u 



FOREST AXD STREAM, 



Cotylertptnia. Bank swallow. Very common In Bummer. Breeds 

 In lur^f communities In the river btvnks. 



subis. Purple mnrtiri. Not common - Breeds, nesting In 

 lionecs put up for them. The blue birds and martins have a battle 

 even' spring to ece who will have possession of a lttrRe martm house 

 in our garden, sometimes one etde and sometimes the other victorious. 

 One pair of blue birds will ke'jp six or eight martins at bay. 



aceus. Red-ej cd vireo. Common eummer resident, the 

 moBl so uf any of {ha vifeos. Breeds. 



Vireo oi'irn. Warbling vireo. Common enmmci resident. Breeds. 

 Tins species has a warbling eons 80 near like that or the purple Queh 

 that it is hard to distinguish between the two. 



Vireo ro'ihiruis. Blue-headed vireo. Nearly as common ns the rcd- 

 eyed vireo; it Is me first to come an the spring. Breeds, lies 



Rattier court 



Yellovy'-thronted ' 

 nhs. White-eyed \ 



foadlund, ^nrm mtd §ardcn. 



BERMUDA AS A WINTER RESORT. 



GARDES TllUCK FOR THE NEW YORK MARKET. 



A BRIEF voyage southward in the steamer to Bermuda, 

 where they connect witk other lines to St. Thomas 

 and the "West Indies, works a w r onderi'ul transition in 

 limate aud all external surroundings. The pas- 

 BefegeT who embarks on the staunch ocean craft Bermuda 

 or Carnimt, usually awakes the next Sunday morning to 

 lind himself in a balmy atmosphere, aQtl gazing upon a 

 landscape radiant with, a perpetual verdure. Already the 

 Steamers are bringing to this port copious supplies of new to- 

 matoes and potatoes fresh every day, and by the beginning 

 of Apiil we shall be receiving vt getables from that quarter 

 of every description. Every year increased attention is 

 given by the islanders to what we call truck farming, stim- 

 ulated by the high prices for agricultural produce which 

 they always command through the early spring months.. 

 Last year's reoorts of this description amounted to about 

 $34.0,000, which is a pielly good account to give of a pop- 

 ulation numbering only about 15,000, and inhabiting a 

 group of islands no more than twenty-six miles in extent 

 from end to end. The equable climate is the great charm 

 of this gem of the ocean, ranging in the colder months 

 from 55 deg. to 70 deg. Fahrenheit, and showing less vari- 

 ation throughout the year than is found in any oilier spot not 

 insulai, situated without Ihe tropics. Compared with Niea, 

 Algiers and the Kile the temperature is more genial, in this 

 respect more closely resembling that of Madeira and St. 

 Augustine. The excellent facilities for communication 

 between New York and Bermuda by means of an estab- 

 lished steam line, have the effect to slart a sort of migra- 

 tion among both the well-to-do and invalid classes, large 

 numbers moving between these points with each changing 

 ssaton. The last steamer from ibis port took out about 

 SJV.mly first-class passengers, besides others in the steer- 

 age, and this travel now in its height will continue for 

 nearly three months locome — wish we were included, with 

 flailing tackle and other appliances for sport. Of good 

 camping there would be no lack. That is a delight. Some 

 land where oleanders form the common fence of Ihe couu 

 try, growing sometimes twenty feet high; where is found 

 ihe sage, palm and palmetto, not to speak of figs, grapes, 

 pomegranites and bananas; where marine animal life is 

 varied and abundanl, and fish and creatures from abroad 

 of at least 135 species make it their temporary home; be- 

 sides native residents, such as the cardinal grosbeak, the 

 white-eyed vireo and "chick of the village," etc. Here, 

 porter, get up our baggage. 



. -»«♦- 



Lilly of the Valley. — At this season of the year, when 

 ■we see so much Lily of the Valley for sale in the florists' 

 ■windows, we are apt to wonder where and how it is culli- 

 ■valed in such vast quantities. A few particulars thereon 

 may prove of interest. Hundreds of thousands are annu- 

 ally imported into the United States, the greater part of 

 which is grown by nurserymen in Holstein, not far from 

 Hamburg. Millions of crowns, it is staled, are sent out 

 from the establishment of E. G. Harmsen, of Hamburg, 

 with whom it forms the principal object Of cultivation. 

