506 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



unless some calamity befell them. I have no doubt they 

 continued to grow until they crawled off as fully develr 

 oped snakes. I saw this with my own eyes and know it 

 in be true. I could not be mistaken. Was not this a 

 clear .case of the spontaneous generation of life? What 

 do the philosophers have to say about it? 

 Houston, ■/'eras. N. A. T. 



This is a venerable popular superstition for which, we 

 need hardly say. there is not a shadow of foundation, 

 Of course we do not doubt our correspondent's statement. 

 but we fee) sure that his observations were at fault. In 

 other words, thai :the snakes which he saw were not partly 

 horse hair. The history of the Gordius and its allies is pretty 

 well known. They pass their larval stage as parasites in 

 the intestines of other animals, and the adult stage in the 

 water and mud. They have not the remotest connec- 

 tion with horse hairs. A complete account of the hair 

 worm is given by Dr. Leidy in the American. Entomolo- 

 gist and Botanist. May, 1870. 



Jumping Her Claim. — In one of my boy-day excur- 

 sions after eggs. I came upon an old hen and 'a quail, 

 both occupying the same nest. It wasamong the bur- 

 docks baclc of the bam. As I came very near stepping 

 on them they scattered, and disclosed a "nest containing 

 three quail and two lien's eggs. Biddy, according to her 

 kind, had appropriated the property of another, but the 

 quail refused to surrender her rights, and thus I found 

 them iu joint occupancy. Miles. 



It would be interesting to learn the sequel of this curious 

 partnership, how the young were divided, etc. We pre- 

 sume that our Correspondent has, however, no information 

 on these points. 



Cvlli.ntles ix Canada.— While in Canada recently 

 Mr. dhas. HaUock learned that a female Florida Gallimd'e 

 (#. galeota) was captured alive on June 3d, at Lake St. 



Charles, near Quebec, and another specimen was recently- 

 taken in the same section, which has been mounted and 

 is now in the possession of a gentleman residing there. 



AlsraiHH.— A Correction.— In our issue last weeks' 

 article on Albinism, page 188, for "judgment'' read 

 pigment, and for "snakes " read hawks. As it stands now 



the sentence is nonsense. 



Castration of Squirrels. — Our friend James M. 

 MeUaiiii. of Bridgeport, W. Va., inquiring about this 

 subject will fmd it fully treated of in F< (REST AND STREAM, 

 volumes IX., X. and XI, 



The NOthASi Bummo*.— The July BuBitAn appeals on time as 

 U3ual, and its contents (equally as usual) is varied and attractivi 

 Mr. Ridgway opens the number with an article on the Use of 

 Trinomials in Zoological Nomenclature, in which he takes tb< 

 ground, now generally held by eis-Atlantie workers, that the 

 adoption of trinomials Is necessary, not only because thiscoi 

 will greatly simplify the question Of nomenclature, but also be- 

 cause such terms express "better than any others yet tested 

 the relative rank of the forms which have to be recognized by 

 name." Mr. Henshaw contributes to the present number two 

 valuable articles, one on TwdUS PaRasii and its Allies, and the 

 other on Melospiza melodia and its Allies. Both of these are 

 thoughtful studies and are veritable additions to our knowledge 

 Ol the genera to which they refer. 



Mr.Scott's article on Birds Observed during the Spring Migration 

 iu Western Missouri, is interesting as such lists always are, and the 

 same may be said of Mr.Mearns Partial List of the Birds of Fort 

 Klamath, Oregon, collected by Lieut. Willis Wittich. 



In an article on the Rocky Mountain Golden Eye (Bucephaia 

 idandicu, liy Dr. J. M. Brown, considerable Information which 

 will bo new to most of our readers is brought out, and our knowl- 

 edge of the habits and range of this species Is much eularged. In 

 Notes on Lower, Minnesota Birds, Mr. T. S. Roberts contributes 

 some interesting facts with regard to nine species of the most im- 

 portant announcements being that the Florida Gallinule «3 

 QaLeata) apparently breeds abundantly in Minnesota. The de- 

 partments devoted to Recent Literature and General Notes, 

 very full of interesting matter. 



In looking over the back numbers of the. Bulletin we notice that 

 a marked though gradual change has taken place in the charade 

 of the articles contributed to It ; though whether this Is to be at- 

 tributed to its editing or simply to the lapse of time and con 

 (jucnt mental growth of its contributors, we hesitate to say ; p 

 liably both these factors have combined to bring about the change. 

 It is oerta in, however, that the -Btrttefin has steadily impro 

 and takes higher rank now as a scientific periodical than evei 

 fore. We miss now the tendency to "gush " and ;flne writing 

 called, which we used sometimes to see, and which though often 

 very pleasant to read, and no doubt tending to make the Bulletin 

 popular with a certain class, was in the estimation of many c 

 £hOlpgJSts a waste of valuable space. The Bulletin comes tot 

 such short intervals, that many of us grudge any use of thepages 

 Which does not bring us some positive addition to our knowledgi 



The change which has taken place will, we arc sure, give the 

 Bulletin a stronger ^scientific position, and will not, we think, 

 lessen its popularity with any class of its readers. 



