!i. 189a. J 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



23 



ean happy to know that the Forest and Stream stands to-day 

 without a peer. 



Again I beg to place ray hand in yours with sincere con- 

 gratulations upon your tenth anniversary, and would extend 

 equal couETatnlations to your readers, that the Forest asd 

 STREAM was born aud lived. Syracuse. 



Syracuse, Aug. 1. 



Editor Forest mui Stream: 

 Too late to be in at Hie homing festival. Here I have been 



tag on me 



How grf 



decade. I 



the sea, En 



widely (lis; i 

 cock, from 

 deer, from naou 



knowlcdge-treast 



Go on. Let its 



ined, and 1 



its course, and no 



praises at its Cum 



Onbida Cr.ra, A.l 



ifyingto the sportsmen torecall its record for a 

 •.mi California to Maine, from the Adirondacks to 

 in the wild mountains of the Big Horn, the roll- 

 "l ill • pinnated grouse and the buffalo, the tangled 

 •r\ where of the raff ed grouse, from the foothills 

 „1 the savage grizzly, from the broad 

 il and the lowlands of the. snipe, from the 

 Bd haunts of that dignified deacon the wood- 

 dense wilds of the lonUv elk and the gentle 

 ■ l. v. from ocean, lake, river and 

 okest and Stream radiates every week its 



;ht to 



nl 



t every good object be u. 

 Methuselah will live long e 



object to 



X. (of Cleveland, 0.) 



Editor Forest ptnd Stream: 



Permit me to seize the rope and gi 

 more ring. I congratulate you on 

 richly merited. The successof your 

 just past goes to prove that the Am 

 and will sustain a good thing. They 1 

 the attest," and will do what the 



lr jubilee bells 

 longratulations, 

 the. de< 



r da 



the 



;op ram 



Str 



hav. 



•flocked 



people appreciate 

 in the "survival of 

 ._ ._i have the '•fittest" 

 The best is bound to be in the ascent, and to rise to 

 The genial sparkle of your anniversarv 

 ay through is all the guarantee that you 

 asperity. Twill not venture a guess as to who 

 ier, the worthy editor of the Forest and 

 hearty congratulations and good wishes that 

 loon him like doves to their windows, or 

 President Arthur, upon receiving that beautiful gold-headed, 

 jewel-pivoted and agate-handled reel from the anglers of 

 Louisville. Ky. What good taste they displayed in their 

 choice of an inscription! "For I love all anglers, they be such 

 honest, civil, quiet men." Good for old [zaak! That's what 

 we are. Van. 



Editor Enrrsl and Stream: 



The date of the last issue, of Forest and Stream reminds n 

 that the paper has reached the age of ten years, upon which, 

 .:' i ii- ,."..r -re ■>'-,, 1 wish to congratulate the management, 

 I have been a constant reader of the paper, and an occasional 



:, rasp indent, under two administrations, and having been 

 familiar with most of the sporting literature of England and 

 America for more than fifty years, begin n ing with Colonel 

 Skinner's ''American Sporting "Magazine,"' of Baltimore. lS'i9- 

 '30, I take the liberty of giving my opinion that the Forest 

 AMD Stream, in range of subjects, and ability of treatment, is 

 equal to any of theni and superior to most. "Wishing the 

 paper all success in the future, I remain yours, etc., 



S'amttel C. Clarke. 



Marietta, Qa. 



over the blue waters of the hay, with its restless fleet spread- 

 ing a hundred white wings in the sunshine. All this must 

 have an end, however, and soon the little fellow is sailing off 

 among the houghs, and another warm little life has begun in 

 earnest. Wilmot. 



MESCAL. 



MESCAL is a perennial plant, known in the United 

 States as the aloe or century plant, and is almost an 

 exact though smaller copy of the maguey, from which the 

 beer called "pulque" is made in Central' Mexico. Mescal 

 grows wild in the most arid places. It has u number of 

 large stiff dark-green leave-, with tliorns on the edges and 

 a larger thorn on the end. The leaves grow closely, 

 one lining to the root or the other, up to the top of the 

 plant, and bend slightly outward. In their midst; at Hie 

 maturity of the plant, that is at the age of from four to six 

 years, rises a tall stalk, which bears flowers and seeds. 



The flower stem starts in the rainy season, about July or 

 August, and, if it he left uncut, the planl seeds and withers 

 in the same vear. The leaves of the mescal are quite large 

 when the plant is cultivated, but never reach the s ; ze of 

 maguey leave-, which Bumethnes weigh as much as 150 lbs. 

 apiece. In order to use the mescal, I he (lower stalk in the 

 middle must he eul off. This process, the Mexicans say. is 

 analogous to the altering of a bull or other animal, and they 

 call the plants with stalks cut caponeq. Certain it is that aftet 

 I.he stalk is cut the central growth increases largely, and for the 

 two years succeeding the cutting the Increase in the amount 

 of sugar is estimated at twenty-five per cent, per annum. 

