214 
FOREST AND STREAM 
licro by Mx. Geo. Jelliffe, tlie Superlntedent of lUe Westport Tront. As¬ 
sociation’a hatching works, as pleasant and genial a gentleman as one 
often meets, and who seemed mnch pleased with oar lakes and scenery. 
There has heretofore been only {15,000 appropriated for the Commission¬ 
ers and Mr. Jelliffe says that violent opposition to any appropriation is 
expected from pound and net fishermen along the sound. It is to be sin¬ 
cerely hoped that the appropriation may be made, for certainly the tax¬ 
payers of this State, in no way, more folly get the worth of their money 
than in the increase of food fish through the efforts of our State Commis¬ 
sioners. W. n. Williams. 
< • » 
HOW AND WHERE EELS GENERATE. 
Machias, Maine, April 22,1876. 
Editor Forkst and Stream:— 
I noticle an artido in June 17th, 1675, headed “Generation of Eels.” 
Now 1 am no scientist but would like to state “what 1 know about” eels- 
Until the past six years I always lived in the town of Machias, which is 
at the head of tide waters, being some six or eight miles from the sea. 
The falls with the dam are so high that no fish were ever known to go up 
except salmon. In my boyhood days and to this day, hundreds of little 
cels about the size of a large darning needle cau be seen swimming 
around tbe wharves and along the shores and in little pools in the marshes 
that are covered at high water. I have also seen them in small fresh¬ 
water brooks running into tide waters, and furthermore I have seen them 
in the river and streams above the dam. This is proof positive to me 
that they breed where these little ones are found; but the operandi 
I leave for wiser heads than mine to determine. G, L. 
Jf ntttTul jtjifitortJ. 
Vlhis Department is under the charge of a competent Naturalist, 
indorsed by the Smithsonian Institution, and will henceforth be made a 
special feature of this paper. AU communications, notes, queries , re¬ 
marks, and seasonal observations wilt receive careful attention.] 
A LIBRARY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
We constantly receive inquiries as to the best and cheap¬ 
est books on various branches of natural history. Several 
such are before us, and we propose to answer them all 
together. In the first place there is no one work covering 
all branches in this country, except Fenney’s school “Man¬ 
ual of Zoology,” (price, $2), which is only outlines. J. 
G. Wood’s “Natural History” is the best cheap general 
work. It can he got for $4 a volume and upward. The 
hack numbers of Forest and Stream eoutain a large 
amount and variety of general natural history, as also do 
the nine volumes of The American Naturalist■ For mam¬ 
mals we have:— 
Quadrupeds of North America: Audubon and Bachman, $50 to $75. 
tacidcRailroad Rep rta: Prof. Band, Vnl. V111. $5. 
Mammals or New York (in Repovts on Natural History of tho State): 
lie Kay. Very difficult to obtain separately. 
Q.nudrupe'dsof Illinois: Kennicott. Patent Office Reports, Agriculture, 
1857-8. Out ol print. 
Bats of North America: Alien (50c.); and varions lesser books. 
Upon ornithology there are written:— 
Birds of North America: 7. 7. Audubon. Octavo and qnarto editions; 
rare, and costing about $100. 
American Oruuholoey: Alex. Wilson . Several editions, the qnarto of 
Bonaparte selling for $60 to $80, aud the little one without plates for 
about $80. ... 
Ornithology of New York: Be Kay. Rare separately, and expensive. 
Manual of Ornithology: Nuttall. Rare, and worth $30. 
Pacitlc Railroad Reports: Prof. Ba.rd, Yol. IX, $5. 
Ornithology and Oology of New England: Samuels, $6. flood to 
identify Eastern birds by, $6. 
Key to North American Birds: Coues. The’best thing to identify 
by, &7. 
Manual or Ornithology: Coues. A hand book of taxidermy and field 
work; similar to Maynard's ‘•Naturalists’ Snide.” No descriptions. 
Price of Cones’ book $8.50; of Maynard’s $8. 
Birds or the Northwest: Coues. Habits and Synonomy of North¬ 
western birds. Published by U. S. Geological Survey, and only oil sale 
"by chance at $3 to $5 
Ornithology of California: Coorer. Elegantly illustrated, $10. 
History or North American Birds: Baird, Brewer, and Hid//way. 
The. most comprehensive and best of all. Three volumes are issued at 
$10 (plain), and $20 (colored) a volume. 
Innumerable Pamphlets and Local Lists. 
The chief books upon reptiles and fishes are:— 
Herpetology of North America: Holbrook. Rare. Price $50 to $80. 
Smithsonian Catalogue of Serpents: Hard and Girard, $1. 
Pacitlc Railroad Reports, Vole. X and XII, $5 each. 
Reptiles of New York: Be Kay. 
