428 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[June 30, 1881. 



style Hint they put the name of the town on dog collars), was 

 printed in smaller type, 'Paradise !' » 



Rt?J?FED Grotjss. 



TWO CAPTIVE KAILS. 



New Biituvswiok, N. J., June 9. 

 Editor Ptytet in ■' Strewn : 



Whik-. shooting Qn the mcadpws near ihis city hist Septem- 

 far I flight ly wine. lipped a rail bird (JPorwria Carolina.), 

 which 1 put in niv pocket alive. Soon afterward my dog 

 pointed, but although l walked nil over the place where ] 



thought Hie bird 

 Determined not 

 through n pool 

 ii'*-.'l accident 



li.e surface. I 

 u ii jurocl. 





, I failed 



ed don' 

 ng ni in 



In 1881, a 

 will, in all ] 



., .) flush 1. 



ng very cnrefully 

 r just in front of the dog's 

 in- hill of a hint just ahove 

 and secured him' perfectly 



o I put hoth birds in a large 



. ,.-■•.-. pvurcely hoping they would long survive. 



For nearly a wwk they were very wild, and refused all 

 sustenance. After that lime tiny e miminced to feed, gradu- 

 ally became inner, and are now in perfect health and ap- 

 parently quite reconciled to their fate. Their sole diet is 

 bread softened with milk, of which thev Carluke freely, 

 enlireiy undismayed by Hie presence r.f spectators. They 

 are, of course, almost continually bathing, and constantly on 

 the move, and 1 now consider them the most interesting of 

 all my feathered pets, although I have a large number, They 

 are. also very useful to me iu my profession, as 1 paint ail 

 my birds from life, if possible. 1 have had them, as mn see, 

 nearly a year, and they seem to-day IB as good condition as 

 when first caught- I think they are male and female. Have 

 they ever been known to breed in captivity? 



G. R. Hakdenbehgh. 

 We should be glad to be kept informed of the condition of 

 these novel pets. We have never known of the rails breed- 

 ing in captivity. Have any of our renders any knowledge 

 on this subject ? 



THK SEVENTKKN T -YEAll LOCUST. 



IN the June nun her of the Am* now \iititro/,:-t., Prof. V. 

 Kiley prcd'cls quite an ex ended appeal ance of Ihe 

 Periodical lie- da, ! ctier known as the Seventeen- Year Lo- 

 cust. The habits q£ boll) species of this insect— Gkada 

 stpttmdmin and <: ti<,i,.; lh have been can fully studied, 

 and an.- n w pretty well kn wn. The ins cts may be ex- 

 pected lo appear in the localities designated below about the 

 present, time. tVc quote from l'r if. Kiley's First Report on 

 bi c [>'ss t "f Miss iiri ; his remarks on the two broods looked 

 ■ or this summer : 



— 18(14, 1831. 



n years thereafter, they 



i ■IU..-I e and Green Lake 



counties, iu Wisconsin, ami may also appear in Ihe western 



part ot North Crolina, and about Wheeling, Virginia; iu 



beast Ohio, and a few in Lancaster county, Pa., and 



i\. New York. 



There is abundant evidence that they appeared iu the 

 count.es named in Wisconsin in 18C.4, and fair evidence that 

 they appeared thai year in Summit county, Nnri beast Ohio, 

 While straggling fipveimena wen: found in t i,e same year by 

 Mr. 8, S, Rathvou in Lancaster county, Pa., and by Mr. 

 James Angus in Westchester county. N. Y. Dr. F.tch also 

 records their appeaiaucein 1847, or seventeen years previous- 

 ly, in the wes er.. part of North Carolina, and Dr. Smiih, in 

 Wheeling, V mina. in 1830, 1847 and 1804. The distance 

 bet leen the localities riven is very great, and it is doubtful 

 whether all th si records belong to one and the same brood, 

 uunou xvju.— 2><dio&A— 1868, I8bl. 



In the year LS81, and at interva s of thirieeu yaara there- 

 after, they will, iu all probability, appear in Southern Il- 

 linois, throughout Missouri, with the exception of the north- 

 western cornel-, in Lousi na, Arkansas, Indian Territory, 

 Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Geoigia, and 

 Nonh and South Carolina's. 



Though, as already stated, I published the first account 

 ever jijven of the existence of a thirteen-year brood, ytt, be- 

 sides the others mentioned in this chronology, this pailicular 

 brood has been traced since, as having occurred in the yea's 

 181G 1829, 1842, 1800 and 1808 ; and Mr. L. W. Lyon, at 

 the J u iy (1808; meeting of the Alton (Ills.) Horticultural 

 Society, even mentioned its appearance in 1803. 



