FOREST AND STREAM. 



4S1 



K Pioht Betwsen A Tnocr a.nd a Water Snake.— AW. 

 Coast survey, ins noti 

 the /-',.., d .riljes as follows a contest 



which he and a brother officer witnessed in 18(17 on the f'u- 

 rissima, a small trout stream about twenty-four miles south of 

 Snu Francisco t 



had teen fishing on the stream, and came to a high 



bank which o- : water about ten 



feet in diameter and four feet in depth, Tins pool was fringed 



I il on one side small gravel bank. The 



trout, al first sight was lying in mid-water, betiding up Stream. 



ied, fully nine inches in length, 



i angler. While studying how to 



. - .mi' (lies to secure hhn, a novel fishermen appeared, and 



tpeuded our own to wit- 



. thorn. This new enemy of the trout Was a large water- 



e of the common variety, striped black and yellow. He 



up tile p ! on I he surface until over the trout, when 



be made a dive, and by a dexterous movement seized thfi 

 i.mI in such a fashion thai the jaws of the snake closed its 

 mouth. The trout had the use of its tail and tins, and could 

 drag the snake from the surface.; when near the bottom, 



... ... Lhi le "-■ • "f its tail by winding it around 



every stone or root that it could reach. After: curinj tl 

 tail hold it could drag the trout toward the bank, but, on 

 letting go, the trout would have a new advantage. This 

 .ml ...I continued for full twenty minutes, when the snake 

 manage etil tail ont of the water and clasped around 



.i i . : one of the willows mentioned as overhanging the 



pool, The battle was then up, for the snake gradually put 



toil after coil around the root. With each one dragging the 



fish toward the laud. When half its body was coiled it un- 



. , .e lue first hold and stretched the end of its tail out iu 



:u uither root, made fast, and now 



using both dnu^vd the trout out on the gravel batik. It imw 



had il - and, uncoiling, the snake dragged the 



fish fully ten feel upon the bank, and I suppose would have 



. 1. 1 him. We killed the snake and replaced the trout Ip 



rater, as we thou . » -ved liberty lie was 



. iitly unhurt, and in a Ee i d o ■ darted off. That 



the water-snake of our California brooks will prey upon the 



young of trout and also smaller and less active fishes, T have 



. 1, but never have seen an attack on a fish so large or 



one more hotly contested. 



Remarks. — We have more than once seen the common 

 black snake attempt to capture trout. In Pike County, Pa., 

 : Westbrook, Ms.]., had un octagonal basiu of twenty 

 Ice!, diameter, containing ii maguiliccul spring-head, in which 

 he kept a large number of tine breeders. There seemed to be 

 .; colony of black snakes resident in the neighborhood, 

 although constant warfare upon them nearly wiped them out. 

 They were constantly on the watch at the outlet, where the 

 water discharge! a BCree i Eprmhig a capital base of 



itions. Very many tine two and three-pound fish disap- 

 peared mysteriously before the cause was positively ascer- 

 tained. 



v Do Fish Sleep.-- In answer to a correspondent's question, 

 " Do tish sleep? and if so under what conditions as to time, 

 place, etc.?" the Aquarium Journal, for July, says: 



tid careful watching of fish in 

 to determine that, they do sleep, 

 as of sufficient importance to 

 In reply to several letters ad- 

 ,ve have received but one which 

 ethe others simply stated that 

 the observer was himself in doubt. The single communication 

 to which we refer was from Professor 1). S. Jnrdoo, of Bttt- 

 ler'a I niversity, Irvington, Ind., and we give, it in full, as fol- 

 lows : 



IrYINUTmn, In a., Mav 23, 18TT. 

 7. EMl ■ ■'«'• 



DkabSik: Tout lettOT, With tlie request that I give you my views ou 

 ■ Hair!. 



auv special value. Tttnur rloDKB tome thus: Its »ve ro downward 

 ■!e vertebrate nervous system, we llnd the 

 flifleronl "-•'^ Iess !lni1 leBS Ollttoaaj 



marked. Man and the hijrh.^i verl ■ s -a-.-p 



"wltuoneeyao idiot the 



time; inn their as much less oiffercnt from 



tlK.seiu . i Ma anable to distinguish any SB*: 6f sleep 



ivolved in states ol qdlescence ia certain. species, una 



It any Important nuts have been adduced to show any real ur periodi- 

 cal "sleep," 1 havenot noticed them. 



