886 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



|Dec. 18, 1888. 



renders the matter open to suspicion; i'or the greenish ground 



color is now well known to In; normally spotted The writer 

 in mention lias, however, latterly furnished an account based 

 ii|.ini ample observations— one' which, hi default ol any 



personal experience of au\ one, I lake pleasure in traiisoiib- 



Ing: 



"They nest generally in firs, sprtiiies, w cedar trues, 

 though nccasionally on the upper Munches of a high apple 

 tree. Their nests are usually placed upon a branch, rntner 

 Mian interlaced hclween its J'mkcil Iwigs. I have known 

 them not more than live I'ei I (ront tin! ground, and at other 

 times; on the highest pait of a lolly tirtice. Tin- nests 105 ', 

 for the most part, somewhat Hat and shallow structures, not 

 more than two and a half inches iu height, and about three 

 and a half in breadth. The walls of the nest average less 

 than an inch, and Ihecnvilv corresponds to its genera! shape 

 and torin, The framework of the nest is usually made of 

 small denuded rcgetobie fibres, stems of grasses, strips of 

 bark, ioid woody fragments. The upper rim of the nest is 

 often a curious 'infer! wining of dry herbaceous stems, the 

 cuds of which project, abOVe the nest itseif in the manner of 

 a loiv palisade, "flic inner ne,-l is made up ol minute vege- 

 table iibies, closely interwoven. There is usually no oilier 

 lining than this. At other limes the nests are largely maUi 

 up of small dark-colored rootlets of woody plants, lined 

 with liner materials of the same, occasionally mingled with 

 the down of birds trad the fur of small animals," The eggs 

 are described as varying in size fiom 0.81 to 0.92 of an inch 

 til length, by 0.00 to 0,70 in breadth, their color heinti a pale 

 emerald green, spotted with dark brown, almost black, chiefly 

 about the larger end.* 



How tamiiiar with these agreeable birds the writer of the 

 above paragraph has had the mean- of becoming, may be 

 judged from tiie circumstance that no less than sever, pairs 

 ri sided one summer in his grounds at Iliugbsin. Mass., "and 

 two had ncsis in the same tree, one of which was at least 

 sixty feet from the ground, on the verv top or a tall fir. 

 These several pairs, as a general tiling, lived together very 

 harmoniously, save only when one" would approach too 

 near the favorite Station of another: then the hitter would 

 begin lo bristle up his crest, and give very evident hinls that 

 his presence was no! agreeable. The extreme southern end 

 of i he ridgepole of the house had been, for severtfl summers, 

 the favorite post for the patriarch of the flock, from which 

 ai morning and nt evening he made the neighborhood vocal 

 With his melody If in his absence any other of these birds 

 ventured to occupy his position, there was always sure lo be 

 a disHiflinnee on his return, if it was not instantly vacated. 

 These encounters wet* frequent ami always verv amusing. 



Discicliou usually took I he jilaee of valor on till' pari of the 

 intruder.,' - 



I cannot deny that 1 am inclined lo give my birds the best 

 possible characters, ar.d put them, as it were', on their good 

 behavior when they stl to me for their pen portraits; and no 

 one. I presume, would de-ire or expect me to do otherwise. 

 It is my hearty endeavor lo do lle-m full justice, ami if pes 

 ,ibie to render them as attracth e lo uthprs as they arc to me 

 in every one of their versatile aspects. Yet my treatment 

 of the Knglish sparrow proves, I suppose, rhat 'i would be 

 just before 1 permit generosity to color a picture beyond 

 tideliiv to nature, And iu the present instance candor com- 

 pels me to .admit that the purple ritteh is not the most desir- 

 able bird in every respect. In spite of his elegant appear- 

 ance, his engaging address, his musical ability, and that 

 spirit "'of a gentleman of the old school." which i.e un- 

 doubtedly possesses, his fondness for fruit "V the bud" 



Uiakei 



arc of little moment from an economic standpoint; Imt 

 he habitually visits the orchard in spring, to feast upon 

 Hie blossoms of the apple, pear, peach and cherry, at- 

 tacking the fruit in embryo Villi such effect thai the 

 hopes of the horticulturist are no! seldom strewu on the 

 ground below, in evidence of Irretrievable mischio accom- 

 plished. Such depredations, however, are oonflned to a very 

 limited period- purple (inches are not among the most abun- 

 dant of birds; Ihey teed their young to some extent upon in 

 Sects which may be iujunous, 'so that h is doubtful whether, 

 after all, they seriously diminish Hie revenues of the nation. 

