FOREST AND STREAM. 



485 



qwb : IniSTTwe received from Mr. Bracket!., 



Commissi. young fry, which 



varic is in the State, among 



others in Sunapee Lake, Squam Lake, and a pond in 



Sandwich. 



i in Sunapee in 181 

 inches long : this yearwehave hot heard o£ any from 

 that lake. Ol the lot placed in Squam. one was reported 

 to Die three weeliS since, as having been taken at Ashland 

 on the Squarn River, four miles below the lake, weighing 

 u lbs, 



0S6 placed in SattdwifiSi pond, one was taken in 



May. in a pond two miles below the one in which they 

 Were placed also Weighing lj lbs., and one was taken 

 .Inly a. by Commissioner Power's, while fishing for trout, 

 in the pond in which they were placed. 17-J inches long, 

 and weighing 3 : [ lbs. Tl is is i I ■■■ e • an yet say with cer- 

 tainty as to their grow th. bui we have bo much faith in their 

 adaptability to our waters, thai we have just voted to a'p- 

 jfcopriate $200 Cor the corning season in aid of the Grand 

 Lake Stream enterprise for procuring ova, and also voted 



1300 toward the Buckspbrt enterprise: for procuring the 



eggs of the Penobscot salmon for the Merriinac River, 

 Massachusetts contributing a like sum. 



We have, through the kindness of Prof. P.aird. had a 

 supply of California salmon eggs for the last three years. 

 but tire increase in the salmon crop of the Penobscot has 

 been so great this year, from artificial planting, that it 

 ii:j- been decided to start the works at Bucksport again. 



Besides thiB we are jubilant in the prospect of taking a lot 

 Ill-selves at: the hatching-house at Plymouth this 

 fall." "Commissioner Powers has already taken twelve 

 large salmon, eight females, and one thirtv-eight inches 

 long, and thev are L -oing up the river daily. "Five large 

 fish, estimated at nearly three feet lone: each, were seen 

 all day StUlday, under the Amo,keag Bridge, in this citv. 



[onday they were gone, and Mr; Powers reports 



that all he has taken have been trapped in the night, and 

 found in the morning, so that we suppose our "visitors 

 started up Stream .Sunday night. 



The bill i-1-..r.-.-iliiL- ,ah'non for three years longer,,Or till 



1JJ83, has passed our Senate and got toils third reading in 



i; .: and we bope by the time that its prohibition 



expired, to ha able to invite your stall' to nearer lishing- 



grouuds than the St. Lawrence. Sam. Webber. 



Grows m Cat/cgs.— A gentleman tells us of a marvel- 

 lous sight which he saw on the 2nd day of last. March, 

 wliile he was journeying from Harpers Ferry to Wash- 

 ington. It was about an hour before sunset, and looking 

 down the Potomac river toward the sea, as far as the eye 

 could reach was a continuous flight of crows, moving in 

 a belt about a third of a mile wide, and finally- dropping 

 out of sight over a high ridge on the north side of a 

 mountain lying to the eastward. A resident of the neigh- 

 borhood who was familiar with the movement said the 

 crows were going to their roosting place; and that this 

 phenomena had Occurred every night for years. The 

 flight lasted for a full hour in a steady flowing stream 



Which ended in a circling eddy, as the birds settled down 

 to their roosts, resembling a great black funnel, or whirl- 

 pool. It was a. most amazing sight, and vastly more en- 

 gaging than Bights of pigeons roosting, which are inter 

 mittent ; whereas this was continuous. The birds had 

 do ibtless boi tiered Cor forage .luring the day along the 

 liorei oi the many estuaries and tributaries of the 

 Chesapeake, and when darknes, came winged their dusky 

 flight back to their appointed rendezvous. The last bird 



Hsi have arrived late to bed ! 



ALBINISM. 



rare kinds of birds that winter in our northern latitude, anp 

 it is at that time, other food being scarce, that they are in 

 especial danger front snakes, owls, foxes, &C, Now hi that 

 season of their greatest danger, those of them that have 

 any decided amount of white in their plumage, will of 

 course, be less likely to catch the eye of their hungry 

 enemies: hence this variation from the type, instead of 

 being killed off, should increase and multiply. 



