126 



FOREST AND STREAM, 



takes to write it, was climbing that same dry hemlock, and 

 precisely opposite the old man, who was still clinging to his 

 frail support. Nowif the bear had gone straightup, as a bear 

 should do,— but no, he did just as a bear always would do, he 

 took a spiral course, and by the time he got about sixteen feet 

 up he was squarely even with the old man's head, and, as bad 

 luck would have it, the loose bark gave way, and down came 

 the bear, old man and scaffold (as he afterward said) all in one 

 promiscuous heap. The bear soon separated and put for the 

 woods, with every dog in full chase, while the boys earned 

 the old geut to the house, with one shoulder broken, a sprained 

 ankle, and, as he said, otherwise badly demolished, and he 

 ever after contended that bear hunting was an uncertain in- 

 vestment, and that he would take no more stock in that busi- 

 ness. Antler. 



SPRING NOTES. 



Salem, Mass., March 17, 1870. 

 Among spring birds recently noticed have been red-winired 

 and crow blackbirds, song sparrows and bluebirds ; also tree 

 sparrows, crows and bluejuys are mating. Harbor open ; 

 Rowley and Ipswich rivers partly open; Essex River all 

 clear. Johnson, of Rowley, shot eight black ducks last 

 week. Greenwood, of Ipswich, shot some whistlers. Snow 

 bunling about gone. Some shore larks left. R. Jj. U. 



Buffalo, N. Y., March 15, 1879. 

 The first snipe in the vicinity this season was report- 

 ed by Mr. W. C. Jacus as shot on the 13th inst. Bluebirds, 

 and robins were seen in number on the 10th. Mergansers in 

 the river for nearly a week. A woodcock was brought in 

 one day this week, killed by flying against a telegraph wire. 



Uncas. 



Good Microscopes.— One of the most necessary aids to the 

 study of Natural History is a good microscope, and, besides 

 its value in this respect, it is one of the most interesting arti- 

 cles which one can own, simply for amusement. We have 

 recently examined with great interest and pleasure a number 

 of microscopes at Gall's, of Union Square, and we desire to 

 recommend these instruments to any of our readers who may 

 be thinking of purchasing one. Mr. Gall's slock includes 

 stands of all descriptions, from the most highly finished ones 

 by the greatest London makers down to those of the most 

 simple and inexpensive stylo. Of object glasses, eye pieces, 

 and all the other belongings of the complete microscope, their 

 stock is not less full. We have ourselves used one of these 

 instruments, and do not hesitate to highly recommend it. 

 Sportsmen will find at this establishment a splendid lot of 

 telescopes and field glasses. Mr. Gall is one of the oldest 

 opticians in New York, and he and Mr. Lanike will be found 

 very agreeable people to deal with. 



Racooons and Muskbats — Clams and Coon Oysters. — 

 These interesting subjects are likely to attract some attention. 

 The clam question elicits two letters this week. Doubtless 

 the Southern coast dwellers can tell us how the coons go down 

 to the oyster reefs at low tide and fillip the precious mollusks 

 out 'of their gaping shells. Sometimes the bivalve closes so 

 quickly that it catches Mr. Coon by the paw, and he dies a 

 horrible death as the tide, rises slowly. You can hear the 

 moaning of the " tied" as the sound of his lastsuffocatinggiilp 

 mingles with the gentle swash of the incoming flood. At such 

 a time the happy mollusk releases his hold and there is a 

 gurgle down below, while the drowned coon and a bubble 

 rise together from the bottom. We have heard that the coons 

 have u habit of slyly dropping a pebble into the open shell of 

 the oyster, whereby they can extract the luscious morsel at 

 leisure. It is only where pebbles are scarce that the raccons 

 run any serious risk. A corner on pebbles would be likely to 

 coiner the coons. D'ye see : 



BEDFORD, O., March % 1S7S. 

