66 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Fbbhttart 24, 1881. 



ance has for certain for four— and I think for— five years 

 spent from five to seven weeks in the interior of New Bruns- 

 wick, starling in with a crew composed of the best Indian 

 hunter and French canoeman, a camp-keeper or cook, and 

 an extra canoe to take up his supplies, the bill of which item 

 alone (J. e., the supplies) exceeded the amount laid down as 

 sufficient to cover all expenses of your correspondent ; and 

 that although he has had a great deal of sport, got many 

 bears, beaver, mink, otter, etc., it was last year only that lie 

 got his first moose, and that was shot on the head waters of 

 the Rostigouche, up to which he had to lie towed by horses 

 wading up the stream. It is well known that^in the rutting 

 season, when moose are at all plenty, they can be got by 

 "calling." But although there are some good callers in 

 Kum Scotia. I doubt if there is one in New Brunswick. 

 There are plenty of Indians, half breeds and French habit- 

 ants, who are haugiug about the hotels all through the Prov- 

 ince, who will claim to be experts at calling, but from what 

 my men have told me I doubt if they are justified in so doing. 

 There is one old Indian, "Gabe" byname, who is reputed 

 to be a caller, who went out with Lord Dufferin, when he 

 was Governor- General, but I believe even for his Excellency 

 no moose could be persuaded to come to bag. 



With regard to the list of small game given, I would say 

 thai there is not and never has been a quail in either New 

 Brunswick or Nova Scotia, and that such a mistake is utterly 

 iuex' usable for one who writes as an authority ou matters of 

 sport. Anybody win has looked into the. subject at all 

 knows that the. quail cannot winter even in Maine. Par- 

 tridges of both kind, that is to say the ruffed grouse and the 

 Canada grouse, are quite abundant, or rather they were so 

 before the pretty general establishment of freezers made them 

 worth from ten to fifteen cents apiece. But anybody who 

 follows your correspondent's advice and takes up a* well- 

 broken set er or pointer, will be doomed to great disappoint- 

 ment, and will find that the first little cur dog that he con.™ 

 across will be infinitely more useful than his blue-blooded 

 pet. 



And hero I want to say that I have been watching with 

 much interest the discussion that has being going on in For- 

 est and Stub am as to whether partridges could be "treed " 

 or not, and was wondering how long it would bo protracted 

 before somebody would hit the true explanation, it was only 

 iu your last issue that the same "Manhattan " states, what is 

 a self-evident truth, that it is a matter of locality. The dis- 

 cussion reminded one of the old story of the two knights 

 meeting at the pedestal of a statue that held aloft a shield, 

 and after having fought almost unto death on the question as 

 to whether the shield wasof gold or of silver, found out that it 

 was golden on one side and silver on the other, so that they 

 blh were right from their own point of view. In the same 

 way Jean Baptist would be much amused if any one should 

 tell him that partridge^ could not be made to fly into a lre.6, and 

 ait there un'il shot off, for time and again he has done it with 

 his old king's arm, altered by the village blacksmith from a 

 flint-lock to a percussion gun ; and knows full well that all 

 he need do is to walk along auy wood in September a little 

 after suurise, and when he hears h a little yellow cur yelping 

 in the bush he is sure, on going in, to find one or more par- 

 tridges roosting on the branches of a tree and craning their 

 necks out to see what all this noise is about. On the olher 

 hand, if our friend Jean Baptist should bring his little dit- 

 to Massachusetts ami walk through the woods, he undoubt- 

 edly would have the pleasure of seeing him put up some par- 

 tridges, if the undergrowth was not, too thick, but that would 

 be all he would see of them, unless he followed them up to 

 repeat the same unsati -factory performance. This Would of 

 course strike my friend Hammond, of Springfield, as an ab- 

 surd way of hunting partridges, rind with Sensation and one 

 of his own dogs that are, 1 am told, especially well broken on 

 ruffed grouse, he could show .lean Baptist such sport as the 

 latter never conceived as possible. But let Mr. Hammond 

 take his best, dog to Nc* Brunswick, •* even to the northern 

 part of Maine, and the laugh would be on the other side, lor 

 unless he could fo ce his way through the undergrowth 

 quicker than a partridge can run, and thus put them up hiui- 

 sell, he would simply see his dog drawing carefully after a, 

 flock that would keep walking away from him and might 

 lead him for miles before they took to wing. Iu short, it is a 

 question of different habits of birds in different localities. 

