402 
Forest and stream 
•when other food is in abundance. In the winter and early 
spring most of the crows resort to the sea shore, rind find 
bountiful provender in the small shell-flsh and mollusks 
cast ashore by the waves or left bare on the mud at ebb 
tide; they soon grow very fat. Those inland, however, 
do not fare so well, subsisting chiefly on seeds of weeds 
and a very few torpid insects which tilfey find under the 
loose bark of trees, or hidden in the crevices of rocks. As 
the season advances and all have gone inland and are nest¬ 
ing, their food consists of a few field mice, seeds and acorns 
which latter are broken in pieces before being swallowed. 
By the time the young crows are hatched the smaller birds 
are nesting, and it is at this season that the crow is most 
destructive. The eggs and young of the smaller birds are 
appropriated by it on every opportunity for at least two 
momlis in the year, so that the number of eggs and young 
birds required' to feed a pair of crows and their four or 
five young for this lime would be by no means inconsider¬ 
able. I have known a pair of crows to destroy the young 
in three robins’ nests in one day, and it is safe to say that 
each one of the young robins would in one year have de¬ 
stroyed more injurious insects than the crows would in 
their lifetime. Frogs, small reptiles, and the farmer’s 
sprouting corn also form a large part of their diet at this 
season. Later in the summer they destroy great numbers 
of grnsshoppers and crickets, but in this part of the country 
the grasshoppers are not plentiful enough to prove injuri¬ 
ous to the crops. I have seldom found any really injuri¬ 
ous insects iu their stomachs, and on the whole their 
usefulness in destroying insects is so small as to be not 
worthy of notice, as compared with their great destructive¬ 
ness. 
In the autumn the crows, old and young, assemble in 
flocks and visit old corn and stubble fields for the scattered 
grains which they find there, and the meadows and swamps 
for grasshoppers, seeds, nuts, and frogs. At the approach 
of winter they move southward, with the exception of a 
few stragglers which prefer to remain. 
Robert T. Morris. 
BIRDS OF LOWER MICHIGAN. 
BV A. B. COVERT, OP ANN ARBOR. 
(Continued from Page 354.) 
> Ectopistes migratorius. Wild pigeon. A very common 
spring and autumn visitor, passing here in the spring from 
the last of March to the middle of April, and returning in 
October and November. A few remain and nest nearly 
every season about the 20th of May. Thousands remained 
through the nesting season in 1873. 
/ Zen&dura carrolinewde. Carolina, or mourning dove. 
Common resident. The eggs are laid about May 5th. 
/ Meleagris gallopavo. Wild turkey. Resident and com¬ 
mon in some localities, but very rare in this vicinity. 
I Cupidonia cvpido. Pinnated grouse; prairie hen. Abun¬ 
dant all the year in localities twenty miles from Ann Arbor. 
Hundreds incubate about May 1st, but they are rapidly 
becoming exterminated. 
Bonasa umbellus. Ruffed grouse or partridge. Very 
common. The eggs are laid about May 5th. During the 
breeding season the males congregate together and remain 
apart from the females until the young birds are nearly 
full-grown, when they join them until the ensuing 
spring. 
/ Ortyx mrginianus. Quail, or hob-white. Abundant 
always. Tpe eggs are laid about May 10th. I think this 
bird sometimes raises two broods in the season, for August 
7th. 1841, I found a nest of twelve fresh eggs. 
/ Charadrius futons var. virginicus. American golden 
plover. A rare visitor during spring and fall migrations. 
. JEyialitis vociferus. Killdecr plover. Very common, ar¬ 
riving by April 1st, and laying its eggs about June 1st, and 
departing lor the So i111 about the middle of October. 
. Tivjialitu semipahnatvs. Semipalmated, or king plover. 
Common in the spring and fall migrations. 
, Steganopvs Witsom. Wilson’s phalarope. Rare. One 
nest found was at Portage Lake (twenty-six miles north of 
Ann Arbor) July 2d, 1875, and both male and female were 
obtained. 
j Lobipes hyperboreus. Northern phalarope. Rare spring 
and fall immigrant, arriving May 1st. 