 Editor Forest and Stream : 



If Dr. E. Sterling will examine the shells of fresh water clams that 

 have been opened by muskrats, as 1 have often done, he will And nearly 

 all of them with one or more places nicked out of the thin edge of the 

 shells. The rat holds the shell with his fore-feet and inserts hia strong 

 incisor teeth between the two valves, and by a long and strong pull he 

 overcomes the resisting power of the bivalve, and by means of his fore- 

 feet and the iuciaor teeth he tears asunder the strong muscles and eats 

 at ins leisure. 



Tins is no guess work, for 1 have Been the muskrat do it more than 

 once at a certain pLice lu the Mahoning Elver when ashing for the Ohio 

 River pike. T. Uarlick. 



Bababoo, Wis., March 5, 1S7S). 

 Editor Forest add Stream : 



With regard to the muskrat, and the way they open the fresh-water 

 clams, my experience is Unit the rats disable the back of the clam 

 Willi us teeth in some way or other; or, in other words, force the 

 the hinge where moat of the strength lies, then pry it open with ease. 



Ed. Holland. 

 . ■»■ — » 



Linnean Society. — The meeting of March 8 being the an- 

 nual meeting, the election of officers was first in order. Mr. 

 E. P. Bicknell, of Kiverdaleon-the-Hudson, was elected 

 President; Mr. H. B. Bailey, of Orange, N. J., Vice-Presi- 

 dent ; Mr. N. T. Lawrence, of New \ ork City, Treasurer ; 

 and Mr. P. Bennur, of Astoria, L. I., Secretary. Mr. C. 

 Hart Merriam, the efficient president of the past year, goes 

 to his home in Locust Grove, N. Y., to take up the practice 

 of medicine. 



Mr. W. G. Osborn read a paper on the distribution of 

 the genua IJelmintliapliaga. Thin small group of warblers is 

 chiefly characteristic of the United Slates, only one or two 

 species being found as far south as Columbia, in South Amer- 

 ica. Mr. Bicknell read a paper, continuing the subject of the 

 autumnal northward migration of several species of southern 

 nesting birds. This paper was a fuller resume of the sub- 

 ject than one read some time before by him. Taking New 

 England as a field of observation, he noted— first, that acci- 

 dental occurrence of birds out of their usual habit are usually 

 in the fall ; second, the great fondness or knowledge of lo- 

 cality which birds have, as their annual return to the same 

 nesting-places proves. Then, since formerly the zone of 

 tropical life extended northward eyen to the extent of includ- 



ing the now frozen regions of Labrador and Greenland, the 

 fauna naturally had a more northern distribution, and these 

 constant recurrences of southern birds would seem to indicate 

 traces of embryonic origin, especially as they are mostly birds 

 of the year, where this tendency to reversion is most pre- 

 dominant. Instances were cited of the occurrence of the 

 cardinal grosbeak (Cardinal™ mrginiamis) and the great and 

 little egrets (Ardea egretta and candidissima), both of the lat- 

 ter being taken as far north as Massachusetts and the Gulf of 

 St. .Lawrence. Some birds which formerly bred in New Eng- 

 land have entirely disappeared, and these will be found to be 

 centrally distributed, while those occasionally represented are 

 inhabitants of the Atlantic sea-board. 



Mr. Merriam said, on the authority of a resident, that a 

 pair of white egret, with their young, had for a number of 

 years been in the habit of coming to Lake Saltonstall, near 

 New Haven, Conn., late in August and remaining for some 

 weeks. An extract Irom a letter from Mr. Thos. W. Wilson, 

 of Lentes Landing, Florida, giving an account of his taking 

 some fine specimens of the ivory-billed woodpecker (Campe- 

 philus principalis) at that place this winter. This bird is not 

 at all abundant, and specimens may be regarded as good addi- 

 tions to one's cabinet. 



Cost ov Importing Migratory Quail. — Our readers 

 know that there is a general movement on foot to import mi 

 gratory quail to America in quantity, several parties in differ- 

 ent parts of the country having filed their orders with the 

 Boston gentleman who has undertaken the shipment. There 

 has been some indefinite idea as to the exact cost of importing 

 these birds The following letter will make the matter plain: 



Boston, March 17, 1879. 