In Missouri U occurs more or less throughout the whole 

 State, with the exception of the north-west corner that is 

 bounded on the east by Grand River, and on the south by 

 the Missouri River, '1 he smith-east pnrt of the State, where 

 Dr. Smith Iihr recorded it since 1820, is most thickly 

 i ccupied. I enumerate these counties iu which there i- 'un- 

 doubted evidence of iheir appearance during the present 

 year (18(18), viz., Audrain, i'oliinger, Benton, Clarke, Chari- 

 ton, Callaway, Cooper, Cole, Franklin, Gasconade, Iron, 

 Jefferson, Euiox, Lewis, .Marion, Macon. Morgan, Moniteau. 

 Pike. I'h.lps, Pulaski, Polk, Pettis, Schuyler, St. Charles, 

 St. Louis, St. Francois, St. Clair, Warren and Washington. 



It not improbably ovi rlaps some of the territory occupied 

 by Hi- KffiUni.'trr,;,, I Irood XIV. [a brood which appeared last 

 in 1879], tmt. J do not think it extends into Kansas. 



Jn Illinois it occurs more or less throughout the whole 

 southern half of the Stale, but. more especially occupies the 

 counties from the souih part of Adams county along the 

 Mississippi to the Ohio, up the Ohio and Wabash Rivers to 

 Edgar county, and then across the centre of the State, leav- 

 ing some of the central counties in South Illinois unoccupied. 

 To be niore explicit, I enumerate all the counties in which 

 it undoubtedly occurred during the present year (1868;: 

 Adams (south parti back of Qtii'ney), itond, Clinton (norih- 

 wisl corner, acljact tit to .Madison), Champaign, Coles, Craw- 

 ford, Cumberland, (.lay, Claik. Edwards, Edgar (especially 

 in -the eastern ran), Franklin, Gallatin, Hardin, Hamilton, 

 Johnson, Jasper, Jersey, Jefferson, Lawrence, McLean (tast 

 end,, Macon, Madison, Marion, Massac, .Monroe, Pike, Perry, 

 I'iatt, 1 op , Ricliiand, Randolph, Sangamon. Saline, St. 

 Clair, Union (north east corner), Washington, Wayne, Wa- 

 bash, W illiamson and While. There were none the present 

 year, cither at Decatur, in Macon county, or at. Pana, in 

 Ul.nsiiaii ciamly ; nor were [here any at Bloomington or 

 Normal, in McLean ; nor iu Dewitt county, which lies south 

 Creek, Iroquois county, which is 



of M< 1.. an; nor in 



-th-a-al oi ( iwmp.„. 



Iu Kintui-.y. aC' or ing to Dr. Smith, it occurred in the 

 northwest comer of the State, about Paducah and adjacent 

 - n -lies south, in 1839, '43 and '62, and it occurred there in 

 1868. 



In Arkansas, it occupied all the northern counties in 1842, 

 '05 and '68. 



In Alabama, it occupied Russell and adjacent counties on 

 the cast side Of Black Warrior River, in 1842, '55 and '08 



In Tennessee, it occupied Davidison, Montgomery, Bed- 

 ford, Williamson, Rulheiford and adjacent, counties, iu 1842. 

 '55 and 'US 



In North Carolina, it appeared in Mecklenburg Countv, in 

 1820, M2. '00 „,,d '68. * 



In South Carolina, the Cheater district and all the adjoin- 

 ing country to the Georgia line, west, and to the North Caro- 

 lina line, north, was occupied with it in 1810, '29 '42, '50 and 

 '08. 



In Georgia, it has occurred in Cherokee county since the 

 year 1810. 



In Louisiaua, it appeared in Morehouse, Caddo. Clairbome, 

 Washington and adjacent parishes, in 1€55 and '68. 



Ii also doubtless ofceurrs in Mississippi and Indian Ter- 

 i Story, though I am unable to specify any localities. 



A GUIDE TO ICHTHYOLOGY." 



Ug tliC-.l. 



a book ot reference to zoologists 



those nhn, like travellers, have fi 

 adieu,'" ba8 long been a great dc 

 British Museum, line, •intended' 

 traduction to the Study of Fish 

 were praisewnrtliv: the result U 

 view the outcome of the author's 

 tion of iWf-tcniatic biology i 



(irtunitii 

 Dr. 