Coutribntiuna to Natural History of North America: Agassiz, Vol. I 
(Turtles) $10. 
Pishes of Massachusetts: Slorer, $13. 
Pieties of South Carolina: Holbrook, $85. 
Pacidc Railroad Reports, Vol. X aod XII, $5 each. 
Fishes of New York: Be Kay. 
Reports of the United States and various State Fish Commissions. 
Writings of Agassis, Girard, Putnam, Abbott, Cope, GUI, and others, 
aud various works ou tish culture and UDgling. 
In entomology (insects) there are:— 
Guide to tbe Study of Insects: Packard, $7. 
Our Common Insects: Packard, $3,60. 
Americau Entomology: Say. Various editions, $13 to $18. 
Injurious Insects of Massachusetts: liar vis. $8 to $8. 
Illustrated and expensive works on the butterflies, moths, etc., by 
Edwards, S: retch, Strccker, and others; and numerous publications by 
the Smithsonian. 
Books upon mellusks include:— 
Invertebrates of Massachusetts: Gould, $4. 
Shells of New York: Be Kay. 
American Marine Conchologv: Lyon, $20 to $48. 
Terrestrial Slollusks of the United States: Burney. $30. 
Land and Fresh-water Shells; Bmney aud Bland, Smithsonian, $5. 
American Journal of Conchology, $i0 a volume. 
European works, and numerous American pamphlets. 
The lower invertebrates have been extensively written 
upon by Agassiz in his “Contributions,” Alex. Agassiz in 
his “Seaside Studies in Natural History,” and by Packard, 
Verrill, Hyatt, Smith, Leidy, Clark, Stimpson, and others, 
Whose essays are scattered through various periodicals. 
It is impossible to keep pace with the advance of natural 
science without reading the papers which are continually 
being read before and published by scientific societies and 
institutions. The proceedings of the Boston Society of 
Natural History, the Academies of Science in Now York, 
Philadelphia, and San Francisco, the Smithsonian Institute, 
and the Government Surveys, particularly Hr. Hayden’s, 
are specially rich in tlie^e publications, and most of the 
papers are issued in pamphlet form by the authors, making 
them accessible separately. It is also an extremely useful 
thing to keep an orderly and indexed scrap-book — if you 
do not put too much faith ia your clippings before you 
(have verified them. 
—Many rookeries or breeding colonies of rooks still ex¬ 
ist in various parts of London. 
ANIMALS OF CONNECTICUT. 
Lyncus rvfus. Bay lynx; wild cat. Not common. A 
few yet remain in the larger tracts of woods in the north¬ 
ern and western portions of this State, but are seldom 
seen except in the spring, when they occasionally approach 
the farm houses in quest of young lambs. 
Procyon lotor. Raccoon. Common in eveiy part of the 
State, but especially in the northern and western parts, 
Vulpes fulvus. Red fox. Common. This species has 
been steadily increasing in numbers for tbe last three or 
four years. In the summer of 1868 a black fox (V. flitmus 
var. argentabus) was caught alive in the western part of 
Now Haven county. The owner kept it alive for several 
weeks. 
Mephitis nanus. Skunk. Altogether too common! 
Putorius lutreota. Mink. The trappers have nearly ex¬ 
terminated this beautiful animal. A few yet remain. 
[Mink bred near Norwich in 1878 .—Ed.] 
Mustela noveboraeenm. Ermine. This species is some¬ 
times taken here in winter in the traps set for mink or 
skunks. It is probably a resident throughout the year, but 
is never common. 
Mustela pnsilla. Weasel. Common. This little fellow 
is more frequently found in the neighborUood of farm 
houses than in the unsettled districts. 
Lutra canadensis. Otter; very tare. One is occasion-' 
ally taken in the vicinity of the Connecticut or Housatonic 
Rivers; seldom occurs elsewhere. 
Arclomys monax. Woodchuck. Very abundant in some 
districts; but as this species is easily* exte rminated it is 
seldom found iu the immediate vicinity of lav ge towns. 
Lepus sylvaticus. Rabbits. Common. 
Fiberzibethicus. Musquash; muskrat. Abundant wher¬ 
ever it is not molested by trappers, especially in tho salt 
marshes. 
Sciurus carolinensis. Gray squirrel. Common in some 
localities. This handsome fellow would be frequently seen 
everywhere were he not heid in such high esteem for the 
table. 
Sciurus hudsoniU8. Red squirrel. Yery common. 
Tamias striatus. Chipmunk; striped squirrel; ground 
squirrel. Abundant in some localities, rare in others. 
PUromys volucelta. Plying squirrel- Abundant; but 
little seen ou account of its nocturnal babils. This curious 
squirrel prefers a woodpecker’s hole for its retreat during 
the day, but will sometimes take possession of Ihe nest of 
the red or gray squirrel. I am assured, however, that it 
does build a nest of its own. 