 Editor Forkst and Stream i 



Dear Sir— In answer to many inquiries for definite figures 

 as to cost of migratory quail, 1 have written my correspond- 

 ents, and now give you the following statement : I have re- 

 ceived orders for more than 1,000 birds, and the price is con- 

 sequently reduced to Mr. Braim's 10-cage basis, as follows : 



Cost of birds at Messina per cage of 100 birds fls 00 



Transportation to INew York 100 



Foreign exchange, say l percent.... ,, 19 



Total $191 9 



Any person desiring to have his order go forward with curs 

 can send me a postal order for $19.19, with the full address to 

 which he wants the birds sent. Upon their arrival at New 

 York they will be forwarded to him by express, at his ex- 

 pense. Upon receipt of his postal order I will purchase the 

 foreign exchange for him and forward his order, with the 

 other, to Mr. Braim, All orders must be here on or before 

 Wednesday, March 36. No orders can be filled for less than 

 one cage. Hoeaoe P. Tobet, 17 Oliver st. 



Migratory Quail.— We publish the following extract from 

 the letter of a gentleman whose club imported some migratory 

 quail last season : 



"As regards the success of the experiment, I am perfectly 

 satisfied so far, as the birds nested immediately on being 

 turned out and raised fine broods. I myself put up one brood 

 of young migratory quail the last of July, of some fifteen 

 birds over half-grown ; and from the reports of the farmers 

 and others, who were more in the fields than I, I am satisfied 

 that the two hundred birds imported by our club raised from 

 eight, hundred to one thousand young during the past season. 

 The only question now in my mind is the proportion of our 

 birds that will return to us the coming spring. Judge Everts, 

 of Rutland, Vt., imported two hundred a year ago last spring, 

 and his first birds returned in considerable numbers to him 

 last season ; so we are satisfied that they will stay somewhere 

 in the country and will increase rapidly. Our birds reached 

 us here in splendid condition on June 8th, every bird alive. 

 They are a trifle smaller than our own Bob White, but I am 

 satisfied they will make a most valuable addition to our game 

 birds. They have a larger spread of wings than Bob White, 

 and know how to use them. They nest in meadows, grain 

 fields and the like with us, near running water." 



Talmage on Quail. — Rutland, Vt., March 1. — Editor 

 Forest and Stream : The following is an extract from a re- 

 cent sermon by the Rev. Mr. Talmage. Who would have 

 supposed that such fearful danger lurked under the wings of 

 the pretty little "migratory?" Well, danger or no danger, I 

 am willing to take my share of the responsibility, and, Tal- 

 mage or no Talmage, I mean to encourage in every way I can 

 the importation and protection of this the coming game bird 

 of the Northern and Middle States. Here is the extract from 

 the sermon : 



" The next turning point is when man comes to his first 

 great success. That is your trial — your test hour. At that 

 point hundreds of men make a great mistake, and whole cara- 

 vans of camels are going through the needle of their meanness. 

 They become lofty and" walk arrogantly through the streets, 

 as though saying to every one else, ' Get out of the way, for 

 here comes $300,000 !' [Laughter.] Many men, before amiable 

 and kind, when wealth comes are arrogant and haughty. 

 They go driving along at a rapid rate, until too late they find 

 that they are being driven by the fiery feet of eternal disaster, 

 as they come clattering down on the pavements of hell. 

 Winged success often destroys men. It is not the hardship 

 of life that destroys men; it is the flocks of quails." 



M. G. Evbets. 



Epko a— PktttsburgJi, Feb. 26— Editor Forest and Stream: 

 Wl.ilc put shooting about three years ago 1 killed a red squir- 

 rel, nn which was a worm — at least, that is what I should 

 call it- It was in a kind of pouch in under one of the squir- 

 rel's hind legs. The worm was about lj inch long and i 

 inch wide. It was of a dark brown color. Last fall I shot a 

 gray squirrel, and under one of its fore-legs there was the 

 same kind of a worm in the same kind of a pouch. I re- 

 moved the parasite, and tried to crush it, but found that I 

 only pushed it into the ground and could not crush it. The 

 fur of the squirrel around the pouch was all worn off. 