 In fall the ground (a sandy loam) is prepared by lienching 

 to a good depth, and a liberal manuring with well rotted 

 manure. It is then laid out in beds about four feet wide, 

 six rows of plants being put in each, a path between each 

 being left for convenience of weeding, hoeing, etc. The 

 plantlets are then placed in furrows three to four inches 

 deep, and covered with at least an inch of soil. After the 

 first frost has set in the beds are thoroughly mulched with 

 well rotted manure, which not only serves to nourish the 

 piauts when growth commences in spring, but also acts as 

 a protection during the winter. Moreover, during the suc- 

 ceeding season it prevents annual weeds from getting tbe 

 upper hand. This is all there is to be douj the first sea- 

 son, and nothing but weeding the second and third year 

 is necessary, till about, the middle of October the third 

 season, when the plants are ready to lift. The labor of 

 li fting [and sorting the flowering roots from the others is 

 quickly peiformed, and after shortening ihe roots the pips 

 are tied up in bunches and stowed in a cool house for ex- 

 portation. For early forcing Ihe strongest and ripest are 

 selected, and are generally planted in beds in moss or sand, 

 aud covered at first, to a depth of three inches w'ilh moss. 

 The heat is raised, from 75° at firsi, to 88° to 100' after 

 three days or so, liberal watering being given, and as the 

 young shoot progresses Ihe covering of m< . 



removed, until in about ten days it is taken away altogether. 

 To have Hie Lily in bloom by Christmas it is only neces- 

 sary to commence about November 20th, and carry out the 

 preceding instructions, following every two weeks or so 

 with a fresh batch for succession. The great bottom heat 

 is especially necessary for early forcing. 

 , .»«> 



FLORIDA Orakges. — Orange growers are dissatisfied 

 with northern markets this year , unit apparently northern 

 markets are dissatisfied with Florida orange growers. 

 What is the reason? Last year prices were fair, and there 

 was mutual satisfaction. Many speculators began buying 

 this year at last year's prices for shipment, and have lost 

 money. It is not that Florida oranges have suddenly, in a 

 single season, become so plentiful. Go through the Slate 

 and you do not find such a vast quaulily of bearing trees, 

 or trees that are old enough to bear any great number of 

 oranges. Most of Ihem are loo young for that. Jack 

 Frost has done the mischief, and all through the winter 

 one great topic of conversation has been " tbe freeze." 

 When the weather sets in cold down here, and the north- 

 wind hangs on day after day, there is as much anxiety in 

 the face of the orange man as in that of a skippei trying 

 to keep off a lee shore in a gale. This is not the case be 

 youd the frost Hue of course, but all don't want to go be 

 yond the frost line. Besides this, where is the frost line? 

 The extreme south of the Slate, we know, is secure; but 

 how far north a man may plant his orange grove in secur- 

 ity in this State is a question that is difficult to answer. It 

 is certain that groves miles south of this point suffered 

 worse than those of Mandarin, Jacksonville, or even Fer- 

 nandina; and even Indian River has complained of ihe 

 frost. 



If you want lo tell a good orange, feci the we ight'of it. 

 It ought to be heavy. Northern papers say that every 

 third orange from Florida is worthless — spongy aud light 

 — and that is the way Jack Frost works, and soon they 

 rot. I attribute the poor market to the poor condition of 

 the fruit from the frost. After a frosty night 'look at your 

 orange trees. The leaves ate curled a little, but if your 

 fruit is not shriveled a grain you may be all right. Wait a 

 week or two, though, and if your oranges keen their 

 smooth, glossy appearance, and stick to thelrees, you have 

 come out sale. But the oranges have dropped this winter, 

 and Ihe ground has been as yellow wiln them as the fielda 

 north are with dandelions in the early spring. "O, you 

 are loo far south," said a gentleman lo an Indian River 

 man, who was grumbling about the freeze in his vicinity; 

 "you ought to come up near Jacksonville." The other 

 smiled at this unusual advice. "Why, doyouknow where 

 the finest oranges in Florida are raised? those tliat took the 

 premium at the Slate Fair?" No." "Well, in Fcrnan- 



dina." 



-».*- 



Keen Old Farmer.— Farmer Hodge had an eye to bus- 

 iness. One hot day last summer he hung up his old horse 

 in the shade of an apple tree near the country tavern, and 

 going into the hostelry ordered four quarts of oati for the 

 beast. These were furnished; and while Dobbin muncutd 

 at his fodder and stamped off the flies that pestered him, 

 Farmer Hodge drank beer on the porch! When the time 

 came to settle ihe score, "How much?" demanded Hodge. 