 The central growth formed in the midst of the leaves is 

 called the eabeza, or head, and in shape resembles the bottle- 

 shaped pins of a bowling-alley. At the age of from five to 



Jf#//ffr/ ]§i§torQ. 



THE HOUSE WREN. 



TrurihiiliifrH Aeda/>: 



THE ornaments on the capitals of the columns supporting 

 the front porch have, for the past ten years or more, 

 afforded shelter to the wrens, and every returning summer 

 sees a busy little pair of the "wee things" on hand. Even 

 as i write the air resounds to the sweet trillings of the male 

 bird, who, having regaled his tiny mate with a fat cricket, 

 is perched on the ledge just above her, with wiags quiver- 

 ing, and his little throat swelling with the music of his love- 

 song, which is answered bv the lady, with a comfortable 

 little chur-r chur-r from the twig nest' underneath. On first, 

 arriving there is u good deal "of preliminary fussing, and 

 poking about among the nooks and corners, before they ean 

 make up their minds as to just which one is the most desir- 

 able. This finally settled upon, the work begins, and a more 

 cunning pair of little busy-bodies than they are can nowhere 

 be found, What with hauling twigs and grass, horsehair 

 and string, changing this, and rearranging that, the floor 

 below is quite in a litter. Let us peep in upon them! The 

 rough exterior, with its awkward twig foundations, sticking 

 out till awry, gives no promise of the snug box within. 

 Here we tin(i a cute little cool bed, just about large enough 

 to contain an Easter-egg, so delightfully soft and smooth' 

 that we are lost in surprise at the work of the little artists. 

 How little "missus" contrives to get inside, and turn about 

 without pulling licr tail feathers all askew. 1 cannot imagine. 

 There she sits though, and you can see the top of her little 

 brown head, with its bright eyes, keeping a sharp lookout 

 from the doorway. 



The time passes; and now the little household is stirring, 

 while the evident excitement and anxiety, shown by the 

 parent birds, tell us of the advent of the little strangers.* The 

 trilling and delight up there among the twigs knows no 

 bounds, and all day long, from daylight until dusk, the little 

 "animated music boxes" are flying about, to satisfy the 

 craving appetites of their young. With wings extended 

 they seal" down the hill to the topmost branch of a dogwood. 

 there pausing fi moment to warble in very excess of joy; 

 down they go into the grass, reappearing iu'a few moments 

 with a choice insect tidbit to drop into the hungry little 

 maws. The rapid growth of their young requires a con- 

 stant supply of nourishing food, and crickets, grubs, worms, 

 beetles, in fact, all that creeps or flics that is not, too large 

 for them to handle, is called upon to furnish its quota, arid 

 the destruction of insect life by these persistent little foragers 

 is incessant. 



As the time approaches for the youngsters to Shift for 

 themselves the parent birds employ 'all sorts of devices to 

 coax them from the nest. A favorite and very successful 

 plan is this. A tempting morsel is placed just out of tench, 

 but in plain sight, where it lies squirming and twisting 

 until, no longer able to resist the temptation, a little fellow 

 will totter to the edge of the nest, where he secures the prize 

 as a reward for (he vcutuic. Growing bolder day b\ day 

 as strength increases, the next move is out of the'nest. and 

 by a series of clumsy scrambles, a perch is secured on the 

 ledge above, where our little adventurer squats him down, 

 and with eyes glistening with wonder, looks out, for the 

 tirst time upon the lovely prospect of waving green below, 



the best stills are primitive, while the worst give a very bud 

 result. Wooden stills with a copper kettle below and a. 

 copper condenser on top give the best satisfaction. 



ight years, this cabrm is large enough to cut and use, and 

 this appears to be the most profitable time for cutting. If 

 the plant be left longer, the cahm/. increases somewhat in 

 size and sweetness. "In the /ww/'ovtofMr. Wm. Lanphar, 

 of A.gua Oaliente, in Sinaloa, a plant thirteen years old was 

 cut whose rah. za weighed about, 000 pounds. Four mules were 

 required to carry its divided body, and two demijohns, that 

 is, ten gallons of liquor, were produced from this single 

 plant. To get the mbeza the leaves are all cut short off, and 

 the mass is then severed from the root. This finishes the 

 history of the plant so harvested, hut from the root left a 

 number of sprouts called hijas spring. All these sprouts, 

 except one, are cut off and may be set out separately, but 

 they do not thrive as well as sprouts of the standing plant, 

 A plant set out for one year commences to send out sprouts. 