Can you tell me if this worm is often found on squirrels, 

 and if it is found on squirrels only or also on other animals ? 

 I would like any information on the subject. 



Yours respectfully, F B. Johnson. 



These grubs are frequently found on squirrels and other 

 animals. For a more detailed account of them than we have 

 now space, for seeFoEEST and Stbbam, Vol. XL, p. 482, Jan. 

 10, 1879. 



Aianto "Woodcock— Augusta, f?«., Feb. 17— Editor Forest 

 and Stream : There is in the possession of a gentleman in 

 this city a white woodcock. It is entirely of white, with the 

 exception of a slight brown ring around the neck. It was 

 killed two years ago by a negro hunter a few miles from the 

 city. R. 



A " Market Hunter." — This is the way the Boston Herald 

 market reporter dishes it up for the intelligent people of the 

 Hub: 



The novelty in the meat market the past week has been 

 some moose meat, probably from Maine or Canada. The 

 moose, so called, is properly an elk, belonging to the reindeer 

 family. It is a clumsy, awkward, disproporlioned creature, 

 larger than a horse ; can run, trot, leap or swim when occa- 

 sion calls. Its head is too large for its body, and, Audubon 

 says, "forcibly reminds us of that of an enormous jackass." 

 But Audubon must have forgotten the enormous horns which 

 the male moose carries and the jackass does not. The horns 

 of an adult moose are said to weigh from 50 to 75 pounds, 

 while the creature itself weighs from eight to twelve hundred 

 weight. The "majesty" of the moose, which is occasionally 

 spoken of, is rather difficult to see. Both sexes have a 

 mass of coarse hair pendulous under the neck, resembling a 

 short tail, which is anything but graceful. As to the eating 

 qualities of the moose, the flesh is coarse, seldom fat; the 

 yearlings are preferred by hunters; steaks are juicy and 

 sometimes tender ; the tongue is much relished, the marrow 

 of its bones is used for butter, and, upon the whole, it may 

 be made tolerably useful in a hunter's life; but, excepting in 

 the name, does not amount to much in a well supplied mar- 

 ket, and very little of it ever gets here. We are impressed 

 with the idea that it is here now in violation of law iu Maine. 

 Moose, it is said, have been domesticated like the elephant, 

 and taught to draw carts and sleds, but they sometimes get 

 a little impatient and wrathy at particular seasons. 



And the best of it all is that it was caribou I 



WINTER IN THE NORTH. 



Radnor Forges, Prov. Quebec, Canada. 

 editor Forest and Stream .- 



I have j ast returned from a hunt among the lakes and mountains of 

 the Ste Maurice region (47 deg. K. latitude), and am now once more 

 within the bounds of civilization, feasting on the delicious meat of the 

 caribou, with Forest and Stream for mental pabulum. A few brief 

 notes of living objects observed may interest yonr readers. A record 

 of the thermometer fifty miles south of my camp showed 30 degs. 

 below zero tor the coldest day. Snow three feet deep and light when I 

 left camp, rendering snow-shoeing bad. 



Caribou (Rangifer caribou) 1 was so fortunate as to Bee on the first 

 day of my hunt. The largest herd discovered numbered but nine, and 

 In previous hunting I have fonnd no more than thlrtnen together. 

