FOREST AND STREAM. 



325 



persons of the fallacy of their belief that the natural scent 

 of the common vulture was a "horrible stench," by evi- 

 dence of their own senses. It is not very remarkable that, 

 in this ease popular hearsay has become a quite universal 

 belief, as these birds are very seldom killed or examined. 

 Several gentlemen, one of them a sportsman, called on rac 

 one evening to see the result of a day's shooting, and 1 

 called their attention to a fine turkey buzzard that was hung 

 apart from (be game. At first they refused to approach it, 

 but after some urging and assurances on my part, (hey ex- 

 amined it, and studied of il, each exclaiming "that is the 

 first turkey buzzard I have ever seen that did not slink." 



"But," I asked, "did you ever before examine one?" 



"Well, no, I believe not, but have always heard and sup- 

 posed that they were stinking, filthy birds, but this one 

 smells no worse than a hen." 



The above reference to eagles applies more particularly 

 to (he most common variety*, llu: white headed eagle, {Ililli- 

 ne'uH Uwoceplutlttt. But as' ike Partington, or "some other 

 fellah," says, "comparisons are odorous," In addition to 

 the two "Hoamers" mentioned, I have seen an American 

 widgeon, (Ana* Ameriai-im.,) several ruddy ducks, {Fuligvla 

 rubida, y,u\n a lesser scaup duck,(K manhidai, and F. ttfflnis,) 

 Baird, that were killed in Maine in October last. 



The canvas back duck very seldom comes so far East, 

 although red heads are occasionally sho( in Maine, and as 

 far Bast as Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. I know of 

 no authenticated instance of a vulture being seen so far 

 East and North as Maine, previous to tlie one above men- 

 tioned, and deem it an incident of interest to naturalists. 



Dec. 11, 1374. Roameb. 



-»♦♦- 



Salem, Mass., December 27, 1874. 

 Editor Forest and Stream:— 



A specimen of the Porzana Carolina, Sora Rail, was seen on the edge 

 of a pond near here last. week. Those who saw it tried to catch it, but 

 did not succeed. Is not this rather late for them? Tkal. 



CENTRAL PARK MENAGERIE. 



Department op Public Parks, I 

 New York. Dec. 27, 1874. f 



Animals received at Centra' Park Menagerie for the week ending 

 December 26th. 1874: 



Five Olive Baboon*. Cy>wi-<i>J:.vh!i ■■>;,. :bi*. }Iqb. West Attica 

 Two Guinea Baboons, OynoccphUus tpM.nx. Hab. West Africa. 

 Four Moustache Monkeys, Cercojiithecus cephus. Hab. West Africa. 

 One Macaque, Macacm cynomolgus . Hab. Iudia. 

 One Horned Owl, Bubo virginiauvs. Presented by Dr. £. Sterling. 

 W. A. Conklln. 



$JHfoodlxnd, Jpwn nnd (garden. 



CROPS, GRASSHOPPERS, &'c, IN KANSAS. 



Many inquiries of late have been made to us, in relation 

 to the present scarcity of food in Kansas. According to the 

 best means of knowledge concerning the real distress in 

 that State, we think the reports exaggerated. While the 

 devastation by the grasshoppers this year has been almost 

 overwhelming, we should by no means set down this visita- 

 tion, dire as it is, as the only cause of the presert state of 

 scarcity in Kansas. In many portions of the State, as we 

 learn from several letters before us, much suffering has 

 arisen in consequence of the drought. This is to be looked 

 upon as one of the usual natural contingencies ©f climate 

 This affords cause for alarm, as to the full ability of the 

 country to yield its natural products under the management 

 of skilful agriculturists of only common intelligence. With 

 its deep, rich soil, its beautiful climate, with its unsurpass- 

 ed capabilities as a fruit raising country, and for the growth 

 of any cereals, the good citizens of Kansas should never 

 for a moment be discouraged at a temporary failure of 

 some portions of the harvest. Even the visitation of the 

 grasshoppers, troublesome fellows as they are, must have 

 an end. Basing our conclusion upon letters from our cor- 

 respondents, we are of the opinion that a want of provident 

 foresight lay at the foundation of much of the real want 

 now felt in Kansas. Two years ago very bountiful crops 

 of corn were raised; for a very fair estimate we can set 

 down as the aggregate 30,000,000 bushels. Instead of gar- 

 nering this corn for the future wants of its inhabitants, 

 what did they do with it ? As coal was a little higher than 

 coin per bushel, many persons with a reckless disregard of 

 future consequences, burned their corn for fuel ! Last 

 year the crop was considerably less than the year preceding, 

 but still sufficient for the home consumption of all the in- 

 habitants. Much of this crop was fed out to immense 

 herds of Texas cattle, which were taken into the State to 

 winter. Not only was a large portion of last year's corn 

 thus consumed, but that of this year w.is largely fed to 

 cattle while it was yet in the "milk" or green ear. Tne 

 unusual drought and the grasshoppers completed the sum 

 total of the ills of which our Kansas friends so feelingly 

 complain. Other considerations could be named as draw- 

 hacks to immediate prosperity. There are still cattle there 

 in great droves, and they must be fed. On the other hand, 

 in some parts of the State, the wheat crops have been very 

 good, breadstuffs are cheap, and good flour can be had for 

 six dollars per barrel. 



