46 



FOEEST AND STREAM. 



with the "courteous, restrained and graceful sallies of the 

 robin;" and their noisy, unhappy screeching too, with the fine 

 suppressed wurhle of "the robin. 



L'r. Elliott Coues, who has been apprehensive of the aggres- 

 sions of the English sparrows since their first importation, 

 and who, as early as 1874, published very strong arguments 

 against their increase, EurniBbed to the fiaturalwt some ex- 

 tracts from a lengthy paper then in preparation, from a vol- 

 uminous mass of testimony which he has been collecting for 

 two or three years past iu regard to and against this pest. He 



tli the clemency 

 •eated by semi- 

 le states, by the 

 •<1 by hasty ex- 

 hold, or by a 



i are not practi- 

 d that it is with 

 ctful choice of 

 n Europe they 

 ma of me coun- 



ideutly become thoroughly outraged wi 

 and petting with which this bird has been ti 

 meutalists in opposition to scientists; or, as 

 "quasi -ornithologists" who nave been mis! 

 pressions of favor to which they feel bound t 

 very few intelligent and scientific persons wh( 

 cat Ornithologists. lie is, in fact, so outrage 

 difficulty be can restrain himself to a respt 

 words in his denunciation. He grants fhut i 

 have a mission, being a part of the natural fan 

 try, with their natural enemies, to maintain the equilibrium, 

 but in this country he believes there is no use for them. The 

 diet of worms is to them unpalatable, they can be forced to 

 partake only by actual starvation. An insectivorous diet, he 

 chums, is only an occasional variation. Having no natural 

 enemy here, there is uo check to their multiplication. Ten 

 years ago a sparrow was rare, now they are numbered by 

 Countless millions. Dr. Coues believes if this increase 

 be not speedily checked we shall soon be knocking 

 at, the Congressional gates for relief from the 

 scourge. Among ins specifications against the sparrows are 

 the following: "They neglect entirely, or perform very in- 

 sufficiently, the business for which they were imported. 

 lliey : . tight against, dispossess, drive away, 



and sometimes actually kill various of our native birds which 

 are much more insectivorous by nature than themselves. They 

 commit great depredations in the kitchen garden, the orchard 

 and the grain field." These few are, perhaps, the strongest 

 of the specifications, though there are several others which 1 

 have on itted. Dr. Coues suggests that the authorities of 

 some large city, preferably'Boslon, "where the sparrow com- 

 bination is strongest," furnish five hundred sparrows, whose 

 stomachs shall be examined by some competent botanist and 

 entomologist together. If noxious insects, he says, shall be 

 found to constitute the greater, or even any considerable, por- 

 tion of their food, he will even then only partially yield the 

 case. He recommends, first, that the birds be left to shift 

 for themselves ; that is, take down all the boxes, stop petting 

 them, mid cease to supply them with building material; 

 second, abolish tre legal penalties for killing them. 



The Nuttall Ornithological Club, which is composed of all 

 the ornithologists resident in and near Boston, and embraces 

 in its corresponding membership ail the ornithologists of note 

 throughout the country, discussed the sparrow a few months 

 since from an antagonistic point. Immediately all the senti- 

 ment of Boston was aroused, and a lively pro and con warfare 

 ensued for a time. But the society was so strongly fortified 

 by scientific study and observation, that the citizens became 

 the crushed and fallen. 



The sparrow question can very properly be classed with the 

 much vexed. His arrival in this country was hailed with 

 great rejoicing, although he brought with biin neither beauty 

 of proportion nor gorgeous attire, and not even the ordinary 

 accomplishment of birds — a well trained voice ; yet so prom- 

 ■ as his advent of special results, that for a while all his 

 foibles and shortcomings, and even his piping tenor and 

 querulous temper were associated with praiseworthy attributes. 

