FOREST AND STREAM 
163 
fuel. Each family keeps from five to fifteen clogs, during 
winter they travel a good deal. There are no hotels nor 
inns, consequently a poor man who has the misfortune to 
live on the line of travel lias his house often full. Iam 
told that it is nothing extraordinary for five or six travelers 
to put tip at the same house, and at the same time, each 
having from eight to nine dogs, and fine music these 
brutes make at night. Many of the people are capi¬ 
tal fishermen. If tiiey would only take their families 
away to some place where they could cultivate land, 
and, instead of fishing by themselves, club together with 
parties who have Schooners and seines, and follow the coast 
till they strike in upon the fish, every man to share accord¬ 
ing to agreement, they could do better, and could get their 
flour from Quebec at from $6 to $7 per barrel instead of 
paying traders $12 to $15, and they would sell their her¬ 
rings at $4 to $5, and sometimes $6, instead of $2 to $3, 
and other fish at same rates, while the vessel owners would 
only pay according to the catch. This I believe to he the 
only plan for the Labrador fishing to be carried on profit¬ 
ably, for even at the exhorbitant prices traders sell, few of 
them prosper, as they are obliged to make advances, and 
when a fisherman can’t pay, or won’t pay, there is nothing 
to be done but grin and bear it. I am very much surprised 
that our Quebec merchants have not fitted out vessels on 
Bhares. The United States people do so, and with good 
results. You see hundreds of Yankees fishing, but you 
don’t catch a Yankee living on the coast. Between Blanc 
Sablon and Maccatlina, I believe, not one fishing schooner 
is owned. Consequently, when fish take a fancy to visit 
this district the poor fishermen, with their old boats and 
nets, do the best they can; but when fish do not visit it, or 
stop, as frequently happens, only for a few hours, they are 
in a sad state. I pointed out these facts to the people, and 
they perfectly agreed with mo. 
Amid the firing of guns and the hurrahs of Gaumonct 
and his men, to which we responded, the steamer Napoleon 
III., at seven o’clock on the morning of the 21st, steamed 
out of Maccatlina Bay. We ran out some nine miles to keep 
the numerous rocks at a respectable distance, and ou the 
22d, at six P. M., reached Nalashquan. What a change! 
Here is a village of some forty houses, gaily paiuted, and 
a small church. You see cows, horses, and sheep, and 
plenty of woods near at hand. Some vegetables are cul¬ 
tivated. The potatoes, 1 regretted to learn, had frozen in 
the ground on the 25ih of August. The number of inhab¬ 
itants are about 300 souls. Several fine schooners are 
owned by some enterprising captains, who take off each 
twenty or twenty-five men and follow the coast (passing by 
the poor starving fishermen between Blanc Sablon and 
Maccattina) until they find fish. When work begins, some¬ 
times the fish start off suddenly, and the schooners move 
again after them, often running two or three hundred 
miles before getting another chance. It can easily be un¬ 
derstood what advantages these people possess over the 
others, not only to catch fish, but, as it is all taken to Que¬ 
bec for sale, they get the highest market price for what 
they have to sell, aud pay the lowest price for their sup¬ 
plies. I visited several of the people, and found them very 
comfortable. They are mostly Acadian-French, with a 
few Canadians. The Hudson Bay Company have a trading 
post, here; there are also other traders. Owing to the fail¬ 
ure of the potato crop, I left a few barrels of meal to be 
distributed by the missionary, the ltev. Mr. Auger. Fish¬ 
ing had been pretty good for those who remained near 
home, but those wiio had followed the coast and fished on 
[Shares had done very well indeed. At four P. M. we left 
INutasbquan for Esquimaux Point, where we arrived at 
Inine A. M. on the 23d. This is a beautiful spot, aud has a 
fine bay, iu front of which is a long, thickly wooded 
'island, completely sheltering the harbor. We landed, and 
were received by the Iiev. Mr. Perusse, the Catholic mis¬ 
sionary, with whom I was already acquainted. Here 
everything was flourishing, even more so that at Natash- 
quau; the potato crop was good. This village is also much 
larger, containing some 600 souls, Acadian and Canadian- 
tFrench, and Jerseymen. Very little aid was required. 
There are several schooners owned here, and the people 
also fish on shares, besides being employed in winter in 
trapping. In one house I Visited, as early as the season 
was, two men had already caught one black, one silver, 
and three red foxes, with three or four minks. The livers 
abound with salmon aud sea trout, and there is capital 
shooting. I have seldom seen a place where a sportsman 
could spend a more delightful summer. We stopped but 
s. few hours at Point aux Esquimaux, and at last steered 
lor home, arriving at Quebec ou Sunday, 25th Ociober, 
J.eing over one month absent. Three hundred and forty- 
fix souls received assistance, over 300 barrels of Hour, 
neal, and peas, as well as some clothing, powder, and 
fliot, having been distributed among the inhabitants of 
>ver thirty fishing points, who were left well provided for 
he wiuter. I am happy to add that poor Joues'and the 
fiber fishermen’s hopes have been partly realized, for the 
text season’s fishing proved more prosperous iu the locaii- 
ies where 1 found so much distress, and no complaints 
rom there have reached Government since. 