, Phitohela minor. Woodcock. Very common, arriving 
here by April 1st, nesting about May 1st, and departing 
south in November, 
Scolopax rubticola. European woodcock. A straggler 
from Europe, one specimen having been obtained May 9th, 
1870, by Dr. William E. Lewitt. 
. Galtipogo Witsoni. American snipe. A common spring 
and full migrant, passing northward by April 1st, and re¬ 
turning in September. 
, Mnoorhampus grmus. Red breasted snipe, or gray 
snipe. Common spring and fall migrant, arriving by 
March 15th and passing here on their return south about 
the last of September. 
‘ Epeunetes pusiHus. Semipalmated sandpiper. Rare mi¬ 
grant in spring and fall, passing here in the spring about 
May 10 th. 
j Jrinyu mnutilla. Least sandpiper. Very common dur¬ 
ing the migrations, about the first week in May and the 
first week in October. 
• Tringa maculata. Pectoral sandpiper; jack snipe; grass 
snipe. Rather common during the migrations, coming to 
us in the spriug by the last, of April, and passing quickly 
to the north whence it returns in October. 
j Tringa eanutus. Red-breasted sandpiper; ash-colored 
sandpiper; robin snipe. Migratory and rare, arriving liere^ 
about. May 10th, and soon passing to the north to breed. 
- Totaiiw smnipnlmalus. Willet or stone snipe. Rare; 
arrives here by the last of April and breeds about May 
35th. By the middle of October all are gone sotjlli. 
. Toianus melanolecus. Greater telltale or yellow-shanks. 
Common, arriving by tho middle of April. This bird un¬ 
doubtedly nests iu ibis vicinity, as I have taken it from 
April to October when it returns to the south. 
( 'J'olanm jluvipes. Losser tell I ale or lesser yellow shanks. 
Common and can always be found with the proceeding. 
, Totnnituwlitarius. bolitury sandpiper. Very rare. One 
pair of buds with their eggs are all that I have ever taken. 
These were found near a stagnant pond on the outskirts of 
deep woods, May 19th, 1870. 
y Tringoides macularim. Spotted sandpiper. Very com¬ 
mon afler fhc first week in April. The eggs are laid by 
May 1st, and it departs south by the last of September. 
• Actiturus Bartramius. Bartramian sandpiper; upland 
plover. Very common, arriving in pairs about the middle 
of April. The eggs are laid by'the 1st of May. 
• Numenius longirostris. Long-billed curlew. A very 
rare migrant, but is sometimes obtained in autumn. 
BIRDS OF CENTRAL NEW YORK. 
[ Continued from page 837. ] 
Conus americanus. Crow. Abundant all the year. 
Oyanurus cristatus . Blue-jay. Resident but not com¬ 
mon. 
Tyrannus carolinensis. King-bird. An abundant sum¬ 
mer resident after May 1st. Breeds, and migrates in Sep¬ 
tember. 
Myiarclius crinilus. Great-crested flycatcher. Not an 
uncommon summer sojourner, arriving the second week in 
May. Breeds. 
Sayornisfuscus. Phcebe-bird. Common after the second 
week in March; builds its nest under bridges, etc.; de¬ 
parts in September. 
Contopus virens. Wood pewee. Common in summer 
after the second week in May. 
Antrostomus vociferus. Whippoorwill. A rare summer 
resident; breeds. 
Chordeiles mrginianus. Nighthawk. Common in sum¬ 
mer, breeding. 
Chcetura pelasgia. Chimney swift. An abundant sum¬ 
mer resident, arriving in May. It departs in August, after 
raising a brood. 
Irochilus colvbris. Ruby-throated humming-bird. Com¬ 
mon from May to September, and breeds. 
Ceryle alcyon. Kingfisher. Present in summer, and 
breeds. Arrives about April 1st, and departs in October. 