 Very little was ever written upon the subject until within the 

 past few months. In fact no little moral courage was brought 

 into requisition when one dared to assert that he was pos- 

 i of weaknesses, among them a strong preference for 

 an herbivorous over an insectivorous diet. But the tendency 

 of public opiuion has been evident from the gradual with- 

 drawal of the tender caro and petting which for several 

 years has been so lavishly bestowed, and both private and pub- 

 lic expression now begins to be summed up to his discredit; and 

 though there are still a few adherents to the sparrow, he is 

 surely and rapidly losing caste. 



In preparing this paper for the Dana Natural History 

 Society of Albany, no effort was spared to look at the subject 

 from every side. The old files of papers and magazines, in 

 which facts or opinions on the subject were likely to be 

 found, were searched with great care, and notes made both 

 tor and against ; but in the summing up but one conclusion 

 could be reached from my investigation, by the most un- 

 biassed mind, and that was emphatically to his condemnation. 

 The sparrow prefers city life, therefore- in the country, where 

 his depredations are few, and where he has not by numbers 

 and consequent pugnacity overcome all the other species of 

 birds, there is founu the larger number of his small cirele of 

 friends. But his doom is surely fixed, and in the future we 

 may he a wiser people as regardsour importations, because of 

 this experience. 



List op .North Ambkioan Musoi. — We take pleasure in 

 calling the attention of botanists to a work under the above 

 title to be issued about the 1st of May next, by the Bev. A. 

 B. Hervey and Mr. Eugene A. Iiau. This list will make an 

 octavo pamphlet of about 20 pages. In it the genera and 

 species will be arranged in their natural order, and there will 

 be an "Index Generum" at the end. 



By this arrangement the list will serve the several purposes 

 of a check and exchange list, a key to the natural order of the 

 plants, and a guide to their classification in the herbarium. 

 The geographical distribution of the species will be given. 

 Orders are solicited at once, as but a limited number of copies 

 will be printed. The money may be sent on receipt of the 

 list. Price, postpaid : single copies, 25 centB ; 5 copies, $1. 

 Address Uev. A. B. Hervey, Troy, N. Y. 



A Corbkspondent's Request.— " Atticus " sends us the 

 following mild request, which we certainly hope some one 

 will comply with. We venture to hope, too, that when in. 

 the fulluess of time the great work desired shall be completed 

 a copy of it may be sent to us. We certainly should appreci- 

 ate the attention most highly. "Atticus" is notified that 

 the information which he desires is not at present attainable, 

 so far as we know, but we will endeavor to announce the ap- 

 pearance of the work which shall contain it as soon as it is 

 published. This is what our correspondent desires : 



"Will some person,, thoroughly qualified by practical ex- 



perience, have the kindness to give us a full descrir 

 different parasites which are found on fresh-watei 

 and Where to find them, and what is the effect on the lish ? 

 Also, a description of the so-called grub which is said to he 

 found in the flesh of fresh-water fish during the hot weather, 

 its history and effect on the fish, and how to conduct a scien- 

 tific post-mortem examination on fish. 



Wnir-eooK-wiix, oe Night-hawk.— We described these 

 two birds in our issue of Feb. 6 and gave their characteristics. 

 They are entirely different, birds, of entirely different genera. 

 This in answer to James Aiken, of Nashua Falls, N. H. 



Bonapart'b Gull.— New York, Feb. 10. — Editor Forest 



and Stream: Inclosed you will find a description of a bird shot 

 by myself on the Nation River near its junction with the Ot- 

 tawa in Ontario, Canada, August 26. When shot it was stand- 

 ing on a reck near the water in company with a yellow-leg 

 snipe. It was evidently tired out. Should think if a young 



bird of the gull species, but never saw one in that, i b< 



tore. O.-iu you throw any light on the subject? 



Very truly, Kobt. R. Beown. 



Our correspondent's excellent description inclosed with I be 

 above note enables us to identify his specimen as a young 

 Bonapart gull, Lotus (ChrcKocephalus) philadelplda. 



A WINTER TRAMP THROUGH THE 



WOODS. 



SonRAAUENBU-BO, N. J., Feb. 3, IS79. 