■»»♦- 



ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



M.vry Likwood, Swampscott. — We shall give a paper 

 upon the cultivation, history, and other matters relating to 

 this tuber, in its proper season. As many of your inqui- 

 ries are embodied in the annexed slip from our scrap book, 

 we commend it to your notice: — 



"The dahlia, when introduced into Europe in 1787 by 

 the Swedish botanist, Andreas Dahl, who discovered it 

 among the Mexican flora, was more prized on account of the 

 supposed culinary value of the roots and leaves than of the 

 beauty of its blossoms, which resembled a small sunflower 

 with red or yellow petals. When this view of the plant 

 was proved to be a delusion, it was long eclipsed as a gar- 

 den ornament by the hortensia, for which a rage long ex- 

 isted; but in 1814, when the horticulturists had taken the 

 matter in hand, dahlias, as we now know them, made their 

 •appearance in the shape of globes of the richest coloring. 

 The flower then occupied for many years the very highest 

 place in the floral hierarchy, and "no garden was complete 

 without some of the new varieties which yearly appeared. 

 A reaction, however, set in, chiefly owing to the exorbitant 

 amount of leafage which those plants possess. The failing 

 may, however, be reduced to its minimum (observes a 

 French authority) by twining da}] i) ■■■■■ , : nlla, when, 



according to his experience, they bloom with exceptional 

 luxuriance, a hint well worth taking by those who still 

 cherish a regard for the flower which reigned Bupremo dur- 

 ing the first half of the century." 



L. Jonks, Long Island.— Cranberries will grow upon high 

 laud, and bear good crops. We know, as you say, it has 

 been said that cranberries cannot grow on high land. This 

 is a mistake, as our own personalobservation testifies that 

 a good crop can be obtained upon ground of only moderate 

 dampness. In 1870 I visited a cranberry plot of ground in 

 Islip, Long Island, and saw a very fine crop growing. The 

 particular method of the cultivation of the cranberry upon 

 various locations will be treated in the early Spring time 

 in this paper. 



%ht Mmntl. 



Tub Whereabouts of the Gildersleeve Setteks. — 

 We have had many inquiries lately as to where the blood 

 of old Gilderslccve Tip, of Canterbury, Delaware, so noted 

 in her time thirty or forty years ago, can at present be 

 found. We have therefore prepared a table, or family 

 tree, carrying down the stock to date. No journal except- 

 ing our own, we think, can impart the following informa- 

 tion, as we have been the first to condense and compile the 

 work from different sources. There may be more of the 

 Gildersleeve blood living at present; but it cannot be reli- 

 ably recorded. What we give is published as facts. 



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Want of space prevents us from giving in our table the 

 exact location of setters having Gildersleeve blood, and we 

 therefore append it for tho benefit of our readers. 



Buster, Hark, Nero, Nellie, Flirt, Bragg, Fancy, B. 

 Wn.r^nbv's and Anion's stock from fh<> Bsn.p.Dn and Tivud' 



dell branch are in Philadelphia. Allen's Gyp can be found 

 through H. Smith, of Philadelphia, and Morford's and 

 Northorp's stock from H. Smith's Bruce and Fly branch is 

 in Newton, N. J. Abbott's Rock and Tip are hi Philadel- 

 phia, owned by R. Abbott, Esq. Delk's May, Boy, Ponto, 

 and all dogs from the Fashion branch can be heard of 

 through II. Campion, Camden, N. J. 

 . __.. — «■» 



Raising Poppies. — Few dams can sufficiently nourish a 

 more numerous litter of puppies than five or six, and to 

 ensure strong and healthy dogs the number at birth should 

 be culled of its small and puny ones, and the mother freely 

 supplied with strengthening food for the benefit of the 

 young, which should be allowed to remain with the parent 

 until they are at least six weeks of age, by which time they 

 will have learned to feed from the plate of milk, placed 

 before them, and in a measure, take care of themselves, 

 The greater the start the whelps have, the less susceptible 

 they will be to a severe attack of the distemper, and better 

 will be their chances for recovery. 