 These consist of a small bunch of leaves, with a root, at- 

 tached to the mother root. When the sprout is a year old 

 the attachment to the mother root dries up, the plants be- 

 come separate, and the sprout sends out roots of its own. It 

 may then be transplanted. A plant, sends out about five 

 sprouts yearly. The sprouts have great vitality. If pulled 

 up, they may lie on the ground uneared for for a month, 

 and then be planted and nourish, Those that come after 

 the stalk is cut arc not usually made use of, as they come to 

 maturity before attaining good size, so that the reliable 

 sproufs'are those that come between the time of setting out 

 a plant and the time of cutting the stalk. In setting out 

 plants they arc put about ten feet apart. If the stalk be 

 allowed to' seed, plants can be also raised from the seed. 



The ea beza when raw is white, with rather a smartingunpleas- 

 anl taste. To prepare it for use it is roasted. A large hole is 

 dug in the ground, and a pile of wood put; in and tired. 

 Over the logs, when burning, a large number of stones are 

 thrown. When the fire is burned down and the stones are 

 hot, the eabezas are thrown on. If these are small they are 

 put in the hole entire. The larger ones arc cut up into two 

 or more pieces to reduce thein all to the same size. Their 

 usual weight is from 100 to ISO pounds. Over the cabszas 

 in the hole is put a thick layer of grass or cane trash, and 

 then dirt is piled on. After thirty -six hours of this roasting. 

 the starch of the plant is converted to sugar. The caiema 

 arc now r taken out, and have a taste so sweet, as to be rather 

 sickening to those unaccustomed to it, This roasting pro- 

 cess is called talarm, the same word expressing the national 

 method of roasting a beef's head. A hole about six feet deep 

 and ten feet in circumference will hold a charge of about four 

 tons, and will roast two charges a week. • 



The next step in the process is the crushing. A place is 

 built like a Mexican arrantra, that is a circular space about 

 ten feet in diameter, is paved with closely fitting, smooth 

 stones. A post is fixed in the center and a wall of smooth 

 stones about eight inches high is raised around the circle. 

 To the center post a horizontal bar is attached, some ten 

 feet long. This bar turns round the post as a pivot. A 

 mule is hitched to the projecting outer end, while stones are 

 so fastened to the part of the bar within the paved space as 

 to drag on the floor. This is the arrasira for crushing ore. 

 The mill for the Cflffifflfflg differs only in having a stone so 

 fastened to the bar as to roll on the tloor instead of dragging. 

 The stone is slightly Coned inward and weighs about 800 or 

 900 pounds. Such a mill will easily crash to a pulp a ton of 

 roasted cabeat* a day. If any juice is expressed in this pro- 

 cess, it i- reabsorbed bv the fibre. This pulp is then put in 

 rawhide vats called Boftw, water is added and the whole 

 is left to ferment. The vats are seamless and are made by 

 taking a fresh hide and cutting off the projecting parts, so 

 as to leave a nearly rectangular piece, through the sides of 

 which poles are 'passed and the skin is suspended by the 

 poles. The green hide then bellies down, or if too stiff for 

 that, the charge of pulp is put infill the required shape is 

 attained. When once dry these vats are perfectly hard and 

 stiff. Baton usually last but two seasons, say from forty to 

 sixty fermentations, but the raw hide is preferred as a mate- 

 rial" because, like raw meat, it is thought t O improve the 

 liquor. Each of these vuls holds from 500 to OOO pounds of 

 pulp, which undergoes fermentation from is six to ten days. 

 The proper degree of fermentation is determined by the 

 taste and smell of the mash. The mash is now put into the 

 still. The poorer Mexicans distil very imperfectly. Even 



A terraced side hill is chosen for the distillery and a hole 

 is dug in the face of it. Space is left for the lire below, A 

 copper kettle is set in. and over this fits a wooden barrel. 

 Above the barrel is a funnel-shaped apparatus of wood, and 

 to crown the structure is an inverted and slightly tilted cop- 

 per kettle, on the top of which a stream of cold water is 

 turned. The barrels are roughly hewn from the trunk of an 

 iilinno, or Cottonwood. The rnaiti barrel & about four feet in 

 greatest outside diameter and the lower kettle about, three 

 feet in diameter, -while the top one is smaller. The relations 

 of size are shown in the sketch. The funnel top is taken off 

 the barrel and the still is charged with mash. Then the top 

 is put on and a fire is built, below. The fire-place has no 

 Chimney, so the smoke has to get out, by the trout entrance. 

