384 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[June 14, 1888, 



JiasneVei been, shown to be the case, oi even to 1)6 likely, 



The subject has been pretty thoroughly investigated by our 

 lie.-t ornithologists, null the above conclusions are those 



which have I ii reached. I 



SEBAGO SALMON. 



A salmon of thirty Inches length, nine inches depth. 

 ami a Wpjglll Of fifteen anil II half pOUIlds, Hirer days 

 alter rapture, was taken wilh mil and line at Sebago Lake 



May !5, 1883, by .Tunas. Hamilton, Esq., of this city, it was 

 an active, niale'tish in good condition and gave good sport 

 to ds expert Captor. This is the largest salmon of record as 

 taken within recent vears in Sebago waters by rod and line. 



Although the salmon {SiUmo satwr) is popularit i jardi 

 l ill wateroi 'sea" fish, yel its home is in fresh water, 

 and even those Of our rivers that annually visit the ocean 

 are in the habit of spending the greater portion of each year 

 in the rivers frequented by them. 



The Sebago or lake salmon is of the species (S. solar), ao- 

 customed to remain in fresh water continuously without 

 visiting the ocean The name "land-locked," so often used 

 to distinguish individuals of the lake or fresh water variety 

 from the "sea salmon.'' is absolutely a misnomer, as the fish 

 are in no instance "lucked" within' tin- land or in inland 

 waters, bUl have i a-y access to the ocean. The habits and 

 food of the salmon oi Sebago Lake are almost identical with 

 of the salmon of the Kennebec and Penobscot rivers 

 in Maine. In the depths of the pure -waters of this lake a 



COOl tl Ileal is foUIld, where there is an abundance of smelts, 

 the Ettvorlte and most common food of the salmon in Maine. 

 In April or just as SO0I1 as Hie smells begin to ascend the 

 streams, the salmon are found following them. In the lar- 

 ger rivers many salmon remain Ihroughout the summer and 

 until obliged to seek suitable spawning places in the 

 autumn, although many of them probably return to the 

 tidal portion of the rivers or to the estuaries for food and 

 cooler water during the summer months. The streams tri- 

 butary to Sebago Lake are small and shallow, and after the 

 spring '"run mr.itsis ovejr and all have returned to the 



lake, no salmon, excepl Stragglers, are found in the streams, 

 ■ b the salmon and the'sinelts return to Ihe lake, their 

 "inland sea," to pass the summer months. In autumn, all 

 in salmon that breed seek Ihe quick water and gravelly 

 beds of ihe upper portion of the streams, there to deposit 

 their Cggs, Atone oT the breeding places of the Sebago 

 salmon a poacher killed a (ish weighing twenty-four pounds 

 in Hie autumn of 1082. This was' the largest salmon of re- 

 cord as ever taken in Sebago w.nteis, and the fact of this 

 capture was only made public by the detection and convic- 

 tion of the poacher who killed the fish at its breeding 

 place. 



it. is impossible to absolutely determine whether a salmon 

 killed ai its breeding place in' autumn has ever been to the 

 ocean; and I have seen salmon taken in the spring from the 

 in ii ho! the principal streams tributary to Sebago Lake 

 that wcic pn eiscly similar to the ordinary kclts taken somc- 

 in spring in tidal rivers. In spring Hie lake salmon, 

 or those living constantly in fresh water, can usually be. 

 reodilj dMngmshed from salmon that have, been in" salt 

 water. 



The salmon of our lakes are scientifically distinguished by 

 a varietal name (Stihuo xnhir ztb/igo), but as the term "land- 

 loekeil " is neither euphonious nor Of correct application in 



its gi ai raUj ae< epted meaning, 1 would suggest to sports- 

 tud Others the brief and expressive terms "lake salmon" 



and ".-ea salmon" whereby to distinguish the two varieties. 



Ii is perhaps hardly necessary to add to the above reiteration 

 generally Well known to ichthyologists but less so to 



Sportsmen, a mention of the fact, that the varietal tinme »'- 

 '.(/;/'/ was adopted been use in Sehago Lake are found the 

 Jargcsl li.di known to be of the fresh water variety. Similar 

 fish in other waters, in Maine and Canada, do not commonly 

 exceed a weight of live pounds each. Evk.icf.tt Smith. 

