FOREST AND STREAM. 



103 



How Leather is made, and Cobbling done in Blidah, 

 Algeria. — The manner which shoe-leather is prepared in 

 this part of the world is curious. When a skin has been 

 removed from a cow, for instance, the Arab proceeds first 

 of all to cut off the head, together with the horns and 

 the hoofs, and then, hanging it up, he scrapes off all the 

 fat that may have been left clinging to the inside. When 

 this is done it is well rubbed with salt, and placed out in 

 the middle of the road with the inside exposed. Passers 

 by trampling it underfoot all day; then, when it is per- 

 fectly dry, it is taken up and cut in rectangular pieces about 

 a foot long by five inches broad, which are sown on the 

 shoes— as soles — with the hair outside. Arab shoes when 

 new cost from two to four shillings a pair, for which the 

 very best may be obtained, and the charge for resoling 

 them generally varies from a shilling to flfteenpence. A 

 considerable trade is done in second-hand shoes among 

 Arabs in needy circumstances. Wherever, for example, a 

 Bedouin buys a new pair he is sure to make an arrange- 

 ment to be allowed a certain sum for the old one*. These 

 the cobbler mends, and eventually sells to some less for- 

 tunate countryman, who, having none at all, and perhaps 

 very little money to purchase any with, is glad to procure a 

 pair cheap. Thus the market cobblers have always a stock 

 of second-hand shoes with them, which they generally man- 

 age to get rid of during the course of the morning be- 

 sides sewing on ten or a dozen pairs of soles. — Gentleman's 

 Magazine. 



Tiioreau. — It was his habit to go abroad every day to 

 the fields or woods, or to the river. " I go out to see what 

 I have caught in my traps, which I have set for facts." He 

 loved the world, and could not pass a berry without a ques- 

 tion. Men who had seen the partridge drum, caught the 

 largest pickerel, and eaten the most swamp apples were 

 the men for him. The farmer who could find him a hawk's 

 egg, or give him a fisher's foot, he would wear in his heart 

 of hearts. He admired the toil-worn workers, seasoned 

 like granite and pine, slow and silent as the years, "like 

 the sweetness of a nut, like the toughness of hickory." 

 "The farmer spoke to me, clear, cold, moderate as the 

 snow when he treads. Yet what a faint impression that 

 encounter may make on me after all. I see men like frogs ; 

 their peeping I partially understand." — Ghanning. 



Inhtml ffistorg. 



THE NOTORNIS A RARA AVIS. 



THE- last number of Nature has some very interesting 

 facts in regard to this exceedingly rare bird, the Notor- 

 nis, which though discovered and described in the last cen- 

 tury, naturalists have for a long time been doubting. Mr. 

 Newton, in Nature states that "no specimens are known to 

 have been brought to England for upwards of eighty years, 

 and that only two are believed to exist in museums, one in 

 Liverpool and the other in Vienna." He adds: 



This bird, which has been variously assigned to the genera 

 Qallinula (moor-hen), Fulica (coot), and Porphyria, is now re- 

 ferred to the genus Notoruis, contaiinng only one other 

 species, the " Takahe," of New Zealand (A 7 , mautetti), itself 

 nearly, or quite, extirpated. It was about the size of a barn- 

 door fowl, with the bill and legs red. The Vienese specimen 

 seems to be entirely white ; the example at Liverpool is 

 mottled with purple, but not enough to gainsay the name 

 of "White Bird,,' by which it seems to have been known 

 both in Norfolk and Lord Howe's Islands. It would no 

 doubt, if taken alive, be easily kept in confinement, and I 

 need not say how highly a living example would be valued 

 by the Zoological Society; but this is perhaps more than 

 can be reasonably hoped for, and so far as I am concerned, 

 I should be well content with a specimen in spirit or a skin 

 with all the bones acompanying it, for the Cambridge 

 Museum. 



The species is most likely extinct in Norfolk Island, but 

 a passage in a pamphlet by Mr. Edward Hill, published 

 at Sydney, in 1870, seems to show that it may still exist in 

 that of Lord Howe— though, if so, doubtless on the verge 

 of extermination through the pigs with which the island is 

 said to be overrun; for the bird is believed to be unable to 

 fly. Should any examples be still living, it would certainly 

 be better that their remains should be placed in our mu- 

 seums, than that they should contribute to the formation 

 of pork; and I write these lines that they may attract the 

 attention of some Australian readers of Nature, who may 

 be disposed to do . a good turn to the University of Cam- 

 bridge. ^ 



Migration op Frogs. — The Logansport (Ind.) Star re- 

 lates and vouches for the truth of the following recent oc- 

 curence in Cass County, that State : "For some days past 

 the weather had been dry, and the ponds on the prairie 

 failed in water. The turtles and frogs that had been living 

 in the vicinity of one of these stood it for a day or two, but 

 it finally became too dry for frogs and they decided to mi- 

 grate. The nearest pond that contained water was three 

 miles distant, and to this turtles and frogs started in solemn 

 procession, the turtles in advance sagaciously piloting the 

 way, and the frogs bringing up the rear. The procession 

 stretched out over the prairie a quarter of a mile long, and 

 steadily marched to the gaol." 



