158 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



the heated atmosphere of Tamberlik. By and by, a New 

 York opera audience will judge for itself. 



The light opera is making progress at the Olympic 

 theatre, under the management of Mrs, Oates. Her per- 

 sonation of Clarrette in "Madame Angot's Child," would 

 be considered perfect, but for the impressions made by Bate- 

 man's artists. Looked upon as her own rendition, it is un- 

 equalled on the comic opera stage. The " Grand Duchess" 

 consequently will prove a deserved success. We are more 

 and more satisfied that opera bouff e is to become the national 

 musical amusement. It is an advance on the best efforts of 

 minstrelsy, and is really up to the popular taste. In time 

 we will have a heartfelt and understanding audience for 

 the grand opera — say in two hundred years. Over a century 

 of trying has not succeeded in England to accomplish this 

 result, but we are more mercurial, and consequently sooner 

 learn to love and understand foreign airs, than do the 

 stolid English. 



We called the attention some week or two ago, to the in- 

 jury Verdi was doing in the way of ruining voices. An il- 

 lustration is at our disposal where high notes, and igno- 

 rance of professors were combined for that result. A Miss 

 Jennie Bull (a fearful name for a successful singer, for you 

 can't Italianize it), is to appear at a concert in Rochester, 

 her native city. This young lady commenced taking les- 

 sons from a local professor who decided her voice to be a 

 soprano, and practiced her on the high notes; the result was 

 a severe headache whenever she sang. A residence in Italy 

 led to the discovery of a new register, and Miss Bull's voice 

 was called a mezzo soprano. But a new professor of more 

 scientific attainments and more practical knowledge than 

 his predecessors, was finally invoked, and discovering the 

 errors of her former training, he changed the whole rou- 

 tine, and she turns- out to be a most lovely contralto, her 

 enthusiastic admirer claiming that she will be a legitimate 

 successor of Alboni! 



INDIAN SUMMER. 



» 

 The Indian Summer bathes the northern zone, 

 And, o'er the earth its gorgeous vesture flings, 

 In jewelled grandeur, like to tropic wings; 

 And ever through the lustrous aisles there sings 

 A wandering air in wondrous monotone. 



A liquid ruby sprent with amethyst; 

 So richer far than silk of samarcand, 

 Shone coral yet so bright on golden strand 

 As these fair touches of thy glowing wand. 

 That brim like glories through the Indian mist? 



— Canadian Monthly. 



- -+++■ 



FALLS OF THE ZAMBESI. 



The Falls of the Zambesi, or Victoria Falls, as Livingstone 

 calls them, have been formed by a crack or fissure in the 

 hard, black, balsaltic rock at right angles across the bed of 

 the river. The old bed below the falls is still plainly indi- 

 cated, and green with grass and trees. The chasm which 

 extends along the entire front of the falls, and into which 

 the water leaps, is about two hundred and sixty feet in depth, 

 to the surface of the boiling and foaming water. The falls 

 during the dry season are nearly a mile in extent, their 

 line broken here and there by rocks and islands. In the 

 wet season their length is increased by about a half a mile 

 or more, and then the volume of water which pours over 

 the falls' is immense. 



The water on the west side of the falls, as it descends into 

 the chasm, is collected in a narrow channel twenty or thirty 

 yards wide, and flows toward the east at a right angle with 

 the course of the stream above the falls. That on the east 

 side flows through a similarly narrow channel toward the 

 west. These two streams meet and unite in a fearful boil- 

 ing whirlpool, before they find an outlet through afissure of 

 the rock at right angles with that of the fall, at about eleven 

 hundred and seventy yards from the western end of the 

 chasm, and six hundred from the eastern end. The Zam- 

 besi which spreads to such a breadth above the falls, is now 

 compressed in a channel not more than twenty or thirty 

 yards in width, and of no doubt almost inconceivable 



The surface of the country is of the same level below" the 

 fall as above it, and the river continues in its course 

 through a deep canon, continually taking abrupt turns in 

 its way— in fact, forming a series of connected and per- 

 fectly defined letter S.'s. This canon is not worn or cut by 

 the action of the water. It is a split or crack in the rock. 