 ID, Ale. 



PARK. 



■ui-s, if one 



HERE we are quietly seated. Theincessaul chatter and 

 noisy fussing of the English sparrows is all around us. 

 ami to thr ri mi I i ii i u i it would appear aS though there 

 were no other members of the feathered tribe hi be seen 

 beside these persistent htlle fiends, who always thrust them 

 selves into such noisy prominence. But wait. Quietly but 

 M.iii; t |im ii robin are putting the finishing touches on 

 to a neat summer-house they have built in the willow over- 

 head. Another day-will see its completion, then, once in 

 possession of their new quarters they will, we trust. Bucceed 

 in rearing a brood of little choristers, to swell the music of 



nature, despite the thieving efforts of the purple graekles, 



those hlaek egg-sucking ogres. Even as we speak four 01 



five of ihe latter swoop down and flutter into and among the 



bending twigs of the bushes that fringe the opposite bank, 



i i pre .M I j -. - i ii Mm stalking sedately along among 



mud on the margin for grubs. You hardly recognize in him 

 the "Uefor snipe" of our boyhood. I shouldn't wonder if his 

 little gray-coated spouse wire .snugly silling in a nest sonic 

 where near. 



Hark I do you hear that subdued warble now swelling out 

 ID a clear ringing note, now modulated and dying in a soft 

 ripple? The notes come swelling out from that dark spruce. 

 Look up there and tell me what" you see. Can't find him? 

 Look up toward the top and close in to the trunk. Ah! 

 yes! that fluffy little ball of duskv feathers is our catbird of 

 an hour ago. 'You did not know that he could perforin in 

 that way. Well, there are hundreds of others who share 

 your ignorance and cannot believe him capable of anything 

 belter than dice! chee! chee! 



See close in shore here come a pair of wood ducks. How- 

 proud the drake is of his sweet little wife, and what a pretty 

 picture of domestic content they present as they paddle in- 

 dustriously by. 



If may have Surprised you to learn that all these sunny 

 pictures of nature are copies from the gallery located right 

 in the heart of this city, and the originals maybe seen "by 

 anyone who will turn his steps to Central Park and quietly 

 use his powers of observation. There are many secluded 

 nooks where all and more than 1 have thus briefly mentioned 

 may he enjoyed by anyone not too oblivious of all that is 

 lovely in nature. Dick. 



| Cur correspondent has called attention to a matter of 

 great interests and one which will be new to many of our 

 j.ly readers. N:; hes than one hundred and thirty apesios 



of wild native bird. 

 the Central Park, an 

 home. During the i 

 warblers, which wo< 

 ist. stop there for re; 

 a few dtiek^ alight Ii 

 eral species of he* 

 a number of gulls ha 

 presence of the stp 

 permanent stnv of mi 



ed within the lir: 



d of these many make it their summer 

 nigrations, no doubt, a host, of the tiny 

 dd escape the eye of any but a natural- 

 It and food, and in the late autumn not 

 1 the reservoir or on the ponds. Sev- 

 ms, one or more of rail, the coot, and 

 ve been observed about the waters. The 

 birds does much to interfere with the 

 of the smaller birds, while the prowl- 



MORE ABOUT THE "STICKFISH," 

 fflitM< Fomi wild Stowm: 



I notice, in yours of the 3d of Mayan interesting letter 

 on the "stiekfish" Untipliiis Mokei Bfcearn*) by Mir. ,T. 0. 



Hughes. I can add a few facts in regard to ii. 'which may 

 he of interest to him and to your other readers. This ani- 

 mal belongs to that, group of polyps generally called "sea 

 pens," on amount of the endosteum which supports (he 

 soft polypidom, or external fleshy mass to Which numbers 

 of individual polyps are attached or form a part. Most of 

 the kinds are much smaller, and reach six to ten inches in 

 length, though there Is one kind, found in Ihe depths of the 

 North Atlantic, which has the polyps grouped in a 

 at the tip (instead of being set like the vanes of a feather, as 

 in the Jltlipt'ii."!, which reaches nearly as large a size. 