The Government of the Dominion of Canada has added 
birty new light houses, steam fog whistles, cannons, light 
hips, and provision depots to those I have mentioned, 
leaking in ail, under the Department of Marine and Fish¬ 
eries in this district, wllich begins at Montreal and ends at 
jielle Isle, including Magdelan Islands, Birds Bock, Bay of 
Ehaleur, and north shore of Newfoundland, now iu opera- 
ion 123 light houses, seven provision depots, nine light 
dips, six cannons, fifty-four buoys, and sixty-three bos¬ 
ons, and several others are in course of construction, 
Jvbich, with the vessels and harbor police, are under my 
ppervisitm as representing Department at Quebec. 
— The large sums of money which were paid by the au- 
iorities of Blair and other counties in the mountainous 
arts of Pennsylvania as bounties for scalps of wild ani- 
lals during the last year prompted an investigation, which 
evealed a well-devised and carefully executed scheme of 
efraiuling the county treasuries. In one instance in Blair 
ounty the skin of a colt which had died was deftly cut up 
nd made into ears, and palmed off as those of a fox. 
JUntural %jintow. 
■ Department if now under the charge of a competent Naturalist, 
indorsed by the Smithsonian Institution, and will henceforth be made a 
tpecial feature of this paper. All communications, notes, Queries, re¬ 
marks, and seasonal observations will receive cat eful attention .] 
SCHOOLBOYS AS NATURALISTS. 
In some parts of Australia the wild horses have in¬ 
censed to such an extent, and do so much damage, that the 
fillers have to shoot them as they do wild beasts. 
— Tbe Glasgow Times says spring is opening in Missis- 
ppi, and the trees and carpet-baggers are leaying. 
N OTHING has pleased us more, among all the many re¬ 
sponses which we have received to our “Invitation," 
than the following scraps of information from the pupils 
of Mr Thomas Williamson, at Leesburg, Va., which that 
gentleman has forwarded. The diary for a week is as fol¬ 
lows:— 
March 27th.—PigeonB, robins, larks, blackbirds, cow-birds, red-winged 
blackbirds, English sparrows, blue-birds, hawks, blizzards, crowB, pe- 
wees, snow-birds, and a few doves. 
March 2Stb.—In addition to tbe above there were seen many doves, 
sparrows, tomtits, crows, sap-snekers, red-birds, golden-winged wood¬ 
peckers, killdcers, and mouse hawke(f) 
March 81st.—Jack snipe, skylarks (?), wild geese were first seen, and 
a bald-headed eagle on Goose Greek, near the Potomac. 
April 1st.—Snipe, three kinds of blackbirds, and an nnasnal hav.'lc 
(white breast, dove colored back, black-tipped wings) were first sucu. 
April 2d.—Pheasants (Bonasa Umbellus) aud wrens are added to tbe 
list. 
April 3d.—Bine jays, mocking-birds, and cedar-birds. 
April 8th.—The preceding have become abundant, and two wild ducks 
and two rusty-beaded flshers(f.t were seen. The snow-birds still remain. 
We have changed the wording of this report to save re¬ 
duplication and space. It came to us with the full list of 
all the different birds seen each day, which, although the 
only way in which to keep one’s own note-book, is unneces¬ 
sary for publication. It is sufficient to send the additions 
to the list which each day supplies, and such notes as are 
peculiar to that day. The journals of Dr. Abbott, Prof, 
Goode, and Mr. Bicknell, which we have already printed, 
are good models to follow. Then there are oilier things 
besides birds to watch. The quadrupeds, reptiles, fishes, 
and insects are just as deserving of notice, and at present 
really need more to he studied. In a school-full of boys 
there might he some system about the observations. Let 
them divide info committees upon various branches of 
botany and zoology, then meet once a week and report up¬ 
on each of them. Teachers should encourage this observa¬ 
tion of nature. They will find keener minds and more 
tenacious memories in their pupils; and the hoys and girls 
will learn well the lesson of examining and comparing 
facia, wltich is the basis of all good judgment, One way 
to encourage this is to help them to propelly identify what 
they see so that they will know it precisely from anything 
like it. It is not sufficient to say “sparrows.” It should 
bo known what kind of sparrows, of which there are many 
varieties. Tbe “tom-tits” mentioned may be one of lluee 
kinds at Leesburg, and the reader must throw away that 
uote because it is not definite. By “mouse-hawk” we sup¬ 
pose the marsh harrier (Givens hiuUomus) is meaut, but it 
is doubtful. What “skylarks" are we can only guess, and 
“rusty headed fishers” is beyond even our conjecture. 