It we consider the presence of white feathers in the 

 plumage of birds as a variation, it is strange thai in 

 other way do we find variations to such an extent. Cen- 

 turies and centuries are required to roll on before we find 

 any marked change of type, yet here we see the color of 

 the entire plumage radically changed from one individual 

 to its progeny. We see a bird, every feather of which, 

 with the exception say of the primaries of one wing, is the 

 exact counter part of tic- ..-.it- ;■: ■■_■ u i tor, in color mark- 

 ing. &c. Those thai differ, are pure white: issue! a 

 variation Of type found elsewhere? Inasmuch as we 



know that this whiteness is due to the absence of pigment, 

 are we not justified in regarding it as an imperfect de- 

 velopment, rather than a variation? Mic Mac. 



One or two points in ■• Mic Mac's '' communication we 

 desire to notice very briefly and the otheis we leave for 

 the consideration of our correspondent M. 



Mic Mac says, speaking of the inherent tendency to 

 variation in animals, acknowledged to exist: by all biolo- 

 gists, that tbeahangea are generally, so to speak, of a 

 progressive nature," and by "progressive." we assume that 

 he means favorable. This statement, according to J 

 theory of natural selection, as enunciated by Darwin, is 

 decidely incorrect, though it is very commonly believe.! 

 to be one of the principles upon which the development 

 theory rests. The truth is, however, that there is no more 

 tendency toward variation favorable to the animal than 

 toward that which is unfavorable!. But the animal in 

 which unfavorable variation lakes place is not likely to 

 survive, and so transmit its peculiarities to its Offspring! 

 so that an unfavorable variation would not lie transmitted, 



nd in the 



o slight a 



of to bt 



id ha 



.-.tie 



Boston, June 39th. 

 Editor Forest and $treaMt— 



IN the remarks which you append to the extremely lucid 

 and interesting communication On Albinism, by M,, in 

 your last issue, you have, 1 think, struck the key n. fceol 



n, bui i( seems to me that the subie I b -ul- 



neeutly interesting to permit following it a little further. 

 M, objects to the term partial Albinism, on the ground 



that the individuals who have that peculiarity are simply 

 the many instances of more or less variations 

 Erona thi perfect "type of their species. Even admitting 

 this, the term might still be used with propriety as being 

 a simple way of showing the character of the variation ; 

 . C go 1 eyond, and claim that the term is an appropriate 

 o te ■ the individuals are not mere variations of type, 

 but ate instances of tin imperfect, mid not of a different 

 i lit. As you say. why should the variation be 

 confined to white? Albinism, may be a disease, in the 

 sense of being different from the normal perfection, but it 

 is due to the absence of judgment, and consequently an 

 imperfection, and as such it seems to me a very differi n 

 thing from the claimed universal tendency to change 

 (generally SO to speak, of a progressive nature) on which 

 build their theory. There is nothing to 

 i 1 1 Uranism can be more appropriately compared. 

 ihelli ■! egg, which is iii every respects a per- 

 fect egg, exoept that it lacks the calcareous salts which 

 are needed to form the shell : yet one could hardly say 

 that a soft shelled egg was a variation of type. That this 

 imperfect developiru.nl lalbinism) mav be" transmitted to 

 progeny, 1 ant not prepared to deny, indeed, the distinct 

 breeds of white rabbits and mice would prove that it is, 

 but l should regard it rather as the perpetuating a morbid 

 tendency, as is the case with tubercular, cancerous and 

 scrofulous disease, and insanity, than as the handing down 

 a variation from the original stock. 



The doctrine of the survival of the fittest is a very taking; 

 one, but in the case of quail and English sparrows, it 

 seems to me that it would work exactly the 

 lis state;" i !. the time of u, 



- Is is during the winter, when the g] on. . 

 covered with snow, They are two of the comparatively 



Which it first takes place migiit be 

 noticeable. The animal in which 



favorable, however, as it is likely to live. 



oi which may inherit the advan- 



and which again would transmit this 



lescendants, would be likely to give rise to 

 a race or variety in wdiich the change would be so strongly 

 marked as to lie at once recognized. Thus the favorable 

 variation alone would be brought to the attention of ob- 

 servers, while the unfavorable one, never having a chance 

 to become pronounced and well marked, would always be 

 overlooked. Mic Mac's reference to thequail ami English 

 Sparrow, though plausible at first sight, is evidently not 

 to the point. It is true that during the winter, a white 

 bird would have an advantage over its dark colored 

 brethren, but it must be remembered that the ground is 

 covered with snow only tiii- two or three months .luring 

 the year, and ti.at. foi the remaining nine or ten. the 

 ughl C Iored bird would be much more exposed to the 

 attacks of its enemies than if it were normally colored. 