Very truly jonrs, D. s. Jokdan. 



Although wc are in doubt as to whether there are any post 

 ... presented on the subject, yet, should any 

 reader have in his possession information which may be of 

 service, we. should be pleased to receive and consider it. 



Though th 



jnios 



!, const 



li- 



the acquaint! 





!■ hai 





yet the quest 









suggest an H 

















deserves spec 



.a ai 



tendon 



st 



Again he Bays, "Ip 

 all grown by the 15th 

 iot by the 1st of Sep- 



BBBBDtNfl Se,\SO>: BOB QOATI — 

 JufaVS.— In Fokest 



. Wasbville.-Kw™ 

 that our birds "p 



. D ■""" :: ' '"' -"' : 



K Trespectfully beg leave to differ with the writ.er-ii... 

 his emails but about ours. 1 have lived here eight years, and 

 Y* , ,le time in the field, and have naturally 



,, I find that they breed 



twiE -w.1 frequency three times n: the S33S0n and while 

 L,iS of then, are lull grown on the first of September, there 

 are others which are not halt nor rvmi one-tourth grown. 



I remember one lime in particular of seeing :i brood in Sep- 

 tember that was only |ust hatched. 1 was out hunting prairie 

 .., , )..,. i call them izrouso here), and as Ply ma.de 

 .' u0m ~ tied, to urge her forward, but she 



would not move an inch. 1 then began to look for the cause 

 -f her [joint and BOOB SOW, not three feet from Iter nose, and 

 V 7,- '. ; th, , .., , i. ii brooding her little chicks, of 

 ,, i were in sight. I bade my dog come 

 aWftW and left them undisturbed. 



luere will be very few quails this tail, though they were 

 never so plenty as last year. I think, on an average, once in 



lour years they will nearly all be frozen or starved 

 here, but, they breed so fast, that in two or three 

 are quite plenty again. 



There is a good prospect for plenty of chickens of g 00 d size 

 ley the 15l Ii of August; the nesting season having been partic- 

 ularly f&vorUblo the broods came off early. 



G. H. Houghton. 



. k a la BonwBOiflii— Oalimbva, O., June 36.— 

 urn from a short drive westward last, evening, and 

 just before nor share of tie.' c\e|oee. ii, crossing a ditch or 

 run we Startled a woodcock (Philoluila minor) and her brood 

 of live from beneath the temporary bridge over said run. 

 Although not an uncommon thing to find woodcocks' nests 

 Containing live eggs, as we learned ai home in N 

 this is the first line- we ever beheld a family of five young. 

 The little ones were scarcely larger thm rails (Panama eard- 

 ana\ and they had actually " to climb" to top a low snake 

 fence, behind which they immediitely dropped. There was 

 no mistake in the number, as I had ample lime, ami counted 

 first the birds and afterward Hear little "long-bills." The 

 old bird jumped with a ring, which attracted m - 

 and caused me to check Hie horse. A second thing of interest 

 to me is that they should be found so far away from home — 

 earesl cover of any respectability being at least a mile 

 distant -in a road (middle mud-road toCemi lery and Asylum 

 for Idiots mid Lunatics! so frequently traveled: but " (here's 

 no accounting for tastes." 1 regret I did not get out and see 

 if I coUld have Hushed the little fellows a second time, but 

 the storm was racing with mi — it beat me by a full length 

 and "I did not like to tarry." 