Mus ratius. Black rat. Common in the cities and towns, 
especially In the vicinity of sewers, where it outnumbers 
the brown rat. 
Mus decumanus. Brown rat; Norway rat. Very abund¬ 
ant in granaries and barns in tbe country. This rat is fre¬ 
quently taken along the banks of streams in the traps set 
lor muskrats, and is the first to find its way into houses 
erected in thinly settled districts. It is common also in the 
cities, butseems to prefer the country. 
Mus musculus. Common house mouse. Very numerous. 
Hesperomys leucopus. White-footed mouse. Common 
where cedars are abundant, in which tree it especially de¬ 
lights to build its uest. Tile further list of mice, shrews, 
etc., I must leave incomplete at present. 
Condyiura cristata. Star-nosed mole. Not very common. 
Scalops aquutieus. Common mole. Very abundant, es¬ 
pecially in the vicinity of gardens, where ittind9 an abund¬ 
ance of earth worms, oE which it seems particularly fond. 
Vespertilio subulatus. Brown bat. Very common. 
Phoca mtulina. Seal. A winter visilaut only. Occa¬ 
sionally makes its appearance at different points along the 
sea coast, but is not at all regular. 
Robert T. Morris. 
BIRDS OF LOWER MICHIGAN. 
BY A. B. COVERT, OF ANN ARBOR, MICH. 
{Continued froth Page 163.) 
FAMILY FRINGILLIDA5. 
■ Pinicola enueieator. Pine grosbeak. A rare visitor 
from tbe north. It was common during tho winter of 
1874, and the spring of 1875. 
. Carpodacus purpureus. Purple finch. Common in mi¬ 
grations, arriving in the spring about the 30lh of April, 
and passing here, going south, in September. 
. Curvirostra leucoptera. White-winged crossbill. Some¬ 
times common in winter. 
Curmrostra americana. Red crossbill. Very rare. 
. Ghrysomitris tristis. Goldfinch; yellow-bird. Common 
and resident, breeding about July 5th. 
Plcctrophanes nivalis. Snow bunting; snowflake. An ir¬ 
regular winter visitor. 
, Pleeirophan.es lapponicus. Lapland longspur. A very 
rare winter visitor. 
J Passercuhts savanna. Savanna sparrow. Not common. 
Chiefly a spring visitor, arriving about April ISth. I have 
never known it to breed here. It departs southward the 
last of September. 
. Pooccetes gramineus. Grass finch or bay-win gad bunting. 
Very common, arriving by the 1st of April, breeding by 
May 1st, and rearing two broods in tbe season. It departs 
for tbe south about the middle of October, 
v Ootumiwiuspasserinus. Yellow-winged sparrow. Very 
rate, a few arriving by the middle of April. I have never 
known the nest to have been taken in this locality, but the 
bird has been shot during the breeding season. 
Melospiza palustris. Swamp sparrow. This sparrow is 
common in suitable localities, where it is first seen about 
April 1st. It breeds about the 1st of June, aud departs 
southward by the last of September. 
. Melospiza melodia. Song sparrow. Very common, ar¬ 
riving from March 1st to 20lh. It first breeds by the 20 lLi 
of April, and rears two or three broods in the season. By 
the 15th of October all have gone southward. 
Junco hycmalis. Suow-bira. Seen from September to 
May, breeding in the northern portion of the State. 
Spizella montivola. Tree sparrow, Rare winter visitor. 
Spizella socialis. Chipping sparrow. Common, arriving 
about the middle of March, breeding by May 20th, and 
rearing two broods in the season. All have gone south by 
the last of September. 
Spieella pusilla. Field sparrow. Abundant, arriving 
April 1st. It breeds by May 20th, and departs southward 
in September. 
' ZoTtcilriehia albicollis. White-throated sparrow. Com¬ 
mon in migrations, arriving about May 1st. It remains 
ten days, and then passes on to the north to breed, return¬ 
ing in its southern migration in September. 
Zonotrichia leucophrys. White-crowned sparrow. Com¬ 
mon Willi the preceding. They sometimes remain and 
breed, one of their nests having been taken May 23d, 1871. 
. Chondestes grammaca. Lark finch. An accidental strag¬ 
gler from the west. One specimen wns taken May 10th, 
in company with white-crowned sparrows. 
) -Pyrgita domestica. English sparrow. This bird is be¬ 
coming very abundant. It is resident, hut they have made 
uo nests as yet. 
■ Passerella iliaea. Fox sparrow. Common during mi¬ 
grations, arriving here by May 10th, and passing quickly to 
the north. It reaches here in its fall migration about, tbe 
last of September. 