 During most of the year these birds have certainly no appre- 

 ciable effect whatever upon the interests of husbandry They 

 feed largely upon juniper Ixaries, upon those of gun] trees, 

 wild honeysuckle, and many similar small hard fruits; upon 

 theseedE of tulip trees, huttonwo'ods, and othersof the forest, 

 as well as upon those of a long array of weeds and grasses, 

 tooblain which I lo-y often lot age in low shrubbery, or eveu 

 upon the ground. In short, if we could accurately balance 

 the whole ledger, purple trachea would doubtless still be 

 found worth having, even if not clearly emit led to the tithe 

 they take from the orchard in spring. 



My history of this (inch were incomplete did 1 not take 

 notice of its "ways and means" of living in California, where 

 it acquires Hie name, if not the character, of a different bird. 

 For I His purpose the pages of the Nuttall Bulletin may be 

 sought with confidence thai Mr. Brewster and Mi. W. A. 

 Cooper have left us desirable information. 



The first-named of these gentlemen describes with care 

 two nests taken by Mr. ('. A. Allen, at Nieusio, in Marin 

 county. One of these contained five eggs on the 10th of 

 May. 1870. ll measured nearly live inches in diameter, by 

 nearly three in depth, with a cavity of two by one and a 

 hall inches in the. corresponding directions. It was built in 

 a garden, in the fork ol two limbs, about eight feet from the 

 ground, and w T as firmly woven of line weed stades and coarse 

 grasses, lined smoothly with some hemp-like fibrous material. 

 The eggs of this set seem to have been unusun Iv pale-colored, 

 and quite like those of ..'. frontalis, being descrioed as white, 

 with a scarcely perceptible bluish shade, oulv marked with a 



few dots and lines of dark brown 



»re itfoedoreise* 

 looiu tan iuWDBil 

 brown, while in m 

 urn exceed a pin'p 



l.ivl Incalhie.s— M 

 Mr. S. f. SuilUi; M 

 ii.ii W'elcJi.nndJ 



'3 inlemrlh 



This aeiour 

 Mr. Cooper's 

 Bmhtii, a mor 

 I ha I Mr. Brew, 

 nest of C. fi 



i bn 

 Mr. Brt 



idth. 

 •stet 



black, and measuring 



was so at variance with 

 that the latter soon sent to the 

 nded notice of the same subject, fearing 

 collccioi might have gotten hold of a 

 though the "parent birds sent with it 



.sing his doubts 

 out ten nests of this 

 n during the last ten 

 k was loosely con- 

 formed of pieces of 

 ing entirely of this 

 a fork, and they are 

 :e from the ground. 

 willows, alders, trees 

 izonial branches of red- 

 abundant around Santa 

 le the latter In cods in the 

 e wooded 



were positively ■■ealiforiiirtis." Expre 

 Ihis score, Mr. Cooper continues: "Al 

 bird have come under my observatic 

 years. Of each of these tire Irame wo 

 sti uetc'i. y porliou of each nest being 

 yrni/i/uilariit n<>tUmt. some of these lie 

 plant. 1 have never found a nest iu 

 usually placed al a considerable distan. 

 Favorite situations are the tops of tall 

 covered with climbing ivy and hi 

 woods. The var. cnllfr.r,,. ens is a- 

 Cruz as is the C. frontalis; but wl 

 gardens throughout the city the former i 

 river bottoms, or lo Hie hills back of the ....... 