 "Manhattan" struck the keynote of the truth, but he does 

 not, I think, tell the whole story, as were it merely that the 

 birds in more tbicklv settled districts get wild from being 

 hunted, we. should find on the opening of the season the 

 young broods just as likely to jump up into trees 'as those 

 hatched m more wild regions, which is not, the case. The 

 fact is that we have here one of the many proofs of the truth 

 of the law of hereditary influence, of which all scientific 

 breeders are taking more and more heed. The grouse that 

 live in a region where much shooting is done not only he- 

 come wild and chary, but they transmit this tendency to 

 their offspring, so that in time the instinctive habits of the 

 birds will be entirely differ nt from those of the same family 

 who have for years bred and multiplied comparatively un- 

 disturbed by man. This is of course a digression, but it Will 

 serve to show that it will be useless for the sportsman to take 

 well broken setters and pointers to the wilder parts of the 

 Provinces. Iu spring and autumn it is true that the marshes 

 teem with the English snipe, and of course a good, well bro- 

 ken dog is a great advantage, but tor wood shooting any cur 

 that, can be borrowed on the spot would do better, and you 

 will not run the risk of spoiling a good dog. What, is needed 

 is a good reeriever, and that should always be taken if duck 

 and go°se shooting is proposed Both ducks aud geese are 

 very abundant, aud early and late there is, along the coast, a 

 great flight of brant. To be at all successful, however, re- 

 quires having as guides men who know the country aud the 

 habits of the bi'ds, as one might be camped on a point with 

 millions of fowl flying over head just out of shot regularly 

 twice a day and never see a single feather. Again, where 

 only a few days are at one's disposal, it seems almost a fatal- 

 ity that the season should be just loo early or too late ; this 

 of course is not confined to sporting tours in the Provinces. 



I have spun this out so long that I will not refer to what 

 seem to be inaccuracies or carelessness in the account of the 

 expenses of the trip given, merely saying that one is rather 

 in doubt as to whether it is meant to be implied that the ex 

 pensesof the whole party were under $100, or that it coat 

 them $100 apiece. The first supposition is absolutely im- 

 possible, as the fares alone of three merely to Bathurst aud 

 return would be about $6u, and on the second supposition I 

 must say that $15 a day for a party of three does not set-m to 

 me to be so very cheap. In conclusion I want to say that 

 I trust what I have written will be taken in the spirit 

 in which it was done, which was not in the way of fault- 

 finding or unkindness, but merely to correct what, I am sure, 

 were unintentional inaccuracies and misleading statements . 



for I am convinced that nobody would regret more than the 

 author of the article criticised having been the means of 

 sending some poor devil down on a wild goose chase. 

 Saltan,, Feb. 15. Mio-Mao. 



JAMES F. WILLIAMS. 



Dajjsvji.t.e, N. V., Feb. 21, 1881. 



Editor Form ami. Stream : 



It is a sad duty that devolves upon mo to-day to record the death 

 of Mr. James F. Williams, which occurred last night at his father's 

 residence in this place. 



To say that liu was a thorough sportsman, and a gentleman whom 

 to know was to Ions iuid respect, but feeblj describes his statue as 

 a man. Modest and unassuming, saying but little, when he gave 

 an opinion it was Bine to bo listened to and carefully weighed. 