Strict attention should be paid to keeping the kennel of 

 the mother perfectly clean, as well a? to removing all ver- 

 min from the puppies, with which they become infested if 

 neglected, and which ha3 a tendency to dwarf their growth 

 and invite other disease. After weaning the whelps should 

 be allowed no other food than bread and milk, provided 

 three times a day, until they are at least three mouths old 

 and large enough grown (o be regularly fed on Indian meal 

 and a very small proportion of meat well boiled together, 

 but not rendered too stiff. We feel confident that with 

 such feeding the puppy will be better able to resist the dis- 

 temper when it comes than if it had been allowed to satisfy 

 its hunger entirely with animal matter, which would no 

 doubt be the choice. 



All young dogs must have plenty of air and sunshine, 

 and ample room to run about as they please, and have ac- 

 cess to clean and fresh water when they wish it, and not 

 until house breaking begins should they be confined to any 

 great extent, or to feel the weight of the chain. 



We have greatly assisted the growth of a litter of puppies 

 when the mother had not sufficient nourishment for them, 

 by adding to the pan of milk, from which we taught them 

 to feed, a few drops of bitter wine of iron. 



The Show Bench.— Under the head of points for Judg- 

 ing setters at American bench shows, we made not long 

 since the following statement: that we could have but 

 three classes of setters displayed at exhibitions of the kind, 

 naming them as the Gordon, the red Irish and the setter of 

 any other breed. Owing to exceptions taken by one of our 

 contemporaries we would further inform our readers that 

 in thus advising we have only followed out the plan adopted 

 by the London Kennel Club, and which was used at the 

 Mineola Bench Show by tho Judges, Messrs. Carman, 

 Gubner and Raymond. 



In staling why the Blue Beltons, the Macdona and the 

 Llewellin setters, (we were obliged to so name them to il- 

 lustrate,) should come under the class of setters of any 

 other breed, we do not wish to convey the idea that they 

 are a distinctive breed, as the Irish and Gordon, which, if 

 purely bred, reproduce their own peculiar characteristics 

 of color, and necessarily must come under separate classes, 

 from the first mentioned strains, which are made up by 

 successful crosses. 



A CHALLENG 



Philadelphia, December 23, 1874. 

 Editor Forest and Stream:— 



The time lias conic for Mr. Brooks to prove the superiority of his stock 

 above, others. 



I offer to match a dog that was pnppcd on St. Valentine's day 1874, 

 against any pnp one year, Of under, of the Bismarck stock, for a wager of 

 fifty dollars, on snipe, partridge, or woodcock, the money and dog to be. 

 fonnd at southeast corner of Fourth and Worth streets, No. 1.53T South 

 Fourth street. Besj. A. Whartnabv. 



We fear that owing to the lateness of the season the 

 above challenge will fall to the ground. No locality short 

 of the Southern States will furnish the necessary game. If 

 confined to snipe, a delay until next Spring occurs. We 

 gladly publish these challenges, as they do not fail to create, 

 an emulation among our sportsmen on the subject of field 

 trials, and are the great incentive to perfection in the prac- 

 tical work of our blooded stock of game dogs. 



«»♦♦ : 



STAUNCHNESS OF POINTERS. 



San Francisco, December It, 1874. 

 Editor Forest and Stream :— 



Having noticed an article in yonr paper of December 3d on the merits 

 of pointers in the United States, I would like to add a few words in cor- 

 roboration thereof. 



Some three years ago, being ,-ta.t iotteii at one of t Lie military posts situ- 

 ated on one of the high plateaus lying between the Rocky Mountains and 

 Sierra Nevada, I came in possession of a strain of pointers that, for coin- 

 age and endurance surpassed anything I had ever met with before. Our 

 snipe shooting was in Winter, and I have repeatedly seen one of these 

 thinrskinned, silk-haired dogs breaking through the thin ice at every 

 step, while beating the rushes, and they never seemed the worse for it. 

 I cannot say much for their docility, however, for they were only kept in 

 trim by a persevering use of the whip. It was impossible to work them 

 down. A number of the dogs I name are in the possession of officers of 

 the army on this coast, any one of whom would, I am sure, readily in- 

 dorse all I have said regarding the merits of their canine pets, and 1 have 

 now in my kennel a young pup Ol whom I expect great things when sho 

 shall have reached years of discietion. Yonre, Pildoras. 



<■»- 



IRISH WATER SPANIELS. 



Nantwich, England, 1874- 

 Editor Forest and Stream:— 



Seeing in the Forest and Stream of Nov. 5th an article on the above 

 breed of doRs, in which my name is mentioned as a breeder of them in 

 complimentary terms, I beg to tender my thanks to the writer, and .with. 

 yrmr permission. Mr W>r. to make k few more remnrjw on tap eajnc 