MB. liniToB : Game has never taeen scarcer than bow on and west of 

 the Palisades, the locality from which. I write. I spent a large portion 

 of my time last spring collecting, and never Knew a year in w 

 there were fewer nesM. Hooded warblers, however, which have gen- 

 erally been considered stragglers, were rather common in -low wooiis, 

 and 1 discovered four of their nests ; and hawk nests were nnnsunlly 

 numerous, possibly accounting for the scarcity of smaller birds. Men- 

 tioning hawks, a Uuok hawk has nested for two years on the Palisades, 

 bat in an inaccessible locality. 



To retnrn to the present winter, rabbits were the only species of 

 game that were abundant here, and great numbers oi them were snot. 

 They frequented the woods and open fields impartially^ but always 

 made their forms in the fields or In open woods, and never ander wood 

 piles or brash heaps. But quails wtre never scarcer. In all my 

 oologtcal tramps last spring 1 did not find a quail netting, and there 

 was not one shot last fall, where other seasons there have been 

 twenty ; and now within a radius of a mile or two_from where I write 

 there are only two bevies, and they are having a hard lime of It. 



There is now a complete absence of life in the woods. Last winter 

 many of our hardier birds remained north, and one continually heard 

 the cries of the red-headed woodpeckers, for these btrcs remained 

 wl'b ns the entire year hi unprecedented numbers, and because of 

 tbelr consplcnous plumage and peculiar habes were the most interest- 

 ing birds In the woods. 



One would suppose thatlhe heavy snows and continued lowtempera, 

 ture would bring northern birds down, bat although I have been on 

 the looxont for tbem I have only seen one flock of red polls and a few 

 (Inches. One may walk for miles through the woods, and hear naught 

 except the staccato cry of i he nut-hatch, or perhaps catch a glimpse 

 of a downy woodpeckei as he dodges around a limb. Even the blue- 

 jays and crows are missing. The silence becomes oppressive, and 

 one returns home to await the return of spring, when f expect to spend 

 the greatest portion of my time along the stream and in the woods. I 

 do not wisti, however, to convey the idea that there Is nothing of in- 

 terest in the woods during this season, for in midwlnttr many of the 

 characteristic charms of the forest are more plainly seen than at any 

 other time, and there are hours when the very silence and desolation 

 aro a rest to the mind. aliantts. 



Fm- Forest and Stream and Rod and Gun. 

 A CAY AFTER THE DOGS AND 

 THINGS INCIDENT THERETO. 



By Adam Pens, of Yihginia. 



IT was in Hanover County, Virginia, that we bad a hunt, 

 which I shall here attempt to describe. 



On a cold frosty morning of December, 1869, or there- 

 abouts, a party of us met at P.'s at about G a. m. A warm 

 breakfast was served up by lamp-light. Our bill of fare con- 

 sisted of hot coffee, warm breads of several kinds, butter, 

 meats, and last, but not least, stewed oysters ; nor must I 

 forget to mention that all who desired it had a stout appetizer 

 before our meal. 



Breakfast being ended, the dogs were fed lightly, and the 

 horses brought around for the mount. The hunting party 

 consisted of E., B., P., Bk., several others and the writer. 

 Our pack numbered about forty-two as fine hounds as ever 

 ran, at least so I was told. 



A rousing stirrup cup, and see us mounted. E. had the 

 only very fine horse in the party, a large bay, named Prince, 

 King, or something of the kind. I shall call him King. 

 Nevertheless there were some other good and fast horses. My 

 own mount was a long, tall, lank and lean long-legged bay. 

 named Bob. All hands laughed at me and said 1 would surely 

 get a tumble or be left far behind, but I could do no belter, 

 so stuck manfully to my beast. 



£. sounded, his horn. Forty-two dogs gathered around the 

 horses, yelping like so many demons, while the steeds, know- 

 ing and longing for the work before them, began soma to rear 

 and pluDge and the rest simply to champ the bit and prance 

 about. My horse stood bolt upright on his hind legs and 

 missed falling backward— a circumstance which materially 

 altered my opinion of him. In that country we had no whip- 

 per-in, did not couple up the dogs until we reached certain 

 localities, but just let things take their own way. Every 

 hunter, almost, rode with a long switch, and when he saw a 

 dog at fault drove him into li is' proper place. When a clog 

 broke down, or got thrown out, he just went back and staid 

 with the old and cautious riders. 



