THE CANADTAN SPORTSMAN AM> \ ATI i:\i. 



113 



ally, but in the cavity laid horizontally. 

 were as much aw five-eighths "I an inch in 

 diameter, but probably increased by their coat- 

 ing of lime precipitate. What had the appear- 

 ance of moss was laid around the edges. The 

 eggs, also petrified, lay near the centre ol the 

 nest, the larger end ol one adjacent to the 

 smaller end cf'tlie other. The externa] dimen- 

 sions of the nest are 5 x 5 inches, the cavity 

 being •'!•] x 3 ; the eggs both in size and appear- 

 ance resembling a chaparrel cock's. The 

 whole weighed about two pounds, all the 

 interstices between the sticks having been filled 

 with the carbonate, welding Jhem into a 

 homogeneous stony mass. As a whole, il 

 greatly resembled the lava-like formation ol 

 stalactites generally. The species is unknown 

 but the doctor thinks it belongs to a Pewee, 

 the eggs being abnormally enlarged by the 

 lime formation, as also the straws, which have 

 the appearance of sticks.— G. S. Smith, 

 London, Out. 



£orre$pon6ence. 



BIRD. NOTES. 



To the Editor of The Canadian Sportsman 

 and Naturalist. 



Dear Sir, — As previously intimated, the 

 Messina Quail, imported by Col. W. Rhodes, 

 of Benmore House, wintered at his request, in 

 my aviary, were let loose at Spencer Grange 

 this spring. The event took place on the 20th 

 May inst. — Buckwheat their favorite food was 

 strewed in the woods and the birds cast out 

 free. You may also be pleased to learn that 

 Col. Rhodes, who returned home per 

 ** Circassian " .on the 17th inst, brought out 

 to Quebec, another supply of Srcilian Quail. 

 close on one hundred, all of which he tinned 

 loose the next day, at Sillerv, towards the 

 Gomin Wood, in rear of Benmore House. The 

 experiment was unavoidably made late, on 

 account of the backwardness ol spring. In 

 ordinary seasons, it might take place on the 

 1st May, so as to give the birds a chance lo 

 nest early and have their young full Hedged, 

 healthy and strong in September following. 

 I hope yet to hear that some of your public 

 spirited Montreal sportsmen and well-to-do 

 citizens will try similar experiments in the 

 wooded and sheltered declivities ol Mount 

 Royal, whose southern aspect seems most 

 favorable for this purpose. Let us now mark 



result* oi il, 



former resident 



acquainted with the 



the Bpring migra 



especially that ol the I: 



/'■/ in ,, on hi- w.'i\ to 



Hud 



during the leafy months 



Mich numbers. Thi 



of bird- bae i ■■ er i 



and the Robins are • 



For the last twenty 



spent jit Spenc I 



the smaller half ol Spend r v» 



Bpring migration in the earlj da 



been uniform and regular. It 



ignoreeven in a parliamentary o P Kian 



s< nse the presence and loud warblin 



two hundred feathered musicians, wli 



occasioue have, nndisturl 



here in May, for two Wi 



Night and morning, the* 



forth floods ol wild minst! •■ 



loud, merry, lawless tones that one m 



have been tempted to believe the place M< 



to them — pOSSlblj as Irish tenant- ol 



The programme ran thus — at 6 a.m.. a bath 

 in the llclh Born* Brook; at 8 a.m., the 

 morning hymn or performance; on th< ■ 

 of the curtain, a grand rehearsal : 

 lion, superb, highly artistical — -shall I 

 sesthetical. Then, a full Btop— a break ii 

 son-— a rush, an invasion en massi <>t the 

 moist meadow adjoining the loftj | 

 and maple trees which girdle the grounds. A 

 few pair of Robins would cross over to lunch 

 at Woodfield, on caterpillars, earth « 



Some jaunty bachelors whisking tin 



wings, accompanied by Bprightv or demure. 



love-sick lady-birds, lighted under tl 



of Spencer Wood, to gossip, t'risk and Bin on 



the grassy margin of the historic r 



Saint Denis, where more than a cent tin 



the valiant Wolfe climbed to conquoror die; 



the bulk of the orchestra, | — ibly, a com- 



panied l>\ the Tmpressario, loved to I 



the livelong day. under the lealy domed 



Spencer Grange, within reach of their ball 



ground — the BelU Horn, Brook. Such the 



usual accompanyments of the annual northern 

 migration ol the Robin. Nothing ol the kind 



i his spring. The only Robins, a few pair 

 probably hatched on the plac< — brought back 

 by the bump o( locality or memor) o 

 No soring wave of emigrants this season to 

 the north— our way; — another route through 