Coccyzus erytkropht/udm vs- Black-billed cuckoo. Not 
uncommon from the first week in May until September. 
Coccyzus americanus. Yellow-billed cuckoo. An irregu¬ 
lar summer visitor, breeding. H. G. Fowler. 
Correction. —In the article “Birds of our Suburbs,” 
printed last week, two errors of consequence occurred. 
Under May 17th for “wood pewee” read purple finch; and 
under May 21st for Ardea egretta read Ardetta exilis. 
Wheeler’s “Birds.”— By far the most elegant work 
which has appeared in this country upon ornithology since 
the publication of the Pacific Railroad Reports, and per¬ 
haps surpassing them in the beauty of the plates, is Chap. 
Ill, Vol. V of the Reports of the United States Geographi¬ 
cal Surveys West of the 100th Meridian under Lieut. Geo. 
M. Wheeler. It is the result of the labors of Mr. H. W. 
Hensbaw, is quarto, contains 1,000 pages, describes 296 
species, and is furnished with fifteen splendid plates of 
recently discovered southwestern birds. It is a credit to 
the indefatigable and learned author and to the government 
which prints it. 
Habits op the Mole. —We do not know who is the 
author of the following plea which is excellent;— 
The Mole is another much-abused animal. He is gener- 
erally believed to be a vegetarian, but, un the contrary, he 
is carnivorous, living upon the larva or grubs of winged 
insects, or upon insects whose proper habitat is iu the earth. 
We have never detected a mole eating a plant; but iu everv 
case where the plant has been under run by the mole and 
consequently wilted, we have found that its rootshaabeen 
previously eaten oil by the larva of the cockchafer (June 
bug), or by some other insect. Friends iu the country, 
whom we have visited during the summer, complained of 
the havoc made by moles in a large bed of young lilies. 
On examination we found scores of the shoots of the lilies 
wilting and dying on the rows, which had been under run 
by the moles. These shoots were found gnawed off, and 
iu a manner to indicate, beyond doubt, that they were de¬ 
stroyed by the grub or the larva of the cockchafer and not 
by the moles. The bulbs, planted six or more inches deep 
were untouched, and the burrows of the moles were not 
more than three or four inches below the surface of the 
soil. Searching in other parts of the bed we found grubs 
busily at work—the beds, part of a freshly turned-under 
piece of grass land, beiDg full of them, as such laud is al¬ 
ways sure to be. 
The mole, by burrowing about in our gardens in search 
of his food, often does mischief by running under small, 
freshly set-out plants; but we have the choice ot two evils 
—the bearing with the small amount of mischief he does, 
orAearing the far greater annoyance and injury produced 
by grubs and worms. His presence is a sure sign that our 
gardens are, or have been, infested with these. The accusa¬ 
tion that he is a vegetable eater is a curious instance of 
jumping at conclusions, and of the making of reliable evi¬ 
dence ouL of mere coincidences. Because plants are found 
gnawed through aDd die when over his burrow, it is con¬ 
cluded that he is the cause, whereas he was only destroying 
the destroyer—rendering a service instead of doing an 
injury. 
REMAINS OF SHINNECOCK INDIANS 
Good Ground, L. I., July 17th. 
Editor Forest and Stream : -- 
Sfiinuecock village, at trie eastern end of the bay of that name, is al¬ 
ways an attractive place to ns. There Is a remnant of the Sbinuecock 
tribe still living there. The whites have encroaohed upon them until they 
have only six or seven hundred acres left of their original reservation of 
over-t,CIO!' acres. The tribe has dwindled down to about two hundred 
members. Thoy have adopted our mode of living, and have some very 
pleasant houses well shaded by a variety of trees with fruit and dowers. 