 They are both deep-water animals, and the west coast 

 species certainly normally lives erect in the mud, above 

 t projects, while the naked 



hrubbery 

 quail or 



mgoatsand the packs of wild dogf 

 at night would probably make it impOsslbli 

 partridge to successfully rear their young. We have heard 

 quail whistling here in "the spring, but have never seen any- 

 young broods. Still it must be said that the common brown 

 rabbit is extremely abundautin the Park, though it might be 

 supposed that they would be especially exposed "to the attacks 

 of night-hunting carnivores. It would certainly be a delight- 

 ful state of things if the Park could be made a preserve 

 where many of our wild birds and animals could be viewed 

 at home. And we may reasonably look forward to a day 

 when this shall be the case. In the" meantime let everyone 

 who goes there keep his eyes open.] 



BIRD LIFE IN THE CENTRAL 



What bih 

 the little tlov 

 to his nei 



the water's edge, veritable destructive canni- 

 id again their harsh grating cry comes over 



teeth and 

 re sure to 



thy, 



■el. the feasts of nestlhu, 

 V folio 



I their 



■ they i 



iV flirting his fail I making 



I: tremble and quiver in response 

 he flits up and down from the 

 grass to the branch above! Oh, you sneer, do you, because 

 I say catbird? He is preparing to take a bath; remain quiet. 

 Until he has finished and peihaps you may hear something 

 that will surprise you. There he goes, all damp and fuzzy. 

 up. up, among the drooping boughs of that spruce. 



Here is a summer yellowbird in the grass, his canary coat, 

 Streaked with little brown dashes, is in fine order ibis morn- 

 ing, book this way through the branches, there is an oriole 

 clinging to that willow streamer and flaunting his tail as he 

 hall himself there directly over the water. His sub- 

 due,! colors proclaim him to be" the orchard or garden oriole, 



as he is called. Why should he chatter SO? Now he is off, 

 and his swinging perch is bending under the fairy limn of 

 Lord Baltimore himself, who, resplendent in orange and jet, 

 gleams like a live coal in among the tender green leaves. 

 Hi, arrival is no doubt the cause of the more humble cousin's 

 hurried departure, 



line is a little chap, demurely poking along in the grass, 

 now running down to the water, now hack again, as though 

 afraid of wetting his feet. What a pretty contrast Ids mod- 

 est gray coal ami while vest make with the dark green of 



m .mi-,. ii n», lie seems thoroughly at home, and is 



enjoying himself in his own way, as he snoops in the soft 



DESCRIPTION OF A MERMAN. 



SOME days ago in reading a collection of quaint docu- 

 ments written by the first visitors to Newfoundland, I 

 came upon one entitled "Caplamc Richard Whitbovrnes 

 discovrse and discouery of Nevvfovndluttnd, imprinted at 

 London, 1622," which interested me so much that I made 

 an extract which I believed would prove interesting to the 

 readers of Forest axi> BtbBAM. The Captain has related 

 many wonderful thin as of what he saw upon the new-found 

 land, and among other marvels relates: 