Raining Toads and " Sich."— Last Saturday, after the 

 very heavy rain, vast multitudes of little toads were ob- 

 served in the suburban towns along the Erie road hopping 

 around. People used to think they rained down, but now 

 they understand that they have been nicely tucked away 

 in the deep, damp ground, and have come to the surface 

 for a more abundant supply of moisture. After any heavy 

 rain which happens after a protracted drouth it is com- 

 mon to observe great numbers of toads, land frogs, liz- 

 al'ds, craw-fish and angleworms crawling over the sur- 

 face. 



— A Gun Club has been organized at Glean, N. Y., with 

 membership of fifteen. The following are tbe officers : 

 President, Hollis W. Moore ; Vice-President, Selden J. 

 Madge, M.D.; Secretary. Myron A. Dodge ; Assistant Sec- 

 retary, Frank H. Oakleaf ; Treasurer, Charles A. Still, 

 Regular matches every Monday. D. 



pr^ $ieimel 



Breaking Spaniels, — The many enquiries that come 

 to us for field spaniels lead us to say that it is not only 

 difficult to find these, dogs already broken, but that there 

 is no reason why even' one who desires to shoot over 

 them should not break them themselves. For after all, 

 the only breaking a cocker requires, if be is well bred, is 

 house or yard breaking. Obedience is the first principle, 

 and the field breaking consists almost entirely in teaching 

 him to range close, to come in at shot, and to keep his 

 eye, when possible, on his master. As the cocker gives 

 tongue, or should do so, on striking the close scent of 

 game, of course he does not point, but flushes his bird, 

 giving notice by his quick, impatient yelp when it is on 

 wing. His " nose " should come to him naturally, and he 



oan be easily taught to retrieve if necessary. As the set- 

 ter is popularly supposed to be the descendant of the old 

 setting spaniel, it is possible that the latter dog. of the 

 present day, could be made to set or point also, but tin's is 

 neither desirable nor necessary, Woodcock shooting, for 

 which cockers are principally used, is done in very thick 

 cover, particularly in summer, and it is desirable that the 

 dog. by his bark, should give notice not only of the where- 

 abouts of the. game, but of his own. it is very common, 

 particularly in summer, when the cover is very dense and 

 it is almost impossible to see a dog, to put a bell on his 

 neck, so that by the tinkling of it the gunner may be kept 

 appraised of the direction in which his dog is working 

 We believe that cockers can be made very useful in our 

 ruffed grouse shooting, and we hope to see those merry 

 little dogs come into more general use. We shall shortly 

 print a cut of some celebrated field spaniels. 



ENGLISH SETTER BITCH NETTOWITZ. 



(The Proi>ekty or 0. Z. Mn.Br, Esq). 



Me. Mtley's Kennel.— Tn another column Mr. C. Z. 

 Miley, of Lancaster, Pa., advertises for sale his entire 

 kennel of (logs, comprising English, Irish, and Gordon 

 setters, and pointers, all of fashionable blood. Among 

 the English setters is the bitch Nettowitz, by Carlowitz, 

 out of Queen Bess, whose portrait we print in this issue. 

 Among the Irish setters is the imported dog York, an 

 excellent stud dog. This sale offers an excellent oppor- 

 tunity to any one wishing to establish a kennel to obtain 

 some first-class animals at reasonable prices. 



The Leonbero Dog.— Mr. W. E. Sterling, of Philadel- 

 phia, writes us that on July 15th he received by steamer 

 ZeeUmd a magnificent specimen of the Leonberg dog di- 

 rect from the kennels of Baron Essig, He is ten months 

 old, and has the color and appearance of a young lion, 

 and is in every respect a worthy representative of that 

 celebrated strain of dogs. Of the two imported this 

 spring, but one survives. "Sultan," who is even larger 

 than "Caesar," though three months younger, standing 

 thirty inches high, weighing 100 pounds, and still grow- 

 ing like a weed. Mr. Sterling can have no fear? for 

 Sultan on account of his teeth, as dogs of his age some 

 times still have all their temporaiy teeth. 

 ♦ 



Gordon Setters Shot 3d and Di 2d,— At a recent 

 visit made to the home of the genial old sportsman Uncle 

 Tom Jerome, we had the pleasure of examining a fine 

 brace of true Gordon pups two months old, by Roger 

 Shot, Jr., he by Copland's Shot, out of Belmont's Nerah, 

 dam James R.'Tillev's prize-winning bitch Di, she out of 

 Tilley's Mali, by Dr. Gantier's Dandy. This dog and 

 bitch had just lawn sold to Mr. Thos. Warner, one of the 

 well-known New street brokers of a sportive mind, at a 

 high figure. 