1 give tin abridgment of Mr. Coopei's detailed notice of 

 four nests and sets of eggs: 1. May .30, 1875; nest with 5 

 eggs, incubation a tew days advanced. Nest fi inches across, 

 2.50 deep, cavity 2.50 across, 1.38 deep; frame work of fine 

 dried tops of SefropMuriu; lining ol fine vegetable fibres, 

 soft woolly substances and a few-hairs. Nest' on top of a 

 horizontal limb of an alder. 40 feet high. One egg broken, 

 tlte other four measuring 0.80x0 53, 80x0.55, 0.80x0 55. 0.77 

 xf).5f. E:>gs bluish green, marked with spots of brown and 

 dull purple, chiefly around the largerend. 3. Same date, nest 

 with 4, a few days incubated, from one of the topmost 

 blanches of an alder tree, 50 feel high. Frame work of fine 

 sien.s, among them S<<r»,iht>.l(tri<t; also a few pine roots; 

 lining ol wool and hair. Eggs0.83x"0 57. 0.81x0.5(1. 0.81x0.513, 

 0.80x0.54; ground color as' bel ore, but markings different, 

 being dull brownish purple, minute and confluent, forming a 

 ring around the end of two of the eggs, ami a large spot on 

 the end of the other two, one ol the latter beingalso speckled 

 all over. 3. May 3. 1870, nest with 4 fresh eggs, in a willow 

 bush. 20 feet trout the ground. Frame work entirely of 

 Scropfiularia; inner nest of roots and bark, liuim: of fine 

 hark and hair. F^irs 0.75x0.55, 0.7:1x0. 50, 0.72x0.5c.. o.71x 

 0.57; lieht emerald green spotted like those of set No. 1. the 

 markings forming a more decided ring around the larger 

 cud. ground color, deeper than iu either of the foregoing 

 sets, 4. May — , 1875, nest with 4 fresh eggs; from hori- 

 zontal branch of an apple tree in an orchard, similar in 

 structure to those already described. Eugs. 0.80x0.59. 0.77x 

 0.58. 0.77x0.50. 0.76x0.87; emerald green with finer "mark- 



. o rnsureprompt attention, communications should be ad- 

 dressed to the Forest and Stream Publishing Co.. and not to 

 individuals, in whose absence from the office matters of im 

 parlance are liable to delay. 



OPEN SEASONS. 



The digest of open seasons, printed in our issiie of Aug. 16, has 

 been published in convenient pamphlet form, and will he , 

 address, postpaid.on receipt of 10 cents. 



iugs than those of No 

 almost black; a perfee 

 end of each, and the 

 eggs more pointed tha 

 The way that Mr. C 

 aliens on budding fru 

 Onrpndaim purpun it 



bird we have 



1 



ad 3, 



eath of sp 

 e surface i 

 • of the rest 

 r indicts tin 



id darker, some being 

 ound the larger 

 • spotted : these 



if on 



bud* . 

 cherry-bl 

 heart of I 



charge is 

 . ■■ c ■ 

 la ted, wh 

 our rmisi 



-run 



s iron 



1 fru 



he blossom being 



1 Inn 



Ihe in 



aded. 



up 



rtl 



r.ls for their oper- 

 ve: "] may here add that 

 'ieusis the most destructive 

 ds ami destroying young- 

 swept up a basketful of 

 tree in a single day. the 

 1 sought. " Hear that the 

 Among the curious analo- 

 rhich Thau- often specu- 

 way of feeding in which some of 

 miplished songsters indulge: for 

 f the modern stage, both male and 



untimely eating habits, One of the mosl exquisite of these. 



from Northern Europe, is said to be peculiarly gross at 

 the table; and I have heard it whispered in dramatic circles 

 in Washington, that the proprietor of a hotel complained of 

 having to "scrape up the carpets" after Hie midnight suppers 

 in which a celebrated American eautatrice was wont to in- 

 dulge with members of her opera troupe. 