 Some birds and mammals, as Mic Mac of course knows, 

 which inhabit those regions where the winter lasts for 

 half the year, become white at the approach of winter, 

 and, when, the snow melts in spring, resume their dark 

 covering. The ptarmigan and the Arctic hare are cases 

 in point, and there is no doubt that the changes of color 

 which they undergo are protection, and have probably 

 been brought about by the peculiar conditions by which 

 they are surrounded. 



Other points hi Mic Mac's letter we leave, as we have 

 said, to our friend M. to answer. 



Curious if True.— Mr. F. C.Browue, a well-known 

 naturalist of Framingharn, Mass., sends us the following 

 excerpt from a local paper, which he behoves from care- 

 ful inquiry to be authentic, though lie is not personally 



cognizant of the incident narrated : — 



The railroad employees of this and other sections are 

 very much interested" in the movements of a pigeon clur- 



b g the past few days, the facts of which are as follows : 

 Since Thursday of last week, a beautiful white and slate- 

 colored dove, of what is known as the "Tumbler" variety, 

 has followed Conductor O. Smith's northward hound 

 freight train on the northern division of the Old Colony 

 Railroad, daily, from a point about one mile this side of 



within a lev IV* tie engineer, and, for a part of the 



way. beside the engineers window, within two feet of 

 his hand as he stretches it toward her. Occasionally she 

 falls back to the rear of the train, as if surveying it. but 

 only to resume her wonted place a moment later. The 

 engineer baa tried several times to run away from the 

 beautiful bird by putting on extra steam, buttonopur- 

 ■ ..-.-. . - she seems to have the wings of the wind. When 

 : trail] passes under a bridge, the dove mounts grace- 

 fully above it. and fumbling immediately to its place 

 again on the other side. Mr. Warren Cutting, the en- 

 gineer, seems to be the favorite of the strange visitant, 

 and all of the (rain men I.e.... watched the peri 

 with the most lively Interest Some think that this un- 

 expected experience i„ ,.],■< evil to the train and its men. 

 while oti.ei : -:: the bi ' .i is a forerunner of good luck. 



nerves. Their unclean and saucy habits render them de- 

 cidedly obnoxious. Bread soaked in strychnine solution 

 does not seem to thin them out. If Dr. Coues (or any 

 other naturalist) lias at his pen's point a mixture that will 

 "take them off," he would confer a favor by printing it. 



E. E. DUCAIQNE. 



SiNGINS Mice.— John L. Schofield, of Blackville, North- 

 umberland Co., New Brunswick, Canada, enjoys occa- 

 sional visits from a singing mouse which domiciles in his 

 store, He says I 



"I think it is a common house mouse, as I could not 

 see any difference between it and other mice I have seen. 

 It appears to enjoy singing very much, keeping up its 

 notes for over an hour at a time, with only slight inter- 

 missions (this it does every evening). Its singing, some- 

 times, somewhat resembles the song of a canary : and, at 

 oilier times, it sounds like water dropping rapidly from a 

 height. I never hieard of any singing mice in America." 



Singing mice are not very- uncommon ; and numerous 

 facts on the subject have been pubbshed hi the past in 

 Forest and Stream, and in other journals. The cause of 

 the singing lias never yet. we believe, been satisfactorily 

 explained. 



Ai.tm.vroRS Ashore.— The following communications 

 refer to a letter published in Forest and Stream last 

 May :— 



Surf oik, li(., May 83d.— Your correspondent, 8. C. C, 

 writing from Marietta, Ga., speaks of seeing what he 

 terms an " Upland Alligator'', and seems surprised that he 

 Should have seen him basking in the sunshine, on a public 

 road. His appearance can easily be accounted for. 



