus ; night- 

 hawk, Gkordeiles popetue; yellow warbler, 

 Dendrazca asiiva . red start, s 