StuBGEOKE On I)kv LAMP — Portland. Ore.. Nov. 24. — 

 Editor Forest autf i&WlIt; In September last while superin 

 tending repairs to a dam .across Fearcy's Slough, a rniuoi 

 channel which connects the Willamette and Columbia river> 

 at medium stages, but is bare al low wafer. 1 observed a 

 number of slides, such as would have been made by dragging 

 heavy, smooth, cylindrical bodies Up the banks of I he slough, 

 which are live feet high and .very steep, and across the low 

 level island between the slough and the Columbia into the 

 latter. The soil of the island and Us aanks, consisting of 

 sandy loam formed by the annual deposits of the summer 

 hood's of the Columbia, with a scanty covering ol grass and 

 young willow sprouts from one to three inches high, was 

 plainly marked yvith these slides, which seemed to have, 

 been 'made by bodies from six to eighteen inches iu 

 diameter, all leading in direct lines to. and terminating on 

 the bank of the Columbia. At first 1 thought they 

 were made by beaver or seals, which penetrate the 

 sloughs along the Columbia during the summer run of 

 salmon, but the large size of one of the slides showed that it 

 could not have been made by either seal or beaver. I in- 

 quired of the men employed o'n the work, one of whom, a 

 fisherman, said: "That is" sturgeon trail. They get among 

 the sloughs when the river is up, and when the water begius 

 to fall they strike a bee line for the river. Sometimes they 

 die before they gel. I here." Acting on this suggestion, 1 

 looked carefully amoug the young willows, near the bank of 

 the Columbia and found at the end of Ihe largest slide, and 

 within six fei t of the bank, the care-as of a sturgeon nearly 

 seven feet long, with its head pointing toward the river. Its 

 strength, exhausted by crawling eighty feet overland, had 

 failed when almost within reach of its native element. — R. 

 A. Habehsitam 



duck iFtdiguli aaatsu i. one ring dove <Tu-l„r risoriw>\ Odi 



screechoW ii,v«/js ».<oi, one blue b-uu-f cliiser «.t/-,i(eaceii»i, and 

 nine Virginia o, nil iOrti/.r ro</on' oiusi. Born in im- Harden-Out 

 maz.tme de.-r te'erra.: ciinpett' /si. 



ftffffi? §HQ Ht\d (§Utf. 



_ GAME REXORTS.-We are always glad to rece, K> for pub- 

 lication such notes of desirable game resorts as man be ofTielp 

 to the readers of Forest axd Stream. Will not our 'cor re 

 yondents favor us with such advice? 



.. .Mr. (i. a. Ueai.iu.uu; Norway, 

 s. Mr. !•'. W. J uliiani; L\u,,, Mas., 

 i Hill, i ...im., Dr. W. Wuod 



"Don't."— Father Daniel Hofert, of Savaunah.Ga., clubbed 



H dog with the butt ot his loaded gun. Valentine Spisgle- 

 me\er. of Tyrone, Pa., used his Waded gun for a walking 

 slick. A Pennsylvania hunter near Diugman's Ferry saw a 

 bit of fur, shoi at it, ami put a charge of shot through the 

 hat and head of a small boy. 



STORIES OF THE EARLY DAYS. 



I.— AX ' AFTUUNOON MAN's" I.UCK. 



\\/ T IDLE reading some accounts of the early history ot 

 » ' Dniisville, N. Y,, as chronicled in your issue of NTov. 

 S3, 1 was reminded of many incidents of pioneer life which 

 occurred iu the sparsely-settled country lying south and 

 southwest of the above-mentioned town. 



The old road, or I might say thoroughfare, from North- 

 eastern Pennsylvania led through this section, thence to 

 Rochester, N. Y, from which place many early settlers im- 

 migrated, some stopping in Allegany county, N. Y., while 

 others pushed ou to localities in different places in Ihe then 

 isolated regions of Potter, Tioga, MeKean and Elk counties, 

 Pa. Here was a paradise for hunters. In fact, hunting be- 

 came a necessity j the scattering inhabitants jould no) sub- 

 sist without it. and during several years it was a source of 

 some revenue. Buyers were on hand every winter who were 

 ready to buy up venison tit a rather low figure, as thev had 

 to run it through to Rochester by sleighs. Venison gen 

 erally kept frozen through the winter in that high latitude. 

 and sleighing generally remained good until Ihe middle of 

 March, and s» if was not unusual to see deer that were killed 

 in November and December hauled into market '>" the last 

 of February or possibly in March. 