 Its walls go sheer down, " without any projecting crag or 

 symptom of stratification or dislocation." 



The immense steam-columns which continually ascend 

 above the falls become condensed at an immense height, 

 and descend in a perpetual shower of fine rain, which, 

 beating against the face of the perpendicular rock, runs 

 down in tiny streams, only to be swept back again by the 

 upward-rushing vapor before they have reached the bottom. 

 This rain gives life and verdancy to the evergreen groves, 

 in whose branches, however, no bird ever sings or builds its 

 aeBt _jtfr*. E. B. Duffey, in To-day. 



SIX-TOED ARABS. 



IN the second number of the ZeitschHft fur Ethnologic for 

 1873 Baron Von Maltzan gives an account of his travels 

 n Arabia and states that there are still many spots of 

 which nothing is known beyond what Ptolemy was able to 

 tell us Baron von Maltzan selected the most southern ex- 

 tremity of the peninsula, which is as yet a tabula rasa on 

 our maps for the scene of his explorations. He draws at- 

 tention to the artistic skill exhibited by these people m 

 statuary and carving, before they fell under the rule of their 

 Mahomedan conquerors from Central Arabia, when all their 

 earlier civilization was rudely checked and their language 

 superceded, while they were then also first driven to adopt 

 a nomadic mode of life. In spite, however of amalgama- 

 tion with Central Arabian elements, the population of bouth 

 Arabia still admits of division into two distinct peoples, the 



Sabaer and the Himyarites, the former of whom have light 

 yellow skins, while the latier, whose name he derives from 

 Hamr, red, are so dark-skinned as to be generally classed 

 amongst the black races. Baron Maltzan observed a curi 

 ous physical character in the family of the Himyarite rulers 

 of the Fodli, or Ozmani-State, many of whom, both males 

 and females, had six fingers and six toes on both hands and 

 feet. This peculiarity is looked upon by the people at 

 large as a special mark of blue blood, and prized accord- 

 ingly by the possessors. It would seem that the practice 

 of forming consanguineous marriages, which prevails in 

 the Fodli, as in other ruling houses, may of itself explain, 

 as a mere case of hereditary recurrence, the appearance of 

 this physiological character in numerous and remote mem- 

 bers of the family. 



A friend who has traveled extensively in the west tells 

 us, that though that part of our country is the home of the 

 live-fence, he finds more well-managed osage hedges in 

 Pennsylvania than there. As a general rule, he says, after 

 planting they are neglected, and become nuisances* in many 

 cases bearing balls; or where "plashing "has been resorted 

 to in order to thicken up the naked places, they become 

 very wide — immense thick masses of green foliage — which 

 no good farmer here would think of enduring. 



Though we are not prepared to believe that there are no 

 good osage-orange hedges in the west — indeed we believe 

 they are as numerous in proportion to population and set- 

 tlement as they are in the east — still we know many of the 

 Pennsylvania hedges are commendable, and only wish that 

 the care and attention they receive was more common. It 

 is impossible to have a good hedge unless they aie trimmed 

 up to a triangular or conical shape, so that the base is much 

 wider than the top; and then the trimming should be done 

 twice a-year — early in July and early in September. This 

 of course requires labor; but it is impossible to get a good 

 osage hedge without labor, and it is as well for those who 

 purpose to plant hedges to understand this, and to calcu- 

 late beforehand whether they can afford to give the labor 

 required. Those who have hedges planted should see now 

 to the fall trimming. — Germantown Telegraph. 



lew ffluhUatt tarns. 



[Publications sent, to this office, treating upon subjects that come icithin 

 the scope of the paper, will receive special attention. The receipt of all 

 books delivered at our Editorial Booms will be promptly acknowledged 

 in the next issue. Publishers will confer a favor by promptly advising 

 us of any omission in this resvect. Prices of books inserted when 

 desired.1 



The Birds of Florida. By C. T. Maynard. Five plates 

 drawn and colored from nature. By Helen S. Fairley, Salem Natur- 

 alist's Agency. Boston: Estes & Lauriatt. New York: Dodd & Mead. 