Who are 

 Bcrve as 

 , supply 



i, aud tUoaggrogatesof specie! 

 'Introduction." and gem 



e fami 



this want by an "ii- 

 is." The intention and attempt 

 a failure. Prom 

 labor is defective. The founda- 

 iwledgeand apprei I 

 in successive degrees of conipre- 

 Jiumot bo expected to be I rented 

 ra are the lowest aggregates con- 

 iibordinnto : . 



tbei with the essential character- 



isnred that a vicious 



::,(i>!iin:liiro. That 



ecu tbe constituents and the di- 



jof even- desree-will ooOn be- 



hject who exam- 



us to tbe exhibition of a few examples. These i narrations will be 

 taken from fishes which are perfectly r.-el! known, whose character 

 Dr. l.uenthcr had abundant means of aseerc: 

 Buinug the common and familiar of American 



Premising that the. typical rjAysoolystTeleoSt rfahaS arc distrib- 

 ute^ aocordittg to the nature of the anterior dorsal, anal ,'ind 

 ventral rays, and the separation or eoalesence of tbe lower pharyn- 

 geal bones, among Acanthoptervgh. Aoanthoptervgii Phai vugog- 

 natbi and Aiiacaiuhini, it will he shown that the ehararsfeis as- 

 signed to those orders are not shared bv species of the family and 

 oven genus in which severally they are placed or to which they 

 natm-ally belong. 



Three genera may l>2 refen-ed to as instances of confusion of 

 Species wtiieh ditrer iu characters elsewhere regarded as of fatally 

 or even ordinal value. 



Dr. Gnenthcr assigns high value to the relative development of 

 tbe spinous and soft portioua of the dorsal fin. Thns the first 

 division, including a number of families, of Aoanthoptervgii 

 ■ !. /■.>■..■■ ,-.,., isaaid tu bav>- the "spinous dorsal well devel- 

 oped . . . rather longer ilmn, or as long »a the soft" (p. :)7f.). 

 V.t tiii unnatural distribution of the Centraruhids (li!;. 

 Sim lishoK, etCr) among the three *'genera'' ''•/'/-■<,/■< V'S. Bryiius, 

 and Potnolix is adopted from his catalogue of [859. Therein, not- 

 withstanding the labors of Agassiz and nthers, in a- atranRe a med- 

 ley of f. 



of (lit- 



fen 



the 

 (Othe 



Vndci 



,li. 



ict 



red to that "genus"-" 



,-!„ 



dor-al little developed, 

 "n described on, 



tch 



• than the soft 



s Cfrys- 



of 'li 



at ll>-, i,. and placed in 

 Dr. Ouenlher attaches great importance to tb< 

 , 4 and 10) vertebra.' iu contradi.-linctiou to the d 

 preater number. On such mfferoncea a onmb) 



itituted by him. In the genus SebnMtS i liock 



, aB last admitted bv him. (ire specie,, which d 



e widely iu this respect than some of his famil 

 diagnosis is indeed a complex of blunders, Tl 



Jd to have "one dorsal with 12 or 13 spines; 



e than ivtenltt-fmr" (p. ±13). "About t« ( 

 known," it is added. Of thc.se, however, onlv two 

 \ eii'iporas") "have more than twenty-tonr vert 

 two havo normally fiflt-en doi>a) spines, while tl 

 "twelvBor thirteen Kriues" lane not "more th; n twenty- four' 

 vertebra-. The eotubinHtion signalized by Gnenther dec- not 

 exist. 



Dr. Gueiitbcr recognizes an "order" (AvaulUoi -ttryju Pharyn- 

 gognoUii) zob-ly because its representatives have "the lower 

 pharyngeal* coalesced" (p. 52a). Nevertheless, in the iiums 

 Seimna, referred totlie " order " of typical Aeantboptervgii (p. 429) 

 he hasconlomided two forms i ".S'c. oseula" and ft . H ■ 

 the "Sheepshead" of the lakes), which have " the lower pharyn- 

 geals coalesced" earlier and more completely than some of hia 

 Aeantboptervgii I'haryngoguathi.— It may be 

 I hat other so-called typical "Acanthopten 

 "pharngoguathous'' are Pogonias (p. 127) 

 Myriudon (p. 383). ■ 



We may now ask, in the name of both science and eomuiou 

 sense ( 1) irhi/ characters which arc regarded bv the same author 

 as of ordinal, or at least family, value ore ncl'ofgtwric value in 

 the oases referred to, or, it mav be C2) Wh v characters which are 

 not regarded as of r/cfi/c-or at least or not more than generic, 

 value are used lo diilirruHnii- onO-i-*. A» a matte: of fact, in i-aeh 

 case important modifications of structure are associated with the 

 ones noted: and not only arc the characters of moment 

 recognizable, but the physiognomy is distinct, and differentiates 

 the respective types from those with which thev are confounded. 