They have well-tilled farms, but the majority of the young men follow 
the sea, several being captains. All of the tribe we have met are pleas¬ 
ant, kindly, intelligent people. The great event of the past week baa 
been the opening of the grave or one of their ancient chieftains. There 
was a misunderstanding regarding permissisen to open the grave, and 
the gentleman at whose request it was done has returned the relics found 
to one of \be trustees of the tribe to await their final decision regarding 
their disposal. To the kindnesa of Mr. B. (the trustee in charge) we are 
indebted for an inspection of the relics. One is a gnn, the barrel of 
which mast originally have measured from six to eight feet in lehgth | 
has been bent, curving several inches at the innzzle. Whether it was a 
flint-lock we conld not decide, as the stock was entirely gone. One of 
the rings that originally held the stock, was largo enough to encircle a 
man’s wrist. There were also flve coarse green glass flagons, rauging 
from three incheB to eight or ten inches in height. All were ronnd at 
the base with long slender necks. Other articles wore a common yellow 
earthen pitcher; a white earthen cup or mug with handle; a ronnd cop¬ 
per box of very ingenious workmanship, about four inches tn diameter, 
and one inch in depth, on the cover of which were raised flgnres of the 
snn, moon, and two arrows. This box held old silver coins that had 
evidently been hammered. On one ws deciphered the date "1670,” and 
on another “Philipus.” They were evident old Spanish coins. There 
were also found a stone pestle for pounding corn, buttons and shell 
beads; such metal ornaments as Indians use on tbeir scalping-knifo 
, shaaths; three silver spoons of peculiar shape, the bowls nearly round 
and fully two inches across, with slim round bandies about five inches 
long, ornamented at the top; and fragments or a blanket. Most of the 
rci cs were evidently of European manufacture. Thoro is a possibility 
that the tribe will present these relics to the Long Island Historical 
Society. 
Mr. B. fold ns that the tribe held traditions that in ancient times their 
dead were buried standing, with their treasures beside tbein; while some 
believe they were hurried iu a sitting posture. At different times be has 
plowed up various relies, stone implements, etc.; ulso a alone image,—a 
figure of a woman sitiing. It was fonr or flve inches high, by three 
inches across the Trout and one inch and a half in thickness. It is sup¬ 
posed to have been connected with their religious faith. Harris. 
MORE ABOUT THE PRAIRIE DOG. 
Saleh, Mass., July 
Editor Forest and Streah:- 
I copy the following extract relative to ttio prairie dog, abont which I 
saw an account in your issne of J uly lUtfi, from an editorial article In 
Beadle's Monthly for 1866, ihinktng that some additional facts as to their 
barking in captivity would be interesting:— 
‘♦Its bark is a short, yelping e und, which it ia fond of uttering, and 
which bears every resemblance to the bark of a young puppy. Evan in 
captivity it utters this short impatient yelp, which may generally be ex* 
tortedfrom the little animal by placing the hand near the cage. Though 
gentle and affectionate to its keeper, it dislikes arrangers; and if their 
fingers approach the bars of its house too closely. It barks at intruders 
like an angry squirrel, and scratches smartly at their hamls with its 
sharp and powerful claws. 1 * Tear. 
Arrivals at the Central Park. Menagerie, July 15 to July 22,— 
Two tigers (Felis iigris), one sociable vnliuie (Yultur auniculuvL^. one 
pair crow blackbirds (QuUcalns purpuretls), presented by Air. Edwin 
Oliver, Little Falls, N. Y ; one curasFOw (Crax alector), presented by 
Mr. Leonard H. Conaut, N. Y.; onu black snake (Bascanton cnrvttiiclor), 
presented by Mr. E. B..Hunt, Nyack, N. V.; one terrapin C Emys palus- 
trls), presented by Mr. George L. Cros^, Is'ew Orleans; two leopards 
(Felis leopardus) and one fallow deer (Cervus dama) borif in the Menag¬ 
erie. W. A. Conklin, Director. 
nn 
and §iv?r ^ishh\p. 
FISH IN SEASON IN JULY. 
FRESH WATER. SALT WATER. 
Trnut, Bafrno foutmatix. Sea Bavs , Schmops occUalu#. 