 We have received the two first parts of "Birds of Florida. 11 It is in 

 large quarto form, printed upon clear good paper, with wide margin, and 

 when bound will make a very valuable additon to the selection of the 

 library of ornithology. The work is to be issued in twelve parts, at one 

 dollar a part. The numbers before us, as a work of artistic merit 

 are unexceptional in style, finish, historical correctness, and fidelity to 

 life. Everything relating to the Birds of Florida is here plainly and con- 

 cisely given . For this valuable collection and history of the birds of this 

 interesting section of country we are indebted to the indefatigable and 

 enthusiastic studies of the author, In the prosecution of these investiga- 

 tions Mr. Maynard has visited all parts of Florida, including the keys 

 and everglades, and devoted much of his time during a period of three 

 years to the exclusive study of the feathered tribes and their peculiar 

 habits. In this work are given full information of quite a number of 

 birds of entirely new species, and others heretofore unknown to the 

 general reader. 

 The Tourmaline: Its relation as a gem; its wonderful 



physical properties, &c, with four illustrations in colors. 12mo By 



Dr. Hamlin. Boston: James R. Osgood, & Co. 



This is an intensely interesting work upon a subject but little known 

 to our general readers . Probably but few persons, when asked, could 

 readily give the true definition, and tell us much of the wonderful history 

 of the gem Tourmaline. In the pleasant, quiet town of Paris, Maine, 

 there is a mountain called Mount Mica. This shrine of many modern 

 pilgrims was known years ago only to a few of the natives of Holland; 

 to them it had a history and an interest unknown even in those days to 

 but few favored ones . In the Eighteenth century, however, it seems 

 that Mount Mica was not a sealed cave to the old Dutch navigators; they 

 possessed the open sesame to its treasures, and not a few sparkling gems 

 added to the rare wealth of their collections of curiosities. Prominent 

 among their rare and beautiful gems sparkled the Tourmaline of Mount 

 Mica. Dr. Hamlin gives us much interesting matter now for the first 

 time placed before the reading public. He says that fhis location has al- 

 ready yielded "more than one hundred crystals, which would be consid- 

 ed rare and remarkable specimens, and that no other deposit in the 

 world yet known, has yielded tourmalines of such variety of color . " This 

 work contains illustrations of these crystals, showing their brilliancy, 

 of color &c, as well as a story of great interest, equal to a romance, and 

 far better, for it is all true . 

 Penriddocke. By Hamilton Aicde. Boston: James K. 



Osgood & Co. 



This is a tale of the present time and of old English and continental 

 life. There is within the pages of this book much amusing variety, both 

 novel and startling. The hero— though to our mind he is not much'of a 

 hero, not half so well made up as the heroine, Elizabeth— makes his way 

 into the garden, where he finds, according to the book, Elizabeth Penrid- 

 docke, "seated on a three-legged stool, leaning her elbows on her knees, 

 and her chin on her hand, with a plate of chicken bones, parings of cheese 

 and pudding on the ground before her." Our hero and Elizabeth have 

 the following colloquy upon rats, which conveys an idea of the quaint 

 character of the work:— 



"And now tell me, for I am really curious to know— what are you 

 doing.here with that plate? I see neither cat nor dog." 



"I should hope not, indeed!" replied Elizabeth, swallowing the bait, 

 and with more animation in her tone than I had observed. She then 

 pointed to a hole in the boards, in a corner of the shed just opposite to 

 her. "Look there! She won't come out, though, while you stand here. 

 Go outside the door, and watch from there." 