Mr. vyilh'iimsihad always shown a great mterett m field sports, and 

 Whatever of good may have been accomplished by the sportsmen's 

 association 01 this place is largely due to hit; efforts. The attond- 

 enl-s upon the animal meeting of the New York State Association 

 for the Protection of Fish and Game will miss bis genial smile and 

 hand shake; in his death the committee on revision of the game 

 law havo lost a member whose knowledge of the subject in ques- 

 tion would haVe been of great value. 



It has been the writer's good fortune to bo a personal friend of 

 the deceased from the time wo were boys together up to the last, 

 and during all that time he has been the same true hearted gontle- 

 man, malting hosts of friends aud losing none. No death has oc- 

 curred in our quiet community for years that has been so univer- 

 sally regretted. Surrounded by everthing to makes life enjoyable 

 in the way of pleasant homo associations and comforts, young in 

 years, with a kind father, brother and live young lady Bisters it, 

 seems doubly sod that be should be snatched from these dear ones 

 who were so proud of him, and loved him so well. 



Mr. Williams was taken with inflammation of the lunga'but a 

 few days ago, and nothing serious wsb apprehended until uithiti 

 three days of hie death. Everything was done that medical sldll 

 and loving hands could suggest, hut in vain, and now the oom- 

 nnuiitymournB as one man, and a gap is loft in Bociety that cannot 

 easily be filled. H.' W. D. L. 



Batumi Jjiptorg. 



NESTING HABITS OF THE RUFFED GROUSE. 



I NOTICE that in a recent number of Forest and Stream 

 a question has been started as to the manner in which 

 the ruffed grouse leaves her nest when disturbed. In the nu- 

 merous instances which have come under my own observa- 

 tion the bird has always, with a single exception, taken wing, 

 sometimes "booming off" till lost to view among the trees'; 

 again flying noiselessly to a distance of only a few yards, 

 then alighting and continuing the retreat on foot. The ex- 

 ception referred to was in the case of a bird that had not 

 commenced setting, she having laid only half a dozen eggs. 

 She started suddenly from the nest as I approached, and ran 

 swiftly, but did not take wing. The grouse nests, hereabouts, 

 sometimes beneath a brush-pile, which affords excellent pro- 

 lection from prying eyes, but as frequently she scratches a 

 little hollow in the ground at the base of some large tree, lines 

 ii, with a few dead leaves aud deposits thereiu her eggs, which 

 are only protected by the tree trunk itself. Once 1 found, a 

 nest that had not even this protection. It was in the woods 

 of young oaks, at some distance from any treu or other ob- 

 ject. As to the locality chosen, it is sometimes in the deep- 

 est, darkest portion of the woods, again in open and much. 

 frequented spots. Before she has deposited the full comple- 

 ment of eggs the grouse usually keeps her nest covered with 

 dead leaves. After she has commenced to set, however, 

 when at intervals she goes in quest of food, which she gener- 

 ally does toward evening, she does not always take pains 

 to hide her eggs from view. 



After the first egg is laid the bird is generally found lurk- 

 ing near her nest. T e bird clog scents her now as well as at 

 any other season Later, however, when she has commenced 

 incubating, no effluvium emanates from her motionless body, 

 and the keenest nosed dog may pass close to the spot where 

 she crouches without deteetiug her presence. This curious 

 habit iBj I believe, common to all game birds ; but, strangely 

 enough, all ground-nesting birds are not possessed of like 

 ability. 1 have frequently teen my setter come to a dead 

 "stand" upon a townee bunting, the nest of which I would 

 not othei wise have discovered. 



To return to the grouse. Her usual complement of eggsis 

 about a dozen, but 1 have seen as many us twenty-two iu one 

 nest. In this ose, however, two hens may have laid to- 

 gether, as the quails sometimes do. Generally the grouse 

 will not bear having her eggs molested ; sometimes the mere 

 discovery of her nest will cause her to desert. Yet one of 

 the most persistent setters that 1 ever saw was a bird of this 

 species. She was, I think, a young and inexperienced bird, 

 one. upon whom the maternal cares had never previously de- 

 volved, else, it seems to me, she would never have sel ctetl 

 such a situation for a building-spot, as that in which I found 

 her. The nest was in the very open woods of basswood and 

 large oaks, near a small dry creek. On one side, at a distance 

 of about one hundred yard's, was a traveled highway ; on the 

 other, only a few yards away, a dense growth of young pop- 

 lars. Not the slightest attempt at concealment had been 

 made, except that the near was placed at the foot of a tree. 