'•Now also I will nolomit to relate something of astrange 

 Creature Which I first saw there in the yeere 1610, in" a 

 morning early, as 1 was standing by the "river -side in the 

 harbour of S." John's, which very swiftly came swimming 

 towards mee. looking cheerfully on my face, as it had been 

 u woman: by the face, eyes, nose, mouth, chin, eares, necke 

 & forehead it seemed to bee so beautiful], and in those parts 

 so well proportioned, having round about the head many 

 blue slrealies resembling haire. yet I beheld it long, and 

 another of my company also yet living, that was not 

 then farre from me saw the same commiug so swiftly to- 

 wards mee: at. which I stepped hacke; for it was come 

 within the length of a long pike, supposing it would have 

 sprung aland to mee, because 1 had often scene huge whales 

 to spring a great height above the water, as divers other 

 great fishes doe; aud so might this strange creature doe to 

 mee if I had stood still where I was. as I verily believe it 

 had such a purpose. But when it saw that I went from it, 

 it did thereupon dive a little under the water and swam 

 towards the place where a little before I landed, & it did 

 often looke hacke towards mee: whereby I beheld the shoul- 

 ders & hacke down to the middle- to bee so square, white & 

 smootheas the backe of a man; and from the middle to the 

 hinder-part it was poynting in proportion something like a 

 broad hooked arrow:' how it was in the fore part from the 

 neck A shoulders, 1 could not. well disccrne: but. it came 

 shortly after to a boat in the same harbour (wherein one 

 William Hawkbridge 1 hen my servant man was) that hath 

 been since a captaiue in a ship to the East Indies, Ais lately 

 there so irnployed again; & the same creature did put both 

 his hands upon the side of the boat: whereat they were 

 afraid, and one of them strucke it a full blow on the head, 



hich the polyp-bei 

 part and the bu'lb are buried ii 

 an anchor. The smaller speci 

 wafer by simultaneous rliytln 

 sious of the bulb and polyps, 

 act in the Santa Barbara ChSinni 

 that if accidentally detached froi 

 t, fit may be able to progress sto 

 ably never could anchor i 

 Hesby species must be more ndap 

 one of such elongated and slendc 



The "stiekfish" is found as far 

 fishing grounds in the Shumagin 

 1880, 1 obtained a bundle of the 

 ertnan, who told me there were c 

 were so thickly set on the hottoL, . 



done there. They probably exist, where the cireu 



are favorable, from Puget Sound to the extreme em i I im 

 Aleutian Islands, throughout the extent of the Oregonian 

 fauna. But as this region is little known andthedetsp 

 waters are almost wholly unexplored, they have not come- 

 to light elsewhere than in Burrard Inlet and the Shumagins. 



The sub-genus Vtrvitlm oi Stearns is not thought by natu- 

 ralists to differ essentially froi* IlnhpUria, beside which 1 

 believe the name XerrHViu has been used before for a coral or 

 other anthozoan. War. H. Dall, 



United Stales National Museum. 



Washtnoton, P. C, Jime 8, 18s3. 



the mud, the latter acliun as 



a occasionally awim in 'the 



teal contractions and expan- 



1 have seen one in the very 



nel, Cal. It is quite possible 



nm its anchorage, the HMip- 



,]y in ihe wafer, but proh- 



uii. The smaller and more 



ed to active exert ion than 



■ form, 



West and north as Ihe cod- 

 Islands, Alaska, wheie, in 

 Is from a generous fish- 

 lain banks where they 

 , that ho fishing could he 



3 ha 



and after 



• lied to la: 

 iaid or n 



sv-found land, \ 



■opi 



whereby it fell off f 



other boats in the sam 



the men in them for fi 



•t I suppose) was a mareti 

 divers have writ much i 



relate what is most carta 



was thus then seenc at N 



maremaid or no 1 leave it 



you to theperusall of tl. 



which have been lately si 



1 doubt not hut that they 



of what 1 have 



the more in love to the iivibraeing of 



country which may be well styled a sis 



grant to hlesse and prosper." 



What this strange creature could hav 

 tine to say. 1 sho'uld hazard the opini. 

 as I have frequently shot seal in Hie hai 

 that these animals are shy, and will sc: 

 to get within forty yards of them. 

 Toronto, Canada. 



:ard it came to tw 

 lev lay hy the shore 

 id 'beheld' it, This 

 an. Now because 



nge i 



presi 

 ■atu 



ted to 

 thai, 



• it 



of thti 



of tin 

 I. from the Ne 



:id so referre 

 se letters following 

 v-found-land, which 

 ou some satisfaction 



-hereby to bring you 



plantation in that 



r h in! which God 



been I cannot ven- 



i that it was a seal, 



lorof St. Johns, but 



cely permit a boat 



J. E. Collins. 



What was it.— Le Roy, Minn. — Editor Fori J mid Stream: 