♦ 



Animals and Insects Suffering the Penalty of the 

 Law.— In the year 1120 the Bishop of Loan thundered 

 against a plague of caterpillars a sentence of excommunica- 

 tion. In 1576 a swarm of caterpillars was formally tried 

 before the Court of Troyes, an advocate being appointed, 

 for the defence, and being found guilty, were summoned to 

 withdraw in six days on pain of being declared^ accursed 

 and excommunicated. Several instances occur in France 

 oi pigs being hanged and their bodies reduced to ashes, 

 for devouring little children, or for attacking grown per- 

 sons; but in- all cases, they received a fair trial. — Saint 



Janus Magazine. 



. «. 



— The Toad on Grand Manan. — Visiting the island of 

 Grand Manan, New Brunswick in the summer of 1872, I 

 observed the common toad [Bufo amerkanw) in large num- 

 bers. I was informed by Mr. Walter McLanghlan, keeper 

 of the Gannet Rock Light that none were to be found until 

 1854, when he introduced a pair from Maine. From these 

 parents the whole of the island has been stocked in eighteen 

 years. Mr. McLanghlan proposes to introduce turtles in 

 the same way. G. Brown Goode. 



The Herring and its Foes. — One of the most prolifiic 

 fish of the seas, according to its size, is the common her- 

 ring, which, as a general rule, is only a few ounces in 

 weight, and yet yields many thousand eggs — far surpassing 

 in that respect the salmon. * But the herring requires to be 

 enormously prolific in the reproduction of its kind, because 

 the waste of herririg-life is enormous. Man annually robs 

 the shoals to a vast extent, and although man's depreda- 

 tions are enormous, they are reputed to be trifling compared 

 with those of many other agencies which are daily at work. 

 Man only takes his tens of thousands, but the codfish, 

 we are told, takes hundreds of thousands, and the gulls and 

 gannets of the neighboring rocks are constantly engaged 

 in exacting daily tribute from the herring shoals. We have 

 examined the internal economy of a codfish, which con- 

 tained in its stomach no less than eleven full grown her- 

 rings ! If a few hundred thousands of cod fish go day by day 

 devouring herrings at this rate, their devastation in the 

 course of years must swell to a. vast figure. Then the cod 

 is only one of the sea-enemies of the herring: there are also 

 dogfish, which follow the shoals in immense numbers, eating 

 the herrings out of the nets in which they have been enmesh- 

 ed. It has been calculated that the cod and ling fish taker! 

 in one year in the seas and friths around Scotland would 

 devour more herrings than could be caught hy fifty thous- 

 and fishermen. Solan geese live upon herrings during 

 those seasons in which they can be obtained : A calculation 

 of the herring-eating powers of these birds has been made, 

 which is as follows ; Say that the island of St, Kilda has a 

 population of 200,000 of these birds, and they feed there for 

 seven months; let us also suppose that each bird, or its 

 young ones, eats only five herrings per diem — that gives a 

 sum total of one million of these fish; and counting the 

 clays in the seven months from March to September as 214, 

 that figure may be taken to represent in millions the quanti- 

 ty of herrings annually devouredby these bird*. — Gha rubers 

 Journal. 