 But it must he added that on tho other hand* tbe characters in 

 question can not be used to diagnose major group.-. 



One other example of another kind of error must suffice. Dr. 

 Guenther distinguishes the "orders" Acauthoptcrygiiand Auacan- 

 thini solely on account of tho development of spines in the 

 vertical and ventral tins of the former, and their absonce in the 

 latter. There is no such difference between the constituents of 



a." and those 

 i having 



d.ca pa&SanL 

 ich are truly 

 i p. 380, and 



the groups in question as is claimed 



and cl 



Jsely allied forms, 



belonging to the same familv. are sc 



)orated 



among two orders 



and reepeetivolv ossociated with types 





oh thev have little 



affinity. Theeel-pouf ot the markets ( 





:, trad to the 



Afaiithoptcrgvgiiand the familv Blcm 





hough the author 



himself admits Hint it bus "no other li 







tbe caudal, without apparently apprecij 



falsification of tho 



system bv the facts : the nearlv-relat 





Us ia interjected 



among tho Anacanthini. As a matter ( 



f fact th 



ere are no major 



structural differences between the two 



and wl 



goes the 



other must follow. 







Dr. (iuenther'H want of familiarity 



vith the 



former usage of 



ichthyologists has sometimes led hiui i 



ito ainlir 



ing mhftakoa, 



Por instance, Cnvier (Hiat, Mat, di a 





-:, i. i., p. 551 pro- 



posed lo place tlie subgenera: name wit 





nthedes alter the 



generic, " par oxemnle : Perca (labrc 

 liiHntux, etc." 'I'eii.iiiiuek and Behlege 





. Ptraa (U'l'i-'ir.) 



, acting 



m this, niiggestion. 



but omitting the parentheses, called th 

 cus, Perca-laorax Javonias, without 





(labrn;.-) Jnponi- 



the slis* 



ltest intention of 



distinguishing it ironi Zabrax, hut evidently recognizing in it a 

 species of the sub-genus l.tihrux and genus Peroa. Bleaker sub- 

 sequently differentiated it as apeculiar generic type— Lateolnbrax, 

 Nevertheless our learned author has BSgely given the name Perea- 

 taoroa to the genus, as ir Temminck m-A Schlegcl had actually 

 founded and characterized it ! He did this in 1859, but has not 

 yet learned that, he committed the blunder so evident to one fa- 

 miliar with icbtlivological literature. 



As it has been shown that in every " order " of typical phvso- 

 clvst fishes there are genera which exhibit characters, in diametri- 

 cal contrast with thoto given an diagnostic of the orders, it 

 necessarily follows, not only that such characters are of little mo- 

 ment for major classification, but that tbe use of the volume as an 

 aid to "zoologists" or "travellers" for identnicaUon must be 

 comparatively small. Its usefulness is still further reduced and 

 the difficulties of identification onbauced by tho entire absence of 

 analytical syuopaCB and the paucity of illustrations of family- 

 types. 



As we have confined our examination to genera and the conse- 

 quences flowing from their treatment, it is proper to add that the 

 defects of the author's mode of treatment of scientific subjects 

 ramify into every branch of inquiry to a greater or less extent. 

 That which is most free from error and which is really quite rich 

 iu details that have hitherto only appeared in scientific periodicals 

 of limited circulation, or not been elsewhere published, is the por- 

 tion (chapter 21) devoted to " The FisheR of the Deep Sea." This 

 is well worthy the attention of ah interested in Ichthyology. The 

 other chapters must be consulted with extreme caution and re- 

 serve. TlIKO. GlT.L, 



A Smakt Si-Aititow— Wauseon, O. — A number of English 

 sparrows nest in the galvanized iron front in the bank build- 

 ing in this town. To-day one got its foot caught in a j^- 

 shaped slat in the iron, and set up a loud cry. Another bird 

 flew up, caught it by the bead and tried lo pull it out, failing 

 in litis it flew inside, braced on the iron ami attempted to 

 pull it in, catching the bird with its bill by the head. This 

 was also a failure, and the bird again flew outside, caught 

 Ihe captive by the head with its bill as before, and Hying up- 

 wards, raised the bird out of the trap and set it at liberty, I 

 oall this very close to reason — ii not there.— II. 