This accuracy can only be obtained by studying standard 
works of natural history which every school library should 
possess. If there are no such hooks at hand—and we re¬ 
member tbe lack in our own younger days—let them club 
together and by some means raise money for the beginning 
of a library. We could invest $50, or even much less than 
that in books, we think, here for a school, which would 
furnish the pupils with all they would need in that way for 
a long time, or until they could buy for themselves works 
of more minute and particular description. Whether this 
hint will be acted upon by any schools or academies, it is 
only for them to say; but that it would infuse new zest and 
delight into the life of every member cauuot bo gainsaid. 
Let us have more from the young folks of the country. 
FAMILY VIRRONID.E. 
' Vino olwaceus. Bed-eyed virco. A common visitor; 
arriving by the 15th of May. It breeds about the 10th of 
June, and departs for the south by 10th of September. 
Vireo gihus. Warbling vireo." The most common of all 
our vireos, arriving by the 1st of May. It is seldom found 
in the forests, but prefers the vicinity of farm houses and 
villages, where, about the 1st of June, it builds its nest. 
By the 1st of September this bird has departed for the 
south. 
■ Vireo flavifrom. Yellow-throated vireo. Not common. 
It arrives by the 15th of May, breeds about the 10th of 
June, and leaves us for the south by the middle of Sep¬ 
tember. 
Vireo solitarius, Blue-headed or solitary vireo. Very 
rare. One nest, with the female bird, was taken Julv 4th. 
1873. J ’ 
Vireo noneborncensis. White-eyed vireo. Common, ar¬ 
riving during the first half of May, and breeding by tbe 
1 st of June. About October 1st it moves southward. 
FAMILY LAOTIDAl. 
' CMlyrio borealis. Great northern shrike. Bare, but res¬ 
ident. It breeds from the 1st of May to the 1st of June. 
j Gollyrio ludocieiun.ua. Loggerhead shrike. Accidental 
from the south. One speciuieu was taken November 23d, 
1871. The variety cxcuMloroidea , the white-rumped shrike, 
is a not common resident, which first breeds about June 
1 st, and rears two broods in the season. 
• [To be crxiitinwffl.] 
MARCH FIELD NOTES—BIRDS. 
BY CHARLES C. ABBOTT, M. D. 
BIRDS OF LOWER MICHIGAN. 
BY A. B. COVERT, OF ANN ARBOR, 
{Oontirvued from Page 132.) 
FAMILY TAX AG IUD.I5. 
• Pyranga rubra. Scarlet tanager. This beautiful bird is a 
very common summer visitor, arriving at Ann Arbor from 
May 1st to 10th, and breeding about the 1st of June. In 
July and August the male assumes the greenish plumage 
of the female, and by the middle of September all have re¬ 
turned to their southern homes. 
FAMILY niRUNDINID.-E. 
■ Hirundo horreorum. Barn swallow. Very common; ar¬ 
riving from the 15th of April to the 10th of May, and 
breeding about June 1st. It has gone south by Septem¬ 
ber 16th. 
, Tachyeineta bicolor. White-bellied swallow. Common; 
arrives by the 5th of April; breeds about the 25th of May; 
returns south by the middle of September. 
/Petrochelidon lunifrons. Cliff or eave swallow. Very 
common, in company with the barn swallow. 
C'otyle riparia. Bank swallow or sand martin. Very 
common; arriving about the middle of April. If breeds 
by the 1st of June and departs for the south by the 10th of 
September. 
V Progne purpurea. Purple martin. Common; arriving 
from the south by the 10th of April, and breeding about 
the 1st of June. It departs for its souLhern home by the 
1st of October. 
FAMILY AMPELIME. 
- Ampelis garrulus, Bohemian waxwiDg. Accidental win¬ 
ter visitor from the north. Three specimens were taken 
on December 12th, 1869. 