 The distilled liquor passes to the upper' kettle, condenses, is 

 tapped on the lower side and passes through a reed tube 

 laid in a trough of cool water into the receptacle placed at 

 the end of the tube. The product, of this first, distillation is 

 called a low wine, and has a sweetish, unpleasant 

 taste. Alcohol, which distils at 1J6* pusses over first, 

 and the process is kept up as long as any alcohol is 

 left, only stopping when tile product is "pure water. 

 One more distillation in the refining still is necessary lo fil 

 the liquor for use. The skill of the distiller is a great factor 

 iu this matter. The liquid that comes first from the spout, 

 is as before pure alcohol. Then some' of the Water is evap- 

 orated as the heat rises, and is condensed and flows over 

 with the alcohol. Gradualh the percentage of alcohol is 

 lowered, and when that percentage in a given run amounts 

 to about, forty, the process is complete. The attaining of 

 the proper proportion between the earlier and later products 

 of distillation is culled averaging, and is done by » compe- 

 tent man by Hie eve alone, no other test being used. The 

 stills for first distillation hold a charge of about 4. 'ill pounds 

 each, which is worked off in a little less limn eiiiht hours, 

 when the refuse is taken oul with a fork and another ClM 

 put in. 



One refining still can handle the product ef two stills of 

 first distillation, and such a plant turns out fifty or Sixtj 

 gallons of liquor daily . 



The large distillers sell their liquor for about a dollar and 

 a quarter a gallon, but good liquor at retail costs from a dol- 

 lar to a dollar and a ball' a pound, or from eight, to twelve 

 dollars n gallon. Lower grades of liquor are made either by 

 mixing flic alcohol of sugar cane, or by using the first pro- 

 duel of tin inferior still which has no refining still attached. 

 Good mescal is much injured in taste by the addition of 

 water. 



A. remarkable drink is sometimes made in the following 

 way. The mescal when ready for market is put back in the 

 refining still. Over the wooden funnel is hung a very fat 

 turkey, or a couple of very fat hens, also a bag of cloves. 

 and perhaps one of cinnamon, or other spice. The products 

 of distillation as they rise give up a large part of their fusel 

 oil, w hich is absorbed by the fat of the fowls. 1 n r< I urn. i he 

 steam takes up a certain quantity of albumen, and some of 

 the oil of the spices. The result is a liquor of The nature of 

 a cordial, velvety and rich iu taste, without the burn or 

 "cut" of spirituous drinks. This drink is called ]»e/riir/ri. 



The fibre of the mescal leaf is valuable. The leaves cut 

 in harvesting are pounded and stripped of their coating, and 

 the fibre can then lie woven into saddle-cloths, bags, ropes, 



etc: It is quiteiiue and touuii. That the process of getting 

 fibre from the leaf is simple, is shown by the fact that 

 twenty five pounds of fibre are required from a wol kman as 

 his day's task. 



THE SPRINGFIELD RACER IDENTIFIED. 



Editor Zbrest and Stream: 



Let me beg the space of a few lines on the ''snake ques- 

 tion," which. in some form or other makes its appearance in 

 nearly every one of your issues. 



The new snake {(.'. runor) described by your correspond- 

 ent last week from Massachusetts is quite' evidently one of 

 our best-known serpents, the mountain black snake (i , ,v ,, 

 i obsoletut Say), Cope, Check List, p. 30. {tkoiopMs 

 cdleglumiensis, of Balfd and Gir.ird, Cat, No. Am, Reptiles, 

 p. 72), 



This snake somewhat, resembles the common Bttff&i M 

 eomtrictor, but is longer and more powerfully built, although 

 in length it never exceeds six or seven feet. By skinning a 

 large specimen and stretching it out to dry, the minimum 

 length gn-en by Mr, HbrBford might bs readied 1 ; in which 



ease the skin would be less than the actual proportions iu 

 width: hence the supposition that the species is of slimmer 

 build than the black snake. The coloring of a typical 

 specimen would correspond very well to thai given by Mr. 

 11. as characteristic of bis "black racer," as also does its ex- 

 treme pugnacity, which lenders it one of the most incon- 

 venient to handle of all our tioii-vtnomous serpent.-;, in 

 general habits it closely resemble! the bl cl make and the 

 rest, of our tTee-elimbitig snakes. 



But when we come to the tales of its marvelous CUnning, 

 we must be allowed to reserve a doubt. Surely a 

 which, could conceive the idea of striking s farmer across 

 the back and then quickly hiding in the hay behind him, 

 would be so far ahead Of all its face in power of scheming, 

 that the scientific naturalist and the theologian alike might 

 be pardoned for conSi , Blight 



' though it be, to the specific identity of the famous opt 