I obeyed, and Elizabeth began a low cooing whistle. For nearly 

 minute this produced no results; then from my post of observation, I per- 

 ceived a long gray whisker protrude from the hole, followed by a sensi- 

 tive nose, that snifted cautiously from right to left, and, finally, the body 

 belonging to it, that of a very large old rat, appeared, followed by three 

 young ones. They all gathered round the plate at Elizabeth's feet, and 

 then began a family repast which was really curious to watch. The 

 mbther permitted her progney to devour up the pudding and cheese par- 

 ings as they chose; but the bones she selected, dividing the small ones 

 with impartiality among her young, and keeping the big ones, which re- 

 quired tougher teeth, for herself. I, whose ideas of a rat were insep- 

 arable from a terrier, and who had never seen one at Beaumanoir but in 

 either a fugitive or a bellicose attitude, was astonished quite ae 

 much as I wae entertained by a peep into the domestic interior. Eli- 

 zabeth half turned her head towards me with a smile; and putting hei - 



finger to her lips, she produced from her pocket an egg, which as soo 

 the plate was cleared, she placed there. The old rat raised herself^ 

 her hind legs, leant over the edge of the plate and smelt the egg Havi 

 satisfied herself, she carefully raised it in her fore-paws, and as caref n 

 deposited it on the floor. Then she rolled it along as a mair rolls a 1 

 rel, to her hole; but now came the difficult part of the operation e"-" 

 dently there was a drop of four or five inches from the floorincr\ t l 

 ground beneath, which the astute animal was conscious might smash th** 

 egg. She, therefore, descended first; and, standing on her hind-le°-s C 

 of the young rats pushed, the egg towards her, and she raised it in h* 

 fore-paws. I never saw any thing more cleverly done, and could not ^ 

 sist an exclamation, which sent the three juniors scampering down th.lt 

 hole at a pace which must have somewhat imperilled the egg, I f ear 



Lectures and Sermons. By Rev. W. Morley Punshon 



Boston: Estes & Launot. 



We have received this book though the politeness of some friend- did 

 we know to whom we are indebted for it, we would with pleasure '<%* 

 him credit. It is a passable book; and the frontispiece is said "to lookup 

 the author." It probably does him justice. Judging from it, we think 

 Mr. Punshon a good man, possessed of a good share of intellect wiih ordi- 

 nary powers ami ability. His delineation of character is sometimes '.'ood' 

 but generally more natural to the life, than possessing that gr ea t quality' 

 by some sermonizers called "rhetoric." But that Rev. Mr. Punshon is 

 agreatly superior to many other-intelligent pastors and teachers of the pre' 

 sent time, we cannot see much evidence in the book before us. His ser" 

 mons are simply very good specimens of the kind, and will be found im- 

 proving and healthful to many readers. 



Detail Cottage and Constructive Architecture.— New 



York: A. I. Bicknell & Co., Architectural Book Publishers. 



We have received from the publishers the above very valuable work 

 upon architectural cottage designs, and many other styles of bidlding 

 adapted to the wants of the building community. For some time past 

 there has been most sensibly felt the want of just such a work It is 

 new and very original in many of its designs, very picturesque and simple 

 in its working details, which are plainly laid down and easily understood 

 by almost any intelligent builder. These plans are all reduced to tlu- 

 working scale of the operative builder. The work contains seventv-five 

 large lithographic plates, some of them tinted, done in beautiful style 

 showing a great variety of elevations and designs entirely new, with ela- 

 borate and plain comicse, brackets, windows, window-caps, doors, piazzas 

 porches, and bay windows; also dormer windows, observatories, towers' 

 chimney-tops, balconies, scroll work, stair-building, and other designs »f 

 exquisite finish. It has forty-five elevations, perspective plans and speci- 

 fications of plans of most modern style; eighteen elevations for summer 

 cottages never before given to the public . This new and original work 

 is now just published and placed in the market in fine large, royal quarto 

 form at the exceedingly low price of $10.00. 



Strangers and Pilgrims. By Miss Braddon. New York : 



Harper & Bro's Class Select Novels. 



Many women think, if we are to judge them by their actions, that they 

 can do just as they please with any man they call husband after marriage, 

 And they sometimes admit that marriage is a decided failure. Such 

 women have strange conceptions of right and wrong, and judged by a 

 standard of their own creation in such cases, must be chargeable with 

 the lamentable failure of their married life . Lord Paulin may not be 

 an immaculate my Lord; he is homely, and very unattractive in person, 

 "long, lank and gawky," for a lord; yet we conceive him to have been 

 quite as good as the average run of lords, and under ordinary circum 

 stances would have made any reasonable woman happy. We do not 

 think our lady Ellizabeth Luttrell, would have been a happier woman in 

 wedlock had she been the wife of Mr. Forde; on the contrary she would 

 have been simply very unhappy. But we do not propose to tell our 

 readers all about this readable story in a short notice, but refer them to 

 the work itself for the final solution of this social question of the day. 