We reach a forest, and the dogs are sent out. " Hark ! 

 Touch him up, Abe!" came forth from E. " Look him up, 

 Bully Boy." " He went right along there last, night," chimed 

 in B. " Blue and Blackie ; speak boys, speak," chorussed Bk, 

 " Ya-a-h o-o-o-o," came forth from Bully Boy. Talk to him, 

 old fellow," cried B. "Ah 1 boys, that's the dog to have ; just 



look at him now. Listen! He'll have that fox up directly." 

 " Oh! drj up I!.," said B., " that's nothing but a bare." 



Thus chaffing each other, and encouraging the dogs, wo 

 rode on about a quarter of a mile, the old bounds winking 

 quietly along to the left of the road, while the young ones, 

 Bully Boy among them, were makiug things a little lively 

 over some sort Of a track to the right. 



All at once a long, keen note rang out among the old dogs. 

 E 's eyes brlgutenei : i him) coming joy 



as he straightened himself in his stirrups. "Hark!"' he 

 Shouted, "tipeak lo biin, Tempest : Touch him up, old gal 1 

 Go lo her, Abe, and help her, old fellow !" Then, wheeling 

 his horse to the right, lie rode iu among the young 'oris, 

 saying, in the most animated but iow tone of voice, " Hush ! 

 Hush! Hush: The other hunters rod. aroundatnongt.be 

 bounds which were di I He ing the same expres- 



sion, and 'twas wonderfti to see how the dogs would stop, 

 prick up their ears, and I hen dai 1 'iff to Tempest and Old Abe, 

 who were piokingup quite a lively track. 



Then followed a sight and some music that would thrill the 

 heart of any b n1 i ie track was getting warm, andpug's 



'■ -i.'iiit. Each one of forty -two hounds wuq 



striving to gel foremost on the trail, not "running yet, but 

 bounding and bouncing the one over the other, and giving 

 mouth, or whenever the fresh scent struck upon thell 

 smell I saw Old Abe lhrow up his bend and bound forward. 

 At the same time E. beckoned to me, and we shot toward a 

 little opening and stopped on the edge of the wood. 



"Look! Look !" said he, "-there goes Reynard's brush.'* 

 Reynard pulled into It thicket a quarter of a mile ahead as the 

 dogs came by us out ol the forest. With the dogs came the 

 huntsmen, and then with a yell, in sound like the well-known 

 Confederate yell when the liens were ah rut to rush into bat- 

 tie (none of your stale "View Halluos!" nor your tame "flip, 

 Uip, Hurrahs!"), pell iuell they followed through the first 

 run, until the dogs came to a balk. The thicket into which 

 we saw the fox run was a small one and couldn't screen him, 

 so our first rush was for two good miles. Bob came in third 

 M I Jell, better. 

 When we reached the dogs they had bothered over a piece 

 of frozen ground, but we soon got them off again. Our game 

 was an old red, and he now went to work with a vim to save 

 his trophy — his brush. "We jumped him at u a. m., and he 

 forced us lo put in a whole day's hard riding. Let's pass over the 

 dslails of the day and come in on ~ the home stretch, so to 

 speak. 



'Tis nearly sundown as E. P. Bk. and myself ride out of 

 the woods intoa large flat field, one half a mile wide, bounded 

 On the side opposite us by the Pamunkey River. The dogs 

 are coming through the woods to the right of us, and our 

 four horses are the only ones that can keep up. " He'll strike 

 for the river and go to hole," says £., " but let him save bis 

 jacket if he can." 