 Herds of thirty or more are not rare, especially where the Bnow accu- 

 mulates to a depth of Ave or six feet in March. But I have never 

 hunted caribou later In the winter than the month of January, and 

 now there is a law prohibiting the killing of them later than Jan. Slst 

 of each season. A family of live beavers (Castor canadensis) were residing 

 in their house near my camp. While cautiously approaching some cari- 

 bou one day, I saw a marten (Mustela americana) in full chase after a 

 red squirrel (" chickaree," Sciums hudtenius) upon the trees. It la a 

 rare occurrence to see a marten alive in the woods. The one in ques- 

 tion, a very line dark-colored specimen, was arrested by a view of me, 

 and poised himself on a branch, where I could have o&stly killed him 

 by a shot from my rifle. Upon the borders of the lakes and streams 

 the northern hareB (Leptti) amerlcanus) abound In limited numbera, 

 and there are a very few foxes in the locality. The tracks of a species 

 of mice were seen, but none of the animals themselves. No other ani- 

 mals than those mentioned were observed. I was surprised at the en- 

 tire absence of those usual camp habitues, the Canada Jays, known by 

 the various local names of "Moose-bird," "Pee," "Pork-bird," 

 "Whiskey- Jack, "etc. Nor did I see a single cross-bill (Curnirottra). 

 No willow grouse (Ptarmijan) have as yet been seen In the vicinity. 

 The Tete de BuU Indians have a saying that ".When it rains in ilia 

 North the white partridges (Psrdrix blanche) move South," and it ia 

 usually In the spring that they are most frequently seen in Canada. 

 They are very plentiful here at times, and some years none at all are 

 sean. The ruffed gronee and Canada grouBe were seen near 

 camp, the downy woodpeckers (Picvs pubescens), three-toed wood- 

 peckers (P. areticus), titmice, snow buntings, red-poll linnets, and one 

 owl. The latter waB seen flying across a lalce at too great a distance to 

 determine the species. Two days were needed to come out from 

 camp, and the night I passed In the house of an " habitant." There I 

 saw in a cage a male goldflnch {Chrymmitris tristis), one of several 

 caught from a flock of about sixty of the same species on Feb. 15, 1877. 

 Thla occurred at about 46 degs., 45 mine., north latitude. The snow 

 was very deep at that time, and the weather so cold that some of the 

 birds were found In the snow chilled beyond recovery. 



Caribou hunters know the advantage of having a companion, yet 

 few among my many Bportsmen friends in various quarters of the 

 globe desire the long aud arduous hunting trips that I Improve a) 

 opportunities of taking, and on this loat hunt I was alone. 



Everett Smith. 



Arrivals at the Pnn.iDEi.rniA zoological Garden, Satcrpat, 



Makh S. One Baetrian camel, Camelus hactrianus, born in the garden 



six prairie chickens, Cupiionia cupido, presented by Chas, w. Mat- 

 thews, Esq,, Philadelphia ; une otter, Lutra canadensis, purchased. 

 Arthur K. Brown, Gen. Supt. 



ARRIVALS AT THE PHILADELPHIA ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS FOR THE 



Week Ending March 15.— Two garter snakes, Eutainia sirtalis, pre- 

 sented by Dan Williams, Phlla.; one quail, Oryx virginianus, presented 

 by A. J. Onderdonk, Phlla.; one male leopard, Felispardw, purchased; 

 three sireua, Snen laartina, presented by Dr. G. E. Manlgault, Char- 

 leston. S. O.J one canvas-back duck, Aythya vallisneria, presented by 

 H. W.Biddlo, Phila.; one blaok bear, Ursus americanus, presented by 

 JotmE. Fry, Johnstown, Pa.; one Hacker, Colaptes auratux, presented 

 by John Pearaall, Phlla. Akthcr E. Brown, Supt. 



Animals Received at Central Park Menagerie fob Week Endiho 

 March 8.— One mink, Pviorim h'sm, presented by Qeu. L. t. V. Apple- 

 by, New Jersey ; two polar bears, ITrsvs maritimus, two black leop- 

 ards, Felis leopardus; one black camel, Camelus dromedariua ; thlrty- 

 flye monkeys, vaTlous species ; gray parrots, yellow-crested and Robs 

 cockatoos. w - A - Conklik, Director. 



—The Governor of Florida has signed the joint Legislative 

 bill authorizing the construction of a railroad between Jack- 

 sonville, at. Augustine, and the Indian River. This will be 

 a most important link to tourists. 