 "Twenty-five cents." "Urn-urn, twenty-five cents ( That's 

 fair enough; but look-a-here (pointing to the well pounded 

 eatth under the apple tree where the horse had stood) how 

 much are ye goin' to deduct for the manure?" 



A sharp eye to business had Farmer Hodge. 



Smilax. — I often see directions for growing smilax. 

 Whether they come from practical cultivators 1 know not, 

 but if so, their experience and observation differ very 

 widely from mine. We are told that suiilax will flouiioh 

 in. partial shade, or, to quote verbatim: "The vine does 

 not need the full sun." With me it does require the full 

 sun. In any other place the vine, it is true, will continue 

 to grow; but it will remain almost leafless. I have tried 

 repeatedly to decorate, with it, the ornaments on pictures 

 over a mantel — having some considerable length of vines 

 to begin with. Allot them remained fresh aud fine, but 

 the new growth was of no account — yet Ihe mantel was 

 flooded wiih light from windows directly opposite. 1 have 

 often grown it out of doors on a very delicate wire trellis, 

 three leet high and a fool and a half wide. In autumn 1 

 bring it to the living room and set it in an ornamental pot 

 or vase on a small lable between two sunny windows — the 

 back of Ihe trellis against the wall. 



In my experience the mature leafage, iu these trials, re- 

 mains unchanged during the winter, and forms the com- 

 mencement of a charming embellishment. Tender sprays 

 branch out at every point — often iu great luxuriance, The 

 running vines on the top of the trellis, 1 am obliged to 

 train off on threads stretched across (he windows that they 

 may get the strongest light— the hottest suu. When two 

 or three yards of vine, covered with bright, glossy leaves, 

 are well grown, 1 take it from the window and run it on 

 the wall, embracing bracket, picture, or whatever I may 

 happen to have above the trellis. 1 then carry it to the 

 ceiling, and, when I get enough by repeated growths, IV.,- 

 toon it over the curtain; run it across on the cornice, or 

 dispose of it in any way that fancy may dictate. For a line 

 effect and the most graceful ornamentation nothing equals 

 the smilax, but il will not flourish for me, nor for any of 

 my acquaintances, without the full Sun. 



For the benefit of those amateur Uoiists who have failed 

 in ihe cultivation of this plant, 1 respectfully submit this 

 record of personal experience. To grow a small specimen 

 of smilax amounts to little. We want it lor ornamenta- 

 tion. A sample"! ; ul in its wuy, but the real 

 benefit is in having enough lor a full suit. 



Smilax is easily grown I rum ll.e seed, though it tikes 

 several weeks to" geiiuinnte. Il requires 

 when the growth is niptd, much water. / 

 perennial, young plants no tuiui tliau uUi. Pui several in 

 one pot il you i-ish a ! 



thick mat under the pot, if it stands on marble. Fulfil all 

 the conditions of success; give light, heat, drink, 

 will have a thing of beauty, which will be a j>> 

 season, to say the least.— J. E J. to American Garden. 



■»*» 



Beet Root Crop in France.— It appears that the past 

 has been a very disastrous season for Ihe French beet root 

 sugar works. It is said thai out of 438 factories, which were 

 iu operation in 1875, only 181 are still in existence. The 

 quantity of beet juice treated was 901,017 hectolitres, as 

 against, 4, 388, 501 hectolitres in the first month of last sea 

 son, and its average density was 10 per cent, lower. The 

 slock ef sugar turned out was less than one-fourth of ihe 

 amount in September, 1870, Ihe figures being 5,0'j: 

 07!) tons respectively; while the quantity obtained from 

 each hectolitre of juice is but 3 GO killog'ramme, as com- 

 pared with 3.88in't875. It is also stated that deterioration 

 in the sugar yielding quality of the beets has been going 

 on for a number of years past — A. Y- Shipping Libl, 



tgurs mid ^rapging. 



HINTS TO TAXIDERMISTS. 



As all collectors know after a lillle experience, there are 

 certain genera of birds iu which, from the large size of I lie 

 gape and the smalluessof the neck, il is impossible, in.--kiii- 

 ning, to pass the skin over the head so as lo clean 

 —e.'j., Ihe genera Rhipidura, Myiagra, Tohitrea, 

 ers; also the woodpeckers, some ot the parrots, and Ihe 

 ducks. Books on taxidermy tell you to make an iueiajjill 

 rrom the forehead to the back of the bead, along Ihe lop i>f 

 tlie skull, which you must turn out through the cut, and, 

 alter cleaning, replace, sewing up the seveied skin. This 

 is what I have done for forty \ ears, according to my liglus. 