I** and Biver Mi. 



FISH I.X Si-:,! SON IIV JUNK, 



Uronk Trout, S< 

 Rainbow 'tiout 

 Holly Varilen 



I'.laek' Uass, "« 

 and i/. /,•< hrfi 



HcKerel, J&oas r 



.11(0111 



Trout 



« r„„/!-,K 



ih.Vj. 



MA. 



n.rl 



Stizoteth 

 striped H. 





lukua. 





lj.icheloV, 



pike 



SALT 



Stsnntnmux anjy- 



'OlloeK, Poltar.hlutt carbnvartuz. 



Damns; or Blackish, Taittoga 



onilis. 



| Shad, A b'M Huj.iiHerima. 



WATER. 



I WeakQsh or tMptetague, Cynosemm 

 rmalis. 

 t.a t'aiette orS|iot,iio«tom«( alto 



Channel Bass. Spot or Kedfish, 



Sin •.•psle'.ld, . I <',■/.. -anju.il probata 

 Kinglist.iT or I'.arb, Mi'iitir.irru/- 



,1 *«(0*|lR, 



THE ELY-CASTING TOURNAMENT. 



THE following is the official record of the fly-easting tour- 

 nament last week at Coney Island i 

 The judges were Mr. Lucius Moses, of MarcellUS; Mr. 

 Eugene €h 'i'.iuckford, of Brooklyn, arid Mr. Charles i\ Mur- 

 phy, of Newark, N. J. Air. James Oeddes, of Byjaduse, 

 acted as referee. After consultation, it was (iecided to en- 

 force the rules to the letter and give the allowance of five 

 feet on distance to each foot of rod short of the longest one 

 used, none in the single banded contests to exceed eleven and 

 a half nor be less than nine and a half feet in length, and in 

 the salmon contest not lo exceed twenty feet, and in the bass 

 not to exceed nine nor be less than seven feel. For other 

 rules see Forkst and Stukam of June 16. 



THE 8AI.1ION OASTrSp, 



Thursday, June 23, at 10 a. m. — 1st Prize — One split-bam- 

 boo salmon rod, eighteen fc> t in length, in three pieei s. with 

 two tips, iugiooved case and sack, es, ccially eon.-! rutted tor 

 thiscOPtOBt and donated by 1>- P. Nichols & <o., SIS J each 

 sire.. I, BostOD. Value, $50. 



3d Prize— One fly-rod, reel and line, donated by Ptck A 

 Snyder, 124 Nassau street, New York. Value, $2/). 



3d Prize— Five dollars go d ($6) 



4lh Prize — One year's Subscription lo I'op.k.st and Stream, 

 by Fred Mather, $4. 



The following gentlemen entered and cast in the order of 

 their names: 



Harry Pritchard. Washing 

 Keubcn Wood, Onondaga 

 Ira Wood, Onondaga Fishi 

 Frank P. Deunison, Odos 



Syracuse. 

 There was a very ligbi air 



the cast, but not enough 



ape 



ii, Brooklyn. 



, Syracuse. 



•acuse. 



man's Association, 



irring from the south, across 

 ke it advisable lo cast with or 

 against it while Mr. Pritchard casi. but by Ihe timclra Wood 

 was called lo the score it veered lo Ihe eastward and 

 strengthened a very little, lie asked permission to cuss from 

 that end of the pond, because the buoy line was near the 

 soulh side, where the judges sat. and be being a left- 

 handed caster found dil'liculiy ii) laying his line near the 

 buoys from the west end. This was granted, and the score 

 was" made and prizes awarded in the following order i 



Al- 



ii. Wood 



J. Wood 



It. Pritchard. . 

 P. 13. Den 



ft. 



fl. l 



Iowa 



17 6 



17 (I 10 

 15 S 10 5 

 17 (i 10 

 The points scored were i 



QiatanoHj 



1st Prize -It. Wood 60 



2d Prize -J. Wood Bl 



:ld Prize II. Pritchard ."ill 



•lib Prize— F. 11. Deunison 1 1 



110 

 101 

 100 2-12 



Accuracy. 



10 



HI 



Total. 

 100 



77 

 72 

 59 



BA8B CASTIXO. 



This contest was held in "Cuttyhunk style," i.e., with a 

 rod from seven to nine feet in length, and a weight reeled up 

 near the tip of the rod and cast. The contestants all east 