mmt 



THE deer-hound is a noble specimen of his race, his 

 proportions being quite as good as those of the grey- 

 hound, in which he resembles the rough variety of that 

 beautiful dog. He is possessed of better powers of scent 

 than the grey-hound, and in chasing game depends as much 

 on his nose as on his eyes. It is curious that, although he 

 makes use of his nose when running, he holds his head 

 higher from the ground than the grey-hound, which only 

 uses his eyes. The purity of the breed is judged a good 

 deal by the coat, which should be very wiry, long, without 

 being woolly. The old deer-hound is becoming scarcer 

 every year, and a cross of the fox-hound with the deer- 

 hound makes the most useful dog to hunt the stag. The 

 object is to obtain a fine nose, so as to hunt a cold scent, 

 but united with such speed that he may be able to keep the 

 deer in sight. w 



We have many letters from gentlemen who have point- 

 ers, setters, and fox-hounds, asking us to write on their 

 management and. keep ; also what kind of kennel is the 

 best, and what food. One of the very best authorities is 

 "Stonehenge," but in some instances we differ from him, 

 such as in giving large quantities of oat meal, &c. The 

 kennels intended for pointers and setters should be dry and 

 well protected from the weather; but they should be kept 

 cool, on account of the exposure to wet and cold which 

 shooting dogs incur. Many persons keep their dogs 

 chained up to a small yard kennel, but the plan is not a 

 good one. In your yard, have a space set apart sufficiently 

 large to allow the dogs room to move round easily; pave it 

 with hard bricks, keep it washed; but it should not be 

 roofed in, as the rain serves to harden these dogs, who will 

 not suffer from it, if their beds are dry. An inner room 

 must also be provided, but don't make any bed during the 

 summer. In order to keep the yard as sweet as possible, 

 it should have a fall from the centre, where there should be 

 a trapped grating to carry off the washings of the yard. 

 When dogs are kept long in kennel they are almost sure to 

 contract some eruptions of the skin, which is often caused 

 by parasites of one kind or another, such as fleas, ticks, 

 and lice, which are great pests and difficult to eradicate. 

 The proper method is to dress the dogs once or twice in a 

 season, with a mixture of train oil and brimstone, which 

 may be rubbed into the roots of the hair over the whole 

 body, or take white precipitate in powder, rub it well into 

 the roots of the hair, let it remain for two or three hours, 

 taking care the dog is carefully muzzled, then brush all out 

 and keep the dog dry for some davs. 



Now, as to the food : Indian meal mixed with a little 

 oat meal and table refuse, all boiled together, will make ex- 

 cellent food for shooting dogs, in an ordinary way. Bones 

 are eminently essential to health, for unless the dog has 

 something to gnaw, he does not produce the amount of sal- 

 iva which is required for his digestion. Green vegetables, 

 such as cabbage, potatoes, carrots and turnips should be 

 given twice a week during the summer months, and by 

 pouring a little soup broth over i't they will be glad to eat 

 it. Throughout the months that dogs are idle, they require 

 no flesh, and their mess need only be flavored with broth. 

 When dogs are hard at work, there is nothing better than 

 sound horse-flesh, boiled; but this should be given .gradu- 

 ally, and it is well to give them an occasional meal of it 

 during the summer, to avoid the chance of its disagreeing 

 in the fall, which it often does, when given for the first 

 time. 



Dogs are too often sadly neglected. They are sometimes 

 left in a kennel for weeks, and even months at a time. 

 When this is allowed, they become fat, inside and out, and 

 are not able to work. The shooter is well aware of this 

 fact, as exhibited in his own person, and yet he will often 

 ignore it as concerns the inmates of his kennel. He should 

 remember that the setter travels over six times the ground 

 which he does, and at a fast rate instead of a walk. Some 



dogs have naturally thin soles, but even these may be made 

 thicker by use. Let every shooter see that these precau- 

 tions are used, and he will not suffer from the disappoint- 

 ments which are so frequent, owing to their neglect. Many 

 a mistake is caused by want of condition, and not from 

 want of a good nose, for a blown and exhausted animal is 

 not in possession of the sense of smell. 



St. Louis.September 15th, 1873. 

 Editor of Forest and Stream : — 



In your paper of the fourth instant in "Answers to Cor- 

 respondents " I note remedy for worms in dogs. 



Let me suggest worm seed. One teaspoonful to be 

 given a full grown dog at evening, to be followed 

 the succeeding day by castor oil, one ounce. Repeat after 

 three days. For a pup less than one year old, half that 

 quantity of seed and a proportionate quantity of oil. Two 

 doses will probably cure; certainly will not kill. 



With your permission I will tel^our friends how to cure 

 mange : whale oil soap, four ounces, which dissolve in 

 clean water, four quarts; but not in a brass or copper ves- 

 sel. Wash the dog thoroughly; probably three washings 

 will cure, if not, repeat the washings. It rarely fails, but 

 should it, take oil of tar, two pints, sperm oil, one pint, 

 mix thoroughly; anoint the dog with the mixture; two ap- 

 plications ought *to cure any ordinary case, but may not if 

 of long standing; if not,- then wash thoroughly with suds 

 from castile soap and repeat the anointings. *It will cure, 

 but it is harsh ; whale oil soap suds is preferable. 



Almost this same receipt for mange we find in the last 

 number of Ijand and Water, only linseed oil is substituted 

 for sperm oil. J. J. asks if we know of any way to rid 

 dogs of fleas, and keep the brutes clean of these pests. 

 In our number five we recommended insect powder. See 

 "Answers to Correspondents." 



We add what we believe to be a most useful receipt, if 

 not for curing, at least for alleviating distemper. We 

 know it was tried by a friend of ours last year with suc- 

 cess. We copy the article in full from Land and Water. 