Arthur Bonnicastle. By J. G. Holland. New York, 

 Scribner, Armstrong & Co. 1 V. 1. 12 Mo. Illustrated with twelve full 

 illustrations by Mary A. Hallock. 



We have carefully read Arthur Bonnicastle, (a practice we pursue with 

 every book we notice) andean say with the utmost confidence that it is the 

 very best of the later works of Dr. Holland. To accord this work meager 

 praise, would be doing an injustice to a book that should be read by 

 every one. Reader, you cannot lightly skim over this volume, as most, 

 readers are wont to do with many of the books of the times, whose only 

 merit is in their binding, and when you open the same you find nil within. 

 Arthur Bonnicastle will be heard, and he will hold you in complete fasci- 

 nation from beginning to the end. One continued string ,an endless chain 

 of sparkling gems runs through this book, which you are fairly in 

 love with beipre you have read twenty -five pages of this truly American 

 novel. As a portraiture of character this book ranks as an authority, 

 and in the handling of adverse and perplexing philosophical questions 

 and theories. Asa story of a life we like it: as it is romantic, lively, 

 spicy, graceful in high conception, pure in deep thought, and while it 

 sometimes makes strong appeals to the imagination, it is exceedingly ten- 

 der in style and sentiment, always elevating— and never grovelling, la 

 a word, it is a rare work, and as an American novel, we cannot after » 

 very careful reading see a single line which the author should wish to 

 draw a line through. We think any one will rise from a perusal of Dr. 

 Holland's last work with much higher views of human life and renewed 

 obligations within his own heart of living a nobler manhood. 



, -*-»>- 



ANNOUNCEMENTS. 



Harper & Bros.— A Stranger and Pilgrim.— A novel 

 of much interest. 



Elements of Physical Mainpulation. New York : Hurd 

 & Houghton. 



We learn with pleasure that we are soon to have a work by Prof. E. C 

 Pickering, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for the use of 

 students. This work will open with a preliminary chapter on general 

 methods of investigation, with a series of highly interesting articles upon 

 sound, light, liquid, gasses, solid, &c. This work will be brought out by 

 Hurd & Houghton in the usual tasty styly of the Riverside press. 

 The Ways of Women— In their Physical, Moral, and In- 

 tellectual Relations. By a Medical Man. New York: John P. Jewett 

 & Co., No. 5 Dey street. 



The South.— The kind and generous welcome extended 

 the Forest and Stream by our contemporaries is warmly appreciated; 

 but a special acknowledgment is due to the editor of the above journal, 

 for his hearty and repeated commendations of our paper. He possesses 

 the heart of a true sportsman, as well as the pen of a "ready writer. 

 The Houth is devoted to the resources and development of the South, ana 

 its pages evince a thorough knowledge of the condition and wants of that 

 section, and a zeal and enterprize which commend it to the hearty support 

 of the Southern people and all interested in Southern progress. Seve ™' 

 special issues of the paper have been devoted to different States, tne 

 demand for which led to their publication also in the German language. 

 The issue for the Georgia State Fair contained several fine illustrations, 

 and much interesting matter relative to the attractions of that State. Last 

 week's edition was devoted to North Carolina, and was a very attractive 

 number. We commend this journal to all interested in the important 

 section of country to which it is devoted. The South office is in *n 

 new Herald building, Ann and Nassau streets. Terms $3. a year. 



The beautiful engravings of birds in Avilude cost hundreds of doll - 

 and the fine and instructive descriptions many weeks of ^^ * J r 

 f amilv ought to have it . For sale by all booksellers and toy ^ e Wor . 

 sent post paid on receipt of seventy-five cents, by West « -M»» 

 ^"InSnent addition to our home imunmont* "-Christian M«n 