A "happy thought'-' occurred to me some time 



Fiji, while skirining a small thin-skinned Rhipidura. I 

 drew the neck through the skin till 1 got to the base of the 

 skull; into Ibis I plunged Ihe points of my scissors, culling 

 it away wilh the palate, by three cuts forming a triangle, 

 the apex at the hinder junction of the neck; the baBC ueloSS 

 t he palate. Drawing away the neck left, t he brain ex posed; 

 this 1 cleaned out, and compressing ihe skull at the base of 

 the lower mandible, it slipped through Ihe skiuol the neck 

 as easily as possible, enabling me lo clean it, apply the pre- 

 servative, stuff the orbits, &c., and slip il back ag the 



same manner. It did not take me hail' so long lo do as to 

 describe, and the saving of time iu ihe sewing up of ihe 

 skin of ihe head as in Ihe old process, aud the belter appear- 

 ance af the specimen (letting alone Ihe saving of (rouble), 



1 don't know if it will answer for woodpeckers and ducks. 

 We have none of Ihe former in these latitudes, ami 1 have 

 not, come across any of the lalter since 1 made the di-cov- 

 eiy; perhaps some" of your readers will try the plan and- 

 "report progress." It has answered tor some .big jawed 

 parrots, and with the strong- billed "kagou" (Rip, I I i 

 jubatus) of IS. Caledonia. 



While I am writing, I may lis well mention another little 

 "wrinkle" I have lately added to my horns. Il 018 

 ful to some of your readers in the tropics. With the ther- 

 mometer at 100° in the shade, birds shot in the morning 

 are often "unskinnahle" at night— And next morning, whew! 

 Well, it Occurred to me to inject carbolic acid into these parts 

 thai decompose Ihe soonest,. 1 - Q , the brain, lite throat, and 

 the viscera; so 1 got one of those small syringes w lib per- 

 forated needle points used for ejecting opium and oilier nar- 

 cotics under ihe skin, and I injected a lew drop: 

 it: acid into the brain (through the palate) (low tithe throat, 

 and into the viscera (through the venf) with the happiest 

 reult. Il hardened the parts'," and effectually prevented de- 

 composition for many hours. I have since kept a bird 

 "skinnable"foraweek, while another hung alongside it was 

 puttid and fly-blown in twenty-lour hour;,; so IMt 1 skin- 

 ned birds that otherwise I should have utterly lost. The 

 brain became like cheese, the eye white aud hard, as did 

 also the viscera. 



I hardly need point out the advantages of this to a travel- 

 ler in the tropics, or even to a stationary collector who hap- 

 pens (as has often occurred to me) Lo come acrossau ex ta pt- 

 lonally "good day." — London Field. 



Instruction in Taxidermy— We have received from 

 the Naturalist's Agency a copy of Mr. C. .T. Muynaiil's 

 " Naturalist's Guide," bearing on the title page Ilia dale 

 1877. Although first published in 1870 and c 

 noticed by the press at that time, there seems' 

 reason for again calling attention lo the work. We fre- 

 quently receive from correspondents inquiries irj 



y of preserving objects of Natural History, and 

 we have on former occasions published a number of arti- 

 cles on Taxidermy. The ground, however, is too exten- 

 sive lo be covered by these, and we cordially recommend Mr. 

 May nurd's book to such of our readers as desire infi 

 ou Ibis topic. It contains a large amount of information 

 of the greatest practical value to the young naturalist, and 

 there is much between its covers from which the more ex- 

 perienced collector may gain useful hints. 



The work is divided into two parts, the first of which is 

 entitled "Directions for Collecting, Preserving, and 

 Mounting Birds, Mammals, Fishes, etc., etc," while the 

 second is devoted to a "Catalogue of the Birds ol 

 Massachusetts," with Notes Relative to their Migrations, 

 Habits, etc. Mr. Maynard, as a practical taxidermist, 

 knows what ho is writing about, and bis direi 

 making skins are full aud complete. Besides the informa- 

 tion which the book affords concerning the collecting aud 

 preservation of vertebrates, several pages are given to direc- 

 tions for the successful collection of Ihe lower forms of life 

 so that the book is not simply a "Guide" for ihe ( 

 of birds and mammals, but is of value to the young collec- 

 tor in whatever branch of Zoology he may be interested. 



The most valuable portion of the work, howi 

 our opinion, Pari. II; iu which is given a list of 

 which have been found iii Eastern Massai 



e 'i a! deal o_t valuable information draw ' 



authors note book. To the New Engl 

 n, 