 " I formerly used to lose two-thirds of the pups I bred, al- 

 though using all the remedies given in different sporting 

 works, but for the last ten or twelve years I have never 

 had a single case of distemper in my kennel. My plan is 

 simply this: Soon as I take the pup from the bitch, I give 

 twice a week doses of garlic, and continue this treatment 

 till the dog is a year old. After that I consider him safe, 

 as the disease generally attacks dogs between six and nine 

 months old. While the pup is very young, a piece of gar- 

 lic the size of a pea will be enough for a dose, and as it 

 grows older it may be increased to the. size of a bean or 

 liazle nut. If at any time it should purge too much the 

 dose should be diminished. In cases where distemper has 

 attacked a dog, I would give garlic three times a week, 

 and keep him warm and dry. In nine cases out of ten 

 this will effect a cure, and has been used with great suc- 

 cess." 



— ♦ — 



Dk. A., Brooklyn.— For mange in setter bitch ; take of compound sul- 

 phur ointment, four ounces; spirit of turpentine, two ounces; mix and 

 nib well into the skin twice a week; or take of iodide of mercury, one 

 drachm; lard, one ounce; mix and rub a very little iuto the roots of the 

 hair every day. 



J. W. B., Brooklyn.— Red mange is a constitutional malady, and can 

 seldom be cured without internal medicines. Arsenic in minute doses, 

 coutinued for some time, is a great specific against the foul condition of 

 the blood, but never give it on an empty stomach, but mixed with the 

 food. Solution of arsenic, five to eight drops; add to the food, and give 

 twice a day, the dog being fed night and morning. If in a month the 

 whites of the eyes do not become red, increase the dose gradually until 

 they do, then diminish a drop per week till the redness disappears, when 

 continue the dose till the eruption is gone. 



G. C. E., Jackson, Miss,— Ilave shown your letter to C. B. He says *.' he 

 would be willing to leave the question to a committee of sportsmen whether 

 a nine or ten bores may be termed swamp angels." All he did as to 

 killing birds was perfectly legitimate. The gentleman in question we 

 know to be a thorough sportsman, who has done as much for the pres- 

 ervation of game, and making of game laws as any one in the country. 



S. H.— Keep your dog well fed, and he will seldom attack sheep. 



Regulus.— There is no acting Fish Commissioner of the State of Vir- 

 ginia at present. One was appointed last year, but the funds appropriated 

 for this Commission are now exhausted, owing to the deplorible condi - 

 tion of the public finances. 



A. M., Madison Avenue.— If you will give us explicit details, being 

 above all sure of your facts, we will put the matter before Mr. Bergh. 

 An example of this character is what is wanted. Gentlemen who keep 

 horses, are* often terribly at fault in not supervising their stables. Cases 

 of cruelty by grooms and coachmen are of too frequent occurrence. 



Holman.— Antlers with forty-two points are not uncommon. They be- 

 long to the black tail deer, and probably came from Texas. 



Calder— We have heard of the voluntary domestication of the wild 

 pigeon before. That is to say, it remained with the tame flock six months, 

 put if we remember rightly, about the time of the migration of the wild 

 birds, it took wing and never came back. 



S. R. N.— Largest of Australian camiv&ra is the Tasmanian wolf, 

 or Zebra opposum, (Thylatims cynoeephalvs). 



Gibson.— Average rain fall in England and in Eastern countries about 

 thirty four inches; in the hilly countries forty -eight to fifty inches. New 

 York is about thirty-six inches. 



K. L.—A horse is quite a large one when he weighs l,20Cfpound3. Noth- 

 ing move easy than for you to put him on a eoal-dealer's scale and get it 

 to a quarte of a pound . 



J. N.— Sometimes, when nothing better can be had, a good dressing of 

 wood ^ashee will keep, a fckin in fair order. 



X. E. X.— There is probably no sporting question so frequently asked 

 as "Childer's" time. He is said to have accomplished three miles in 

 five minutes fifteen and one-half seconds. It is doubted. It seems to be 

 traditionary, but very possibly watches were not correct in 1721. Eclipse's 

 four miles in eight minutes, is even more doubtful. 



Atkins.— Gloan's book in a few words gives the answers you want. 

 "The size (of shot) which lies the most compactly with the fewest in- 

 terstices, will give the best pattern and penetration combined." To try 

 this experimentally we have taken a pill box from our druggist, just 

 about the size of the bore of the gun and counted the shot, which ex- 

 actly lay on the bottom, 



Fancy.— A good carrier pigeon, an undoubted bird, will cost you $25. 

 Some were sold, notable ones, in Englaud lately for no less than £20. 



K.— From description would say it was the sage cock, (Ventrocercm 

 urop/wsianus). They are found in Arizona and are represented as 

 searcc, Said to feed on wild sage. 