 On three sides it could be seen at a distance of several rods. 

 Why she had come out of the poplars to build I cannot im- 

 agine. Being a few yards nearer to a road could not possi- 

 bly afford her much additional security from prowling " ver- 

 min," while the exposed situation certainly rendered her 

 much more fable to be discovered by other enemies than if 

 in the thicker growth. 



Be this as it may, there she was, and there a friend of mine 

 discovered her one May afternoon. She had not then fin- 

 ished laving and, as several of the eggs were takeD, I had lit- 

 tle doubt she would desert. Considerably to my surprise, 

 however, on visiting the spot some days later I found the 

 bird upon her nest. I walked directly toward her and she 

 flew when I came within about fifteen yards. 



As the locality was one that I freqently passed through 

 during my ramifies, I determined to experiment with the 

 bird. Accordingly, the next time I visited the spot _ I ap- 

 peared not to notice the grouse, approaching her indirectly 

 aud whistling carelessly. The ruse was successful, I passed 



and, turning, re-passed again aud again, so close to her that 

 I might easily have touched her with my foot, yet she did 

 not move. Finally, satisfied, I paused and stood within two 

 or three yards of the grouse, watching her closely from the 

 corners of my eyes, though apparently gazing at some distant 

 object. Motionless as a statue, her head drawn close upon 

 her breast, she crouched, her bright, brown eye wdchingme 

 nith a look that betokened mingled hope andfenr. Presently 

 I turned my eyes full upon her Her " instinct " told her 

 that she was discovered. Quick as a flash she left the nest 

 and went humming off into the poplar thicket. I visited her 

 several times after this, sometimes viewing at a distance, 

 without molesting her, sometimes repeating my experiments, 

 always with the same result. So long as 1 appeared not to 

 have discovered her, so long she remained quietly upon the 

 nest. Even though my dog followed close behind me as I 

 passed within two feet of the mottled beauty, she did uot 

 move, and so well did her colors harmonize with those of the 

 surrounding leaves that the setter never suspected her pres- 

 ence. 



Nearly four weeks had elapsed since the grouse began to 

 incubate. I knew that the young birds must be almost ready 

 to burst the shell, and it occurred to me ilia I I might no't 

 soon have a better opportunity to try domestica tug the 

 grouse. Here was a bird in whom the maternal instinct was 

 very strong, and I doubted not that, should I succeed in 

 hatching the eggs under a hen, the mother grouse would cure 

 for her offspring. Even if I failed in this, I should at least 

 have the old bird herself. 



Accordingly, as I came close by the unsuspecting ceature, 

 I stooped suddenly and she was mine. But my triumph was 

 only for one moment, the next my prize had slipped through 

 my fingers, leaving only a handful of feathers in my grasp. 

 Immediately I regretted the step I had taken and was glad 

 that the bird had escaped. But would she, I wondered, af- 

 ter three long weeks and more of weary watching, relinquish 

 her task, now that it was almost tout? I sincerely hoped 

 not. A few days later the nest contained naught but broken 

 shells ; and as I looked at them I breathed a wish that the 

 young hirds might, ever pass as safely through all perils as 

 they had through that which threatened them before their 

 eyes first saw the light. H. S. W. 