Salmon, Saimo solar. Sheepshead, Archosargus pivd<Zt>- 
Satmon Trout, Saimo con flair. cepkutns. 
Land-locked Salmon, Saima Gloveri S'ripud Baas, Rotxas iineatus. 
Grayling, ThyvvxUus tricolor. White Parch, Atoione arne/icana. 
Black Bass. Aticrop terns salnwidef; Wettkli-h Cynoscioit vtgitlls. 
At. nigricans. B'uotiali, Pomatommmltntiio'. 
Musculmigv. Stole mtAHor. Spanish Mucker. L OytAUm fnacnla- 
Pika or Pickerel. Ksmlnam. turn 
Yellow Porch, term Jlaresehns. Cent. CyMttiii regale.. 
itonilo. Sartla prJamys. 
JiinglUli, Alenhcirrn* nebalosus. 
TROUT FLIES FOR AUQC8T AND 8EPTK3IBBR. 
Grat Coflin, No. 10 and 1!.- Body. Silvcr-bruy mohair tipped With: 
orange silk; feet, light gray buckle wound over peacock’s hert; Wings, 
and setm, hyaliuc. 
Brown Coflin, No. Id and 1!.—Body, gray and bright claret mo- 
hair mixed; feet, dark gray hackle wound over peacock’s herl; wings 
and eelte, gray hyaline. 
The gnat dies named for April. 
The ^Quaker for evening and moonlight. Nn. 7 and S. Body, gray 
-wound with honey-yellow hackles; wing-, made of feather iroiu ao owl's 
Wing. 
The white moth, for dark nights, No. 6 and 7, Body, feetami wings a 
pure white. 
The stone flies continue on the water until the close of the season. 
At this season use the small flies for day Ashing, and the large flies for 
eveuing and night, 
Fish in M aiiket. —Our quotations for the week are as 
foliows; Striped bass, 10 to 20 cenls per pound; bluefish, 
3 cents; salmon, 35 cents; mackerel, 18 cents each; weak- 
fish, 10 cents per pound; white perch, 15- cents; Spanish 
mackerel, 25 to 00 cents; green turtle, 10 cents; terrapin, 
$12 per dozen; halibut, 15 cenls per pound; haddock, 8 
cents; kingfish, 25 cenls; codfish, 8 cents; blackfisli, 12^ 
cents; flounders, 10 cents; porgies, 10 cents; sea bass, 15 
cenls; eels, 18 cents; lobsters, 10 cents; slieepsbead, 15 
cents; salmon trout, 15 cents; brook trout, $1; soft clams, 
30 to 60 cents per 100. 
Connecticut. — Niantic, July 21st*.—Striped bass fishing 
is very dull here; in fact we have no luck at all. Can you 
give us a bait or even an idea what to use. Minnows, eels, 
bony fish, have been tried with but little success. 
Old fishermen about here say it is the hot sun and clear 
water, the former making the fish lazy, anrl the In iter, even 
when huugry, allowing him to see the line, ihereby searing 
him off. I know nothing about these various theories, anti 
place but little faith in them, yet it is a fact that till our 
fish are caught at night. After mttuy trials small sized eels 
I conclude are the best bail; at any rate, we have had bet¬ 
ter luck with them than any thing else. If you can only 
put me on a bait, 1 will promise a good mess of fisll, be¬ 
sides my most hearty thanks; they are here, and at slack 
water one can see pleuly of them, which fact only makes 
us more impatient and anxious. Scaleb. 
The old fishermen are right, and it is the hot suu and 
clear water which prevents the fish from biting. Among 
your list of baits tried, you have not enumerated either 
shrimp, shedder-crab, or sand worms; the latter is now 
coDsiderod the most taking bait for striped bass.—E d. 
Meriden, June 24fA.—At Holyoke on Tuesday evening, 
July 18tu, a lamprey eel was caught in the Connecticut 
River that weighed 14J pounds, and was five feet long 