■ Goniaphea ludoviciana. Rose-breasted grosbeak. This 
beautiful bird is a very common summer visitor, arriving 
about May 10th. It breeds about June 10th, and departs 
southward in the middle of September. 
/ Oyanospiza eyanea. Indigo-bird. Common, arriving 
about May 1st. Breeds about June 1st, and has gonesouth 
by tlie last of September. 
Ptpilo crythropthahuus. Towbee bunting orchcwink, A 
common summer visitor, arriving by March 20th, It 
breeds about May 15th, and rears two broods in the season. 
I think this bird sometimes remains ail winter, as I have 
taken them in January, in a largo swamp three miles south 
of this place, but it usually disappears by October 10l.h. 
[Tu be continued .] 
At Home with the Birds.— There seems to be one or¬ 
nithologist at least who is content to let the professors dig 
out classifications, and who loves to watch the birds at 
home. We refer to Thomas Gentry, Volume I of whose 
“Life Histories of Birds of Eastern Pennsylvania” has re¬ 
cently been published. For six years he has been closely 
observing, in the field and in bis studio, examining hun¬ 
dreds of nests and dissecting hundreds of stomachs. 
Many well-known habits are purposely repentod, because 
of the value of iterated testimony to uniformity or e.hauge 
in habits of birds. But very many facts are herein pub¬ 
lished for the first time ( besides corroborations of import¬ 
ant statements by Audubon and Wilson, which bad been 
lost sight of. This new information is embraeed under the 
following heads, which may be suggestive to those who 
cannot get the book. 1, Bcscriptious of nests which 
show marked deviations from normal structures, and the 
probable causes of the variations. 2. Nhlifieation, pe¬ 
riods of, and whether performed by the male aud female 
separately or conjointly. 3. Buralion of nest building 
and oviposilion, and whether the eggs are laid on succes¬ 
sive or alternate days. 4. Age of the young on quilting 
tbe nest, and the further time which elapses before they 
are fitted for self-maintenance. 5. Character of the sexes 
both before and after incubation, particularly tbe male. 
6. Insects, seeds, and berries which constitute their bill 
of fare. Mr. Gentry’s notes ate copious, and his style 
pleasant. His eyes are open to all the little facts and cu¬ 
rious peculiarities of his different subjects, and nothing 
is so trivial that he doe3 not value it lor some hidden sig¬ 
nificance. His comments upon the architecture of birds, 
and his minute lists of their fare, are especially new, val¬ 
uable, and interesting. It is rare that a book with a so 
thoroughly out-of-doors odor comes to us, and we predict 
for it :f cordial welcome. It is greatly to be regretted that 
the printing is very bad, and the proof-reading worse. 
TUe preseul volume contains 400 pages, ending with i he 
grakles, anil the author promises the remainder very soon, 
ft is published and for sale by tbe author at 55 Sharpnack 
street, Germantown, Philadelphia, Pa. Price §2. 
—The second week in April was very cold and stormy 
throughout Great Britain, with much snow. Many of the 
migratory birds had arrived, aud they suffered greatly. 
The swallows and martins were so exhausted by cold and 
lack of food that they could hardly fly, and might have 
been killed by tbe dozen. Several were seen floating upon 
ponds in tbe morning at one place, which indicates that a 
great number must have succumbed to tlie inclemency of 
tbe weather. Gulls have been seen in great numbers many 
miles from the sea. Wall fruit and pear trees suffered 
much, nnd raspberries, aud -in some places potaloes, were 
completely cut up. 
—The toad, almost universally despised and upbraided 
for his ugliness, is yet a useful, good-natured, quiet fellow, 
who recognizes his friends and those who are kind to him. 
Like the Bparrow the toad has been considered a nuisance, 
and in some sections has been exterminated; but tbe ex¬ 
terminators have been only too glad afterwards to get him 
buck by the expenditure of large sums of money. So use¬ 
ful are toads in gardeus that they are sold in France by 
the dozen, for tlie purpose of stocking gardens to free 
them from many injurious insects. The toad lives almost 
entirely on winged insects, and never does harm to plants. 
—In reference to a paragraph ou “Man-ei^ing Sh arks,” 
printed a few weeks ago, an account in Land and Water of 
an accident to a man on the Australian coast will be of in¬ 
terest. This man swam out into deep water where a shark 
seized him by the thigh, and tore him so much that, al¬ 
though rescued williout loss of time, lie died shortly after. 
The shark is said to have been about fifteen feet long, and 
tried to seize hold of the person who rescued the lad, al¬ 
though on horseback. 
—The English journals have lately given nccounts ot 
several female dogs aud cals having voluntarily taken lo 
nursing broods of ducklings ami young chickens which 
had been deserted by their mothers, or were orphans, and 
showing the greatest solicitude for their welfare. 