 W'iiii esteem, 1 remain', Boi rguoisb. 



m 



A. Qubbb Fisu. I'. E. Kohinson, of Kerrisburgli, Vt., 

 writes : 



An acquaintance of mine while fishing for trout in a small 

 brook in Mast Montpelier, early in June, caught a queer fish, 

 described as follows: Total length, -1 1 inches: breadth of 

 head, pearly I inch: pectoral 9ns, 1; inches long; 

 lone, hard Spin! BftbosB fins are so large thai tliej have the ap- 

 pearance of wings); anal tin, 1 inch wide. 9 Short ■ 

 ventral fine small; first dorsal, 5 spines-, second dors 

 spines and rai her. short ; caudal. 1 inch broad anil rounded ; is 

 scaleless and beautifully mottled brown or lisrht vellow, the 

 dorsal tins the same: yellowish white beneath: tun sum!!. 

 sharp white spines behind the eves near the side of the head. 

 If was caught by Lee Harvey, end preserved in alcohol by 

 Howard Putnam, of Mast Montpelier, in whose possession ii 

 now is. "Will you give us its name? 



[The specimen is doubtless one of the Colloids or " Miller's 



Thumbs," and may be either Gotta 

 is found in Laniville Co.; Vermont, 

 found at Windsor, Vermont. Though, ii 

 ment, we must say that the fin formula 

 correspond with Girard's description ■. 

 knows exactly how to count fin rays he i 

 number of ventral spines should have bee 

 important, point. — Ed.] 



ohtioideS (Girard), which 

 <;olhl*h„!ro;,hsy<{\r,m\,. 



i, In making ibis state- 



DmUtrrow or Life is Animals.— The. duration of life in 

 animals is estimated as follows by a German author of the 

 last, century : 



The elephant,. 150 to 200 years; camel, 50 to GO, ass, 30 

 to50; horse, 'JO to 80; deer, 20; bull, SO5 ox (draught), 19.; 

 cow, 20; lion, 60 : bear, "JO ; wolf, 20 ; dog, 25 to 38 ; fox, 

 15; sheep, 10; hog, 20 ; cat, is,- squirrel, 7; hare, T to S; 

 goat, 10. Of birds: Parrot, 110; eagle, 100; swan, 100 ; 

 sparrow-bawd-:, 40 ; canary iff it breeds annually), 

 10; do., if it docs not couple, 24; nightingale and lark, Iff to 

 18 ; peacock, 34 ; turkey, 14 ; hen, 13 ; quail. Ii to ? ; duck, 25. 



Cause or the Fish-like Odot? in Dottkisg Water.— In 

 answer to the question, "What, cause, then, can be assigned 

 for this most peculiar odor ?" Prof. Eattimore asserts in the 

 Popular Science Monthly for August, that it must be due to 

 the decomposition of some form of fresh water alga-, lie 

 draws his conclusions partly from the investigations of others, 

 and partly from his own observation and experiment. After 

 the disappearance of the odor from the water he observed that 

 microscopic algaj, which had collected on the filters through 

 which water had been flowing for twenty-four hours, exhaled 

 an odor strikingly like that given off by a blade of early spring 

 grass, when crushed by the ringers. A minute quantity of 

 these alga 1 put into distilled water, and kept covered for a 

 few hours, revealed an odor which was distinctly recognized 

 as that which had recently affected the water from the lake. 



—We have received from the General Passenger Agent of 

 the Kansas Pacific R, R., a circular announcing that this 

 company are prepared, upon application, to offer special rates 

 to parties who desire to explore Kansas and the Rocky Motm 

 tains in the interests of science. There is no more enticing 

 field for the geologist than the country through which the 

 K. P. passes. Its cretaceous especially has furnished the 

 most interesting specimens ever discovered in this country : 

 the Odon{orrizt?m or buds- with teeth, and the PteranodonUa 

 or toothless Pterodactyl**, both lately described by Prof. 

 Marsh. The carboniferous, too, and the Hipcone arc both 

 more or less well developed in Kansas, arid then beyond Deo. 

 ver rise tie- grand old mountains thai wc all so long For during 

 this hot weather. Don your hickory shirt, then, young man, 

 and with your geological hammer in one baud, and your rille 

 in the other, start OUl for a couple of months' work ou the 

 plains and in the mountains. 



- .». 