AVe miss seeing the fox, but the dogs break out near us, 

 running at a marvelous pace considering their day's work. 



s not mora than twenty in the ranks, and 11 

 si rung out over a hundred yards. Fifty yards ahead ol all 

 Old Abe is bounding, head and tail up, giving mouth every 

 two or three ep it Choni isicol I i i y is soul stirring, 



- I mean business. They know a 

 wedothaf 



We reign up our steeds and nerve ourselves for another 

 rush. Away we go, Bob this time ahead, King having struck 

 lame, and P.'s and Bk.'s horses not having the bottom to com- 

 pete with him. Right close up to Ihe bounds he thundered, 

 running better than he did in the morning and breathing 

 as easily as in an evening's canter. Tim other i 

 running close together nearly one hundred yards behind. I 

 hardly recognized myself beating three cracks in that way, 

 hut I was doing if, and felt proud too. 



But see! The dogs are leaping a low fence, disappearing 

 down into a ditch covered ivith dead brush and clambering 

 Out on the other side. Behold! They are off again, and 

 must I follow > This horse will break my neck, they said. 

 He can't jump. But. do or die, 1 think, and at it t go. I 

 bold an easy rein, and dig my knees hard into his side. No 

 riding in stirrups for such a leap aS that, at least not for me. 

 Give mea tight, firm seat, with legs free to jump if he falls., 

 though I hope to break the jolt by slightly bearing 

 stirrups if he lands safely over. Thi fiOnj 



feet in the air, and clears with ease a Bpacent 

 twelve feet. Safely over, the nest minute [am B Oping 

 along on a line with Abe, who is flying up the rivet 



Where toe the other boys? I saw 'their burses balk, and 

 I ■( lie it „■: ,■ ■ l',,r :■ tin I ,ir urojijla. " Surely 1 shall 

 get that brush," says f. Abe bothered a little and I held Hub 

 in. Suddenly Bk. rushes past me on up the river. I let him 

 go and say nothing. I look back and see P. spring from bis 

 horse (he is on the opposite side of the ditch from me at the 

 mouth where it enters the river, forming a gully impassable 

 for any horse) and rush headlong in'o the timber down under 

 the river bank. E. is just disappearing around a clump of 

 side of the ditch with P. Abe wheels 

 and darts like lightning down the river. I turn and dash 

 furiously toward the yawning gully. When there, I spring 

 from Bob. clamber across and run"with all my speed to where 

 I saw P. disappear. I reach him and, behold, he is standing 

 quietly with E , both loosing at a den into which the fox has 

 just, entered. The cunning scamp had doubled under the 

 bank and cheated the fastest dog and foremost rider out of a 

 hard earned brush. Such is life. 



We dug Pug out, intending to have another runout of him, 

 but by bad management an unruly dog got bold of him and 

 crippled him so that we had to kill him. We rode to B.'s to 

 spend the night, arrived there after dark, and E. , 

 usually the case, waved aloft the trophy of the chase, he hav- 

 ing got first to the den. 



Some fine old rye and a warm supper set us all to rights, 

 after which the song and joke went round. Tour humble 

 servant, being called on for a song, gave tbem on the Suur 

 of the moment the following, which E., the hero of the day, 

 is supposed to have rem I: 



THE FOX HUNT, 

 Cull up the dogs; come, wind your horn ; 

 Toe hers s, sue, nave bad ttieir corn. 



, Mount yom si- I .. ring- 



Here, groom, bold aard whue I lues Klug— 

 We'll tly tu.day in.e birds a-wing 

 j»nd raie for Keyuard's Biush. 



We reach a won], list Tempest's cry ; 

 in, and bye-and-bye 

 la Music's voice; nest, Bally Boy— 

 is leap for J"V— 

 The covir's broke— "Uuut*rueu! Ahoy! 

 11a ! T i it Brush I 



With shout— Ha! on ! Away I Away! 

 O'er hill tind dale we'll raoeto-flay. 



■ Hark I There he went 1 Speak to him, hoys; 

 Pas from the Jninp. This moieauaoya 

 < ad hug r.iiun holy prayer alloys 

 The Ploys of Satan's boui." 