 Having taken much interest in those articles on the" rattle- 

 snake bite and antidote, I will relate a circumstance that 

 came under the notice of a friend of mine: About two years 

 ago there came into the neighborhood tv, o j oung men that 

 professed to be snake-charmers, having with them several 

 snakes, which they would handle with as much ease as they 

 would a kitten. My friend having an idea Hint thepoison 

 fangs were extracted, thought to try them with a. bona lide 

 Minnesota rattler that had not been to a. dentist., ami shortly 

 the opportunity came. A noose was slipped around the 

 neck of one, and it was taken to the house and thrown upon 

 the ground. One of the men took up the snake, and in 

 doing so was bitten on the hand. lb- dropped the snake 

 and started for his satchel, which contained a grayish white 

 powder, which he applied around but not on the bite, and 

 also touched bis tbngu'C to the same. He then continued to 

 handle the snake. The hite'seemtd to have no mow effect 

 on him than a mosquito or fly bile, fje Claimed that he 

 obtained the above powder from an Indian chief in Mis- 

 souri, and called it timrfwth. The boys tried to obtain some 

 of the magic powder, but could not get any. Can some one 

 of your many readers tell what the antidote was •;— SnxRT 

 Eye. [Among the Bawnecs in old limes in Nebraska we 

 have several times seen horses cured that were bitten by 

 rattlesnakes. The Indians said thai the remedy was a plant 

 that grew commonly on Ihe prairie, but we. never succeeded 

 in inducing them to point it out to us, and have never 

 been able to learn what it was.] 



"Do Rail Cakhv Their Egos'.'"— Last Monday evening, 

 I found the nest and eggs of a sora rail. Alter seeing the 

 bird "wait away from, ami pass within ten feet of me, not 

 being prepared to take the eggs, I left them and went for them 

 the next evening, but was disappointed in finding nothing 

 but the nest, which was partly submerged in water, it hav- 

 ing rained for twelve hours during the day. On looking I he 

 ground over and finding no tracks, I came to the conclusion 



that (he bird had removed 



ted the swamp— which i 

 extent — again, prepared to 

 the bird on the opposite sicli 

 hour's search, found anolln 

 first one, and about eight ii 

 bag the same four eggs. N 



eggs 



about Qu- 

 ake a thorou 

 and shot it, 



On Saturday c 



b\ 



jighl rods 



I fotl! 



half i 



two rods from the 

 Ihe water, contain 

 -.en any rail eggs 



before, 1 examined them very closely the first time and 

 noticed a peculiar x-shaped marking on one of Ihem— which 

 I had no difficulty in recognizing when I found Ihem the 

 second time. If any of your readers have had a similar ex 

 perienoe. I wish the'v would make it known iu your columns. 

 -,T. L. l'. (Loekpo'rt. N. Y., June 1, 188S). 



Niciht Somt op Tim Cuckoo.— A cuckoo that I) en 

 livened our shrubbery and fruit trees with ids peculiar song 

 for the last week, awakened the echoes ol a starlit night on 

 the 5th insl.. at 11:511 o'clock B. M. His voice appeared to 

 me a little subdued and softened, not quite so lull and tong- 

 as iu the daytime. Is i;. common for the American cuckoo 

 to sing at 'nighty— E. S. Holmes (Grand Rapids, Mich.. 

 June 6). ' 



ayiduieu- 



II : 11, 



I monkeys 



Alakm.— The daily papers of la-l week: an- ?52Sj ,"',"'',', .'; '' parrakeets ae^a^acueunduUitual Pre- 



b something of a flourish of trumpets, that a ^.oni -On ypus i \ly, -'■-,.■ ■ > ^, .■ ,,. /-nXtfiWI 



whad been captured in the surf off the beach /„/.»,-.. five £oodohueta AArctom ,-....■ . aa-- i ■ .,,,^ e, -:-,- 



» Lake, N. J., and had been sent to the Zoological j ; ; ', ; -,'.'' 



.ft! Philadelphia. The animal turns out to have I diamond rattl.s' '' "'eOi 



her more nor less fhan a >niall specimen of the com- nOe-/.s^-e((r,H ieSr/r,,!-....-., ,,m- i,. T . I ' - • ;■■'_ 



men seal (Plioea nititlinn). It is quite re. mm .■,',■ m] i<] .,■;.-, ;.'■", ,,., 



this species so far south at this season of the year, though in ,.,;,,',, Born.— Vive prairie wolves (,<7<mis brtram*), ax prairie .logs 

 winter they are not Specially uncommon along the coast. I {Oymviys iiidoviciawws), and two maUard duolcfl i I 



A Fals 



nounoed, - 

 young 