A Teub Snake Stoby.— Morristown, N. J , Jan. 30— 

 Editor Forest and Stream : I have been greatly interested 

 by the stories of snakes in your paper, as I have been giving 

 a good deal of my time to wandering around the woods this 

 last summer, and I have had tte chance of seeing a good deal 

 of snakes. One day while out walking I came to a small 

 pond, and it being very warm I sat down on the bank of the 

 dam which leads off the water of this pond. While I was 

 sitting there my attention was attracted by a small water 

 snake swimming around in the water. I had not, been long 

 watchi"g him when he came near some old hoards which 

 wi re sunk in the bank. All at once a very large frog jumped 

 out of the pile of boards, and caught the snake and 

 swallowed him all hut the end of his tail. I could see by 

 I he way the snake was moving in him that the frog was In 

 a great state of pain, so I waut d to get him before be went 

 under the water, iu order to cut him open and see the dam- 

 age done by the snake. Not thinkiug that the frog would 

 sink, I shot him through the head with a small revolver, and 

 of course he weut under, and I could not get him that day. 

 I came the next morning, and while looking for him I saw a 

 very large blake snake, which I. shot in the back, and after a 

 long while captured. 1 noticed he was very much swollen in 

 one place, and 1 cut him opeu and out came a frog, the same 

 one that I had shot the dny before, for the bullet mark was 

 ou his head. On culling him open, in the frog's belly was 

 the small snake of the day before. The large snako had 

 swallowed the frog, not knowing what the frog had dined on 

 before him. 



When 1 cut the snake open ho had digested the frog's legs ; 

 all had disappeared but the bone. The small snake was 

 eleven inches long; the frog, as near as I could tell, wasninc; 

 the large snake four feet eleven and a half inches. 1 think 

 this was something that few people have had the chance to see. 

 I hope I have not taken too much ofyourtime wilh this story, 

 but. it is a fact. I have seen a snake catch a trout, aud have 

 had a bass taken away by a large snake while it was left in 

 the water, for we were camping at the time, and had left 

 some in the water to clean. H. W M. 



Habits of Snakes— Vermilionville, La., Feb. 7.— Editor 

 Forest and Stream : I have noticed with interest several arti- 

 cles in your columns concerning the " Habits of Snakes," 

 and can substantiate all that has been said in reference to the 

 common garter suake swallowing its young on approach of 

 danger.' When but a boy on my father's plantation near 

 Columbia, Tenn., I was one day engaged in abay-field hauling 

 the haycocks to be stacked. In moving one of the cocks 

 from its place a garter snake was frightened from its den un- 

 derneath and killed. Upon close examination the belly of 

 the creature appeared to be somewhat distended. Aivinves- 

 tigation was immediately made, and no less than a half dozen 

 small snakes alive and wriggling were brought to light 



1 have also had opportunities of observiug the habit that 

 the small water or moccasin snakes have of preying upon 

 fish. This species of snake is quite common upon 'he low 

 prairies of Texas and Louisiana, aud it was in the former 

 State that I one day found a small water snake lying dead 

 upon the margin of a small pool, with a good-sized perch 

 partly swallowed. The snake had very evidently failed in 

 the effort to swallow its prey, and iu attempting to disgorge 

 it the fins became fixed in 'its throat and protruded through 

 the skin. This species of snake is very destructive to small 

 fry. p - 



As already stated in these columns, the common garter 

 snake is viviparous, and the mere fact of finding young alive 

 within the mother has no bearing on the question as to whe- 

 ther snakes swallow their young or not. We refer our cor- 

 respondent to Mr. Arthur Erwin Brown's very interesting 

 and conclusive note on this point in a recent issue of FOBKOT 



ADD STREAM. 



Do Crows Reason ?— Somersvi lie, Conn., Jan. 20.— Last 

 Wednesday one of our boys came into the mil! and told me 

 that there was a crow on "the ice eating shiners, and wished 

 me to shoot it. About fifteen rods from the mill there hud 

 been a hole cut. in the ice ou the pond for the purpose of 

 catching shiners for pickerel bait. The mode of taking them 

 was to make a large hole and let a net down strung on a large 

 hoop, sprinkle in meal and very soon a pailfull cau be caught. 

 Those too small for use had been thrown upon the ice, and 