Alligators when dissatisfied with their places of abode, 

 either on account of scarcity of food, or severe drouths 

 drying up the ponds in which they live, pack up and go 

 without ceremony, sometimes traveling long distances in 

 their search for deep water. 



I am a native of Florida, and for several years culti- 

 vated cotton on a plantation, on either side of which was 

 a fresh water pond, or lake, one of them being very much 

 deeper and larger than the other, and in very dry seasons, 

 when the small pond would become very shallow, I have 

 encountered alligators making their way across niy cotton 

 field to the large lake, and as the darkeys used to say : 

 •' dev weeds a mighty big row", that is to say, their trails 

 are very wide. It is best to let them severely alone, as 

 thev are ugly- customers on dry land. 



While on the alligator subject, I would like to give the 

 readers of Forest AND STREAM an account of a little 

 frolic I had with one when a lad of fifteen. 



On Lake Jackson in Lear County. Fla., we used to have 

 famous duck shooting. On one occasion I was on the 

 lake and had succeeded in bringing down five or six ducks. 

 My dog after retrieving one or two refused to go into the 

 water, so there was nothing left for me to do. but wade in 

 and bring them out myself; which I proceeded to do, 

 fortunately carrying my gun with me ; just as I was in 

 the act of 'picking up the nearest duck, my attention was 

 riveted upon a pair of the queerest looking eyes I ever 

 saw, and it took only a second to determine to what they 

 belonged. You may talk about "quills on the fretful 

 porcupine " standing on end, it faintly expresses the size 

 of the scare under which I was laboring. I had presence 

 of mind enough to throw the gun into position, and ptdl 

 the trigger, fortunately with good effect, After the 

 monster had ceased to struggle I dragged him ashore by 

 1 he tail. He measured just the length of one of our Florida 

 I line fence rails, ten feet. This is about the average length 

 of a grown alligator, but they are frequently twelve to 

 fifteen feet long. W. A. b. 



Another correspondent writing from Femandina, Fla., 

 and referring to the same communication as the proceed- 

 ing, says : — 



It is a very- frequent occurrence to come upon alligators 

 Out in the high dry pine woods of Florida sometimes a 

 mile Or two from any body of water. They travel from 

 one creek or cypress pond to another, and occasionally tho 

 trail made By their dragging tails can be seen in the sand 

 on the travelled roads. 'Gators ten and twelve feet in 

 length thus occasionally take the overland route. 



A. B. C. 



ffie Rennet 



THE DACHSHUND. 



As to Bkcbeasikq English Sparrows— WteMngton, 

 0, I Turn 7.— Many parts of Washington and Baltimore 



out the "day, to the infinite disgust of people who have 



AT the late Hanover Dog Show a meeting of German 

 dachshund breeders was held and a series of points by 

 which these dogs should in future be judged was adopted. 

 Whether these points wib be adopted at English shows re ■ 

 mains to be seen, but there is every reason to believe that 

 they will be. One important point was settled at the 

 meeting, that was that the German dachshund and the 

 French basset belong to the same race, but the report of 

 the meeting goes on to say that the present basset cannot 

 be considered any longer to belong to this class of dogs, 

 but is only a dwarf form of the chein eotirant ; therefore 

 it differs strongly from the German dachshund in the 

 present day. In commenting upon this question the 

 representative of the London Field, who was present, 

 gives but a qualified assent. He says : 



To my mind, the small-sized hlack-and-tan or red 

 bassets of the present day, being perfect copies of the 

 daehshunde of the same markings. I fail to see in such a 

 ease why a distinction should be made between the breeds. 

 Indeed, there is no difference, and this was proved by 

 the fact that, at Hanover, some half-dozen bassets were 

 entered in the dachshund classes; and I contend that, 

 barring their color, they would have had a right to be so 

 entered, if entered in dachshund ■ hound " classes. And 

 this brings me to the whole question, which to my notion 

 lies in a nutshell, viz., that daehshunde. by weight of 

 fa.-is. should be divided, as I stated in my report last 

 week, into two grand divisions — the :l hounds" and the 

 l ■' terriers". Indeed, the difference in the two types is so 