— Geo. D. MacDougall, of Toronto, claims the name of 

 " Brown Bess " for his all liver-colored cocker bitch, (im- 

 ported stock) one year old. Also "Cora" for all fiver- 

 colored bitch pup,* (Rollo.— Brownie) whelped April 28, 

 1879. 



—Mr. Fred. McOwen, of Philadelphia, claims the name 

 of " Earl " for his black and tan Gordon dog pup— out of 

 A. E. Godeffroy's "Rhoda," sired by same gentleman's 

 "Tandum." 



— Dr. C. E. Wing, and W. H. Cowing, of Boston, claim 

 the name of " Countess Lucas," for bitch bred by Harvard 

 Kennel Club— out of imported Countess Vesta— by Cham- 

 pion Drake, owned by Luther Adams, Esq. 



—Mr. AVm. Simond's English setter bitch Puff has 

 whelped eight puppies, sired by Mr. Leavitt's Sir Lancelot. 



The English setter bitch Fannie, owned by Mr. W. H. 

 Brown, of Packers ville. Conn., whelped on the 17th inst. 

 twelve puppies, eight dogs and four bitches, sired by Mr. 

 Ethan Allin's Chick. 



—The black pointer bitch.GUlespie's Fan, the property of 

 G. G. Barker, Esq., of Boston, whelped on the 13th inst. 

 eleven puppies, sired by Mr. Fisher Howes' Rex. 



— On July 22d the English setter bitch Abby (Young 

 Laverack-D*ido) whelped eight fine puppies, sired by Mr 

 Raymond's Guy Mannering. 



— Mr. De T. H. Rewinke, of Chillicothe, Ohio, has pur- 

 chased from Mr. Chas. K. Ward, of Detroit, the beaglo 

 bitch Beauty, by Ratter, out of Lad}'. Beauty traces 

 to imported stock, her grand dam being Fannie, winner 

 of first prize at both Detroit shows, and of second prize at 

 Chicago. 



* 



—A splendid brace'of young English setters, imported, 

 and of the very best breeding, is advertised for sale in 

 another column, 



Dog Laws. — A recent issue of the Albany Law Journal 

 contains an article by Mr. Voshon Rogers, which is inter- 

 esting as defining the relations of dogs to their owners, to 

 strangers and to the community. He says : — 



Of course one cannot write an article on dogs without 

 quoting Dr. Watts, so we will do so at once and get over 

 it. ' Let dogs delight to bark and bite.' Their right to 

 bark, at all events, was admitted by Lord Kenyon in a 

 case where one Street proved that his neighbor Tugwell 

 kept six or seven pointers so near his house that Mr. Street 

 and the little Streets were kept awake at night by the ca- 

 nines baying at the moon and disturbed in the daytime 

 by their noisy yelpings. The jury declined to order Tug- 

 well to pay any damages to Street for the nuisance. Lord 

 Kenyon refused a Dew trial, although he said he knew 



that it was very disagreeable to ha k i] bu1 



he endeavored to console Street by remarking that if there 

 was no reform inTugwell's establishment, he might bring 

 a new action and would perhaps then obtain relief. 



In the land of freedom, however. where Columbia's ban- 

 ners wave, strange to say, dogs are not allowed such lib- 

 erty, for it was decided by Judge Nelson forty years ago 

 that one man may lawfully kill the, dog of another when 

 it is in the habit of " haunting his house, and by barking 

 and howling by day and by night disturbs the peace and 

 quiet of his family, if the dog cannot be otherwise pre- 

 vented from annoying him. It would be mockery," 

 quoth the Judge, "to refer a party to his remedy by ac- 

 tion ; it is far too dilatory and impotent for the exigency 

 of the case." 



The law laid down in this hitter case is certainly more 

 pleasing to the natural heart of man than the decision of 

 Lord Kenyon, but its correclnoss may perchance be 

 doubted when we have looked at more "'dog cases " and 

 when we find that the strumming of a piano next door, 

 and the crying of the neighbor's children, are noises that 

 we must expect in tin's world of woe, and to a considerable 

 extent put up with, as was said by Lord Justice Mellish, 

 and that the wheeling of a baby-carriage, the roc Icing of 

 a cradle, the whirling and clicking of a sewing machine 

 and the discordant notes of ill-played music, are sounds 

 which, as a rule, will not be prevented in the present evil 

 age. The Roman law held that it is the nature of dogs 

 when unrestrained to do mischief, and that hence their 

 owner is liable for the mischief they do when unrestrained. 

 Tins was Plato's doctrine as well'. Whether because iii 

 the course of centuries under the mollifying and improv- 

 ing effects of increasing civilization the nature of the do- 

 mestic dog has become essentially changed, or whether, 

 as it is most likely, the English judges were influenced by 