I Ampelis cedrorum. Cedar-bird or cherry-bird. Irregu¬ 
larly migratory; sometimes a resident. Breeds about the 
10th of June, 
I N sending you n list of the birds noticed during the 
past month, and not previously seen, this year, I desire 
it to be distinctly understood, that I do not claim it to be a 
complete enumeration of the species that reached this 
neighborhood during the month, or were first discovered 
in concealed nooks, where throughout the winter they had 
been keeping. In a locality like Central New Jersey, 
wliich seems to he a neutral ground between the rauges of 
northern and southern species, it Is scarcely practicable to 
determine precisely the avi-fauna. Every year adds addi¬ 
tional instances of the occurrence of some rare straggler; 
and in accordance with the character of the winter especi¬ 
ally, is there an abundance or otherwise of certain species, 
that make a brief stay during that season. Again, it is 
scarcely practicable for an observer, however enthusiastic, 
to be out of doors the entire day, and I may add, evening; 
and yet, unless thus constantly on the watch, the coming 
and going of certain species will escape his notice. A list 
of birds characteristic of a given locality, should always 
be valued as a catalogue of a very limited area; aud not 
considered with reference to any considerable number of 
square miles; for the variation iu the surface geology, or 
physical geography of tho neighborhood affects in a marked 
degree, the habits of some species and decides the preseuco 
or absence ofolhers during a part or the whole of the year. 
As an instance, Gentry, in his “Life Histories of Birds,” 
refers to our common meadow lark as migratory about Ger¬ 
mantown, (Philadelphia)Pa., while iu this neighborhood 
it is a winter resident; and the same might be mentioned 
with reference to several other species. Yet the field of 
Mr. Gentry’s observations and of my own are but twenty- 
eight miles distant, as the crow flies"; but geologically they 
are as different as well cau be. 
The few additional species noted iu March are;— 
Robin ( Tardus migratorivs) . Usual ly abundant Jn February. 
Kinglets (Jlei/utus calendula aud sa(rapa). Probably overlooked in 
February, as they are common tbrougboot the winter, in varying num¬ 
ber- . I have elsewhere mentiooed my belle! than those birds occa¬ 
sionally remain in Eastern Pennsylvania during the summer. 
Wii/cr wreu lAnorthura troglodytes). These birds were common In 
November, but disappeared again. Twice iu March I saw a pair along 
the creek bank. 
Titlark ( Ardhus ludovtcianvs). A single flock seen on the 12th, and 
again the next day. These birds vary a great deal as to their abund- 
dauce. some winters frequenting fields by hundreds, and remaining 
many weeks together. 
Butcher-bird ( CoUurio borealis). But one specimen seen since Novem¬ 
ber; occasionally they are very abundant. 
White-throated sparrow ( Zonolrlchia ulbicolIU). A nnmber of these 
birds have frequented my yard for nearly a mouth, having been first 
seen on March 9l.li- 
Blue jay (Cyan uni cristatus). Jays are resident and more abnndant in 
wiuter than summer apparently, as they arc then tamer aud leave tho 
high woods. They havo been very abundant throughout March, but 
were not noticed in January or February, 
Pewee (hayomisfusous). First seen on March 6th. Since then they 
have been very abundant, and on ihe 27rb a pair began building a nest. 
Flicker (Coluples amtdus). A single specimen seen on the 12th along 
the hillside, which, 1 doubt not, has been wintering in the barn, as sin- 
ale bird-have been round in hay-mows aud other outbuildings in liio 
depth of winter; what they find to eat.is a mystery. The specimen seen 
was tn full vigor, and seemed thoroughly to enjoy being out of doors. 
Owls, a. long-eared ( OOc-: vulgaris); b. etwrt emeA (Bruehlyolus palue- 
fris); c. screech owl (Scope (tsio)\ d. barred owl Syrnium nelnilasum). 
These four speciCB w ere seen in March,, the two former being quite com¬ 
mon on the mursh meadows along the Delaware River. The little 
screech owl is nut as ubimdantin wiuter as in summer, er at least doeB 
not appear so. Do they migrate? 
Dove (Xeuaidtira carntlnensis). Noted a single pair the 18th, a cold, 
windy day, and have twice since seen the same or other palrB. 
Killdeer Jplover (.'EgialitiS weiftrus). Flocks of killdeers were on 
the meadows on the llth, likh, and 32<l. 
Woodcock (PMlohela minor). Mushed four ou the edge of a dense 
swamp on the 18th. 
Snipe (Gnfftnwpo Wdsuid). 8nipc appeared late in March, hut did not 
stay. I suppose they returned south. 
Night heron (bryeilarde.a griseu). Soveral seen. They are resident in 
scanty numbers in Ills southern half of the State. 
Prospect Util, 'Trenton, N- -J. Ojiab. C. A bbott, M. D. 
—Mr. Chas. G. Kendall, of Palmetto Island, near Port 
Boyal, S. C., lias ieceivetlfrom Lieut. Evans, of the U. 8. 
steamer Congress, a present of three African partridges, 
which have been well provided for, and are in good condi¬ 
tion, having survived tho hardships of along Bea voyage.'. 
They seem to be a hardy variety, and we trust that Mr, 
Kendall may succeed in propagating from them, 