—Tie- managers of the London Zoological Gardens lejve 

 offered a reward of $3,500 for the safe delivery in England 

 of a monster anaconda, measuring thirty-six feet, in length, 

 and a yard in diameter, now holding undisputed possession of 

 1. 1 1 near Mataitn, Venezuela. These serpents are 

 caught with live dogs as bait. After swallowing the dog the 

 snake takes a nap and the fisherman takes the snake. 



T PRO*. Prgctoh ox the Sea Seupent.— In Forest AMD 

 Siwbam of Aug. 12, 1875, we published a "Plea for the Sea- 

 1 ' There have been, since that date, numerous sea- 

 serpent hoaxes, as well as several observations reported by 

 men whose testimony merits at least a n .' judg- 



ment. Prof. Proctor sends an interesting letter to Si. NicJtolas 

 for August, and some of the facts he mentions, it will be re- 

 membered, were urged by us iu our article. The Professor 

 says: 

 1. A grew number ol roollati stories have tieen fold about the aca- 





V 1 



'■lii.'ve 



chat 







ae'.lie 



any 

 1 tar 







eCo . 





Ucaritijj 



vi r.l 



e:!S( 





bearlug 



viO; 



tile.-.. 



who 



rtlCU.VBD A. 



'uoei 





jMesmkrizixo Animals.— An exchange notes with surprise, 

 the experiments or Kircher, in " bewildering hens." This is' 

 nothing new or strange. It has long been known that pigeons 

 aud other fowls were very susceptible to mesmeric influence, 

 and so also are rabbits, squirrels, guinea pigs, frogs, etc. Men 

 have been mesmerized by simply gazing intently upon a bright 

 surface, as a mirror, new surgical instrument, or other bright 

 reflecting body. 



Dr. Henbill places a frog on its back, with its leg and 

 thigh flexed, holding it quiet for some time; thoreupon 

 Moris. Ranis remains in that position motionless, except 

 as to breathing, forflve or six hours. The Doctor believes this 

 to be sleep ; but from the fact that to produce this stale 

 the linger must be held steadily before the eyes of the animal, 

 and the sleep induced is of ten cataleptic iu character, we must 

 reasonably suppose animal magnetism,, so called,— to be ,i, 

 agent. The papers of Dr. Carpenter, onOdolysm, etc., in 

 the Popular Sdenre Monthly for June and July of the cm-rent 

 year, throw much light upon this subject, considering that as 

 yet. the alphabet of psychological science is not yet mastered. 



—An Artesian well in Ventura County, Cal. , which was 

 bored iu 1871, spouts up, every April and May, immense 

 quantities-offish. The fish, supposed to be trout, are of 

 various sizes, the largest being one inch in length. The near- 

 est stream where fish are found is twenty-live miles distant. 



—Mr. 0. R. Thatcher has returned to England from his 

 five year's eonchological exploring tour in the far East, bring- 

 ing with him an entirely new genus, which the London Zoo- 

 logical Society have named in his honor Thatcheria. 



A Cat Hospital.— The Tribune reporter has found an old 

 woman ou Division street, between Essex and Norfolk, who 

 devotes her whole time and purse to the gratuitous nurture of 

 disabled cats. She has more than fifty on her hands now. 



—A Pottsville (Pa.) sparrow and a young chicken recently 

 engaged in mortal combat over a crumb. The sparrow tri- 

 umphed and Hew off with the prize, leaving the chicken dead 



—A fossil iguwndon, (10 feet long and 18 feet high, has 

 been found near Canon City, Col. 



Ilie.l ; i,.- c . 

 I'l. SU|,1. 



SPLIT BAMBOO RODS. 



To Our Customers and the Public; In reply to the dame. i,i- 

 reports which have been circulated respecting the qi ditl . 



our split bamboo rods, by ' • dealers" who an ■■ unable I 



with us at our reduced prices, we have issued a circular which 

 we shall be pleased to mail to any address, proving- the falsity 

 of their assertions. 



CONBOT, BlSSETT & MalLESOK, 



— [Adv. Manufacturers, 65 Fulton Street. NY 