It has ever been a saying among hunters, that patience aud 

 perseverance found a sure 'road to success, f will mention a 

 circumstance in demonstration of that principle. Bill Akers 

 was a man. slow of speech, slow of slop, and one who might 

 properly he styled an afternoon man. He, like his neigh- 

 bors, depended on his success in hunting for winter's meat, 

 but while they had been laying in their supplies ho had been 

 engaued in buildincr a loir stable to shelter a cow and a yUk< 

 of sleers. Hi process of time the stable was finished, and one 

 Monday morning Bill made' ready tor a start, determined to 

 hun I through the week, and also determined to procure meat 

 enough during the week to last through the winter. Bill was 

 poor, hail a large family, and of late had been rather short 

 of provisions, consequently he had nothing to carry for 

 lunch bid a piece of corn bread. Monday night came, and 

 with it hack cams Bill, tired and hungry and nothing killed. 

 It was rather late in the season, the snow about eight inches 

 deep, was a little crusty and a little noisy while traveling. 

 Tuesday's hunt was a repetition of Monday's, go W a- 

 Wednesday. and also Thursday, I don't know 'that any on, 

 ever learned the particulars of that four days' hunt, bul cer- 

 tain it was thai Ihe lunch wasduplieated every mom ing, ami 

 that he came home weary and einptv-handcrt everv nbbr. 



The result of the fifth day's hunt was somewhat 'diffcrem 

 After traveling n short distance. Akers struck the tracks ot 

 three deer, which he followed over a circuitous route for 

 several miles, when he discovered two of them stand- 

 ing broadside with their necks crossed, each one looking 

 over He- other's shoulders. Nearly every deer hunter has at 

 some time during his life, seen deer standing in the same 

 position. Bill took in the situation, at oncje. There was no 

 "buck fever" in his make up. He deliberately drew up. niicl 

 broke both necks at one shot. The Third deer ran a small 

 circle and came around iu sight, about the time he had re- 

 loaded, when he hauled up just as deliberately and shot il 

 dead in its tracks. They were large dwer. anil it required 

 some effort to hang them up out of the reach of wolves; ami 

 so tin day was pretty far spent when lie started direct for 

 home. 



Having gone not more than one-half mile, passing near the 

 butt of a large hollow basswood which had broken off near 

 the root, ami in falling had lodged on some other timber, he 

 saw a bear's track, and as it was getting nearly dark, he sup- 

 posed at first the bear had been in and gone out again, Bui 

 on closer inspection he found that if had come oui ami 

 walked around a few rods and then gone back again. Here 

 was adilemma. but Akers was, equal to the emergency. It 

 required some two hours labor to barricade the entrance of 

 bruin's temporary retreat, or iu other words, to plug Up the 

 end of that hollow basswoou in such a manner as would in- 

 sure the. keeping of that bear until a more convenienl season. 

 This he accomplished by inserting broken pieces of dry 

 stubs, wedged in with small poles, which he cut with his 

 hatchel. Once more he shouldered his rifle aud started for 

 home. 



It was late in the evening, but a full moon had risen, and 

 he found no difficulty iu keeping a direct course. He had 

 by this time become very tired, but made good time until he 

 brought up against his own fence, which was adjoining Ihe 

 woods, and inclosed a small turnip patch which he had 

 neglected to harvest before the snow fell. Over the fence he 

 climbed and chucked himself down into the snow, leaning 

 back against the fence, with his gun standing between his 

 knees, and the muzzle leanins against the fence also. Bill 

 was thoroughly exhausted, or as lie said, was about used up. 

 The night was bitter cold, the temperature down some- 

 where about ze--o, but he said that he did not feel the cold 

 very much while sitting there, only a sort of numbne-s 

 Which came over him, and he felt very sleepy wi'hal. and i! 

 is very possible that he would then and there slept his last, 

 sleep had not a providential occurrence a roused him from his 

 stupor. 



While sitting iu the posture described he was sure licit he 

 heard steps of some animid walking through the crusty 

 snow, and also heard it leap the fence. This, of itself. 

 would perhaps have quickened the pulse of any natural bred 

 hunter. It seemed to raise him out of the dull lei 

 which he was fast sinking: his senses wen sharpened and 

 on the alert in a moment. He saw at, once 

 that il was a large buck, and as il walked 

 out from the shade of the wood to the tnooii 

 shine, it began pawing through the -uow, and feeding 

 ou the green turuip-tops." Being then about six rods distant, 



