FOREST AND STREAM. 



131 



guarded by wire screens, and over it was placed a cover, 

 secured by lock and key. A small stream of water 

 was caused to flow over the gravel and ova, and this 

 trough, rude as it was, performed in a very creditable 

 manner the office of incubation, much after the manner 

 that fresh eggs are hatched in a state of nature, hence 

 its quite general adoption by pisciculturists as a cheap 

 hatching apparatus. The discovery of Pinch on and 

 Jacobi languished for a long time for lack of individual or 

 national appreciation, and like all great benefactions has 

 been tardily received by all nations. Indeed, it was not 

 fully recognized till the re-discovery of Rhemy and Gehin, 

 unlettered^ but subsequently famous French fish culturists 

 of the Vosges mountains of Alsace. These men by oc- 

 cupation were fishermen, and deplored the unfruitfulness of 

 the mountain streams which once teemed with salmon and 

 trout, and in closely studying the cause of such barreness 

 re-discovered the long abeyant art. In their experiments, 

 and when afterwards they were employed to restock the 

 streams of their country, they employed hatching boxes 

 made of zinc a foot in diameter with a lid or cover pierced 

 with holes, care being taken to smooth the ragged edges 

 lest the ova be ruptured by them as they were moved about 

 by the current of the stream. These boxes were partly 

 filled with sand or gravel, and the spawn having been spread 

 thereon, were placed partially buried in the gravely bottoms 

 of running streams, where they were examined from time 

 to time, until incubation was completed. 



If we judge of the great works accomplished by these 

 men in restoring the streams of Eastern France, these inex- 

 pensive boxes of zinc were a success, for these fish cultur- 

 sts soon made their unfruitful waters to teem again as of 

 ^ore with the finny tribes whose scarcity had been deplored 

 ry these peasant fishermen, but who now had not only 

 *iven France a great boon, but the whole world a great food 

 gesource that in coming time was destined to drive want 

 lt[ md hunger from the poor man's cot, and to supply rich 

 'aid poor alike with health-giving sustenance. Besides 

 Micse boxes willow hurdles were arranged in wooden boxes 

 lirpon which were placed the eggs, as they are now placed 

 iiiipon grilles made of glass tubes, where a constant stream 

 j >f water flows upon them. Charapaignc boxes have also 

 !, )een made to do duty as hatching trays, which hatched ' a 

 arge per cent, of the ova. The earliest form of box used. 

 ipon the introduction of fish culture into our own country 

 vas the long wooden trough similar to those originated by 

 4 ?inchon and Jacobi. This simple trough has ' undergone 

 nany modifications, among which may be noted that of 

 Charring the ends and sides, so as to prevent the slime 

 ivhieh generates by exposure of wood in water, and which 

 i s said to dcterioate the eggs, as well as to cau&e the fly to 

 tecome unhealthy. A form much used by many piscicul- 

 urists, and a favorite box with the late Dr. J. H. Slack, is 

 he Caron or Coste box, which was invented by M. Caron, 

 nd used by M. Coste, Professor of Embryology, in the 

 Jollege of France, in connection with his well known ex- 

 periments in embryology. This box or tray is undoubtedly 

 very durable as well as convenient one, for it is easily 

 lanaged, and affords every facility for examining, hand- 

 ling and keeping the spawn free from parasites, silt and 

 flther extraneous substances which are so deleterious to the 

 ocubation of the ova; and last, not least, there is no pat- 

 ent in this country which interferes with its general use, a 

 liing uncommon in the annals of fish culture. 



/ 

 j The Coste box is constructed of galvanized iron, known 



kyiutag tinners as Ho. 29 guage. The box is twenty inches 

 fs length, six inches in width, and three in depth, and one 

 jjlfod a half inches from the top a triangular piece of gal- 

 vanized iron is soldered, upon which the grille or frame 

 "'jests at the corners, and a tube for drawing off the contents 

 < |S f the box when necessary is attached to the end. The 

 frbe, when the tray is in use, is closed by a well-fitting 

 (fork. 





M 



% 



5d 



n 



c 



A, the spout, B, B, B, B, the triangular corner pieces upon 

 which the grille rests, and C, the drainage tube.. Plate No. 

 2, which represents a grille being raised from a tray, is 

 composed of glass tubes 3-16 to 5-16 of an inch in diameter, 

 inclosed in a frame of black walnut, measuring inside 18£ 

 by 4£ inches. This arbitrary length is recommended, as it 

 will contain, on an average, one hundred eggs, and thus the 

 amount taken may be easily estimated. The width is ad- 

 vised for economical reasons, in order that no waste shall 

 occur in the cntting of the material, a fact of pecuniary 

 importance, when large numbers are to be manufactured. 

 The tubes of glass constituting the grilles are lightly but 

 firmly bound together by copper wire, which admits of 

 slight latreal motion, if required, and binding them together 

 in this manner divides the force of a shock, causing it to 

 be distributed among all the grilles constituting the set, 

 therefore the force of a blow which would fracture a single 

 tube is divided among them all, and thus they escape un- 

 harmed. The ends of the frame holding the glass tubes 

 are fastened with screws, and should any of the tubes be 

 broken they may easily be removed by unscrewing the end 

 piece of the frame and others replaced. These trays used 

 singly, or a pair of them, are convenient for experimenting 

 in hatching, and the water may be easily supplied from a 

 bath room; these trays, moreover, have also as an adjunct 

 to the aquarium, met with great favor from persons inter- 

 ested in physiology, natural history, or embryology. It 

 would be an amusing as well as an interesting pastime for 

 an amateur to watch the progress of the development of 

 the fish in the egg as it goes through the embryonic stages 

 ere it bursts the shell and enters upon fish life. The use of 

 these trays by farmers who have cool running streams upon 

 their farms would be a cheap method of hatching trout 

 eggs to supply those streams, or artificial ponds, or preserves, 

 where they might grow and increase, and furnish their 

 tables with cheap and wholesome food with but a small out- 

 lay, while the study of incubation would be not only inter- 

 esting but highly instructive. The shell of the egg of the 

 fish being transparent, the formative process of the finny 

 being at all periods of development can be plainly seen. 



III 1 , A SECTION OF TIIE COSTE TTCAV. 



Jj! This cut represents a section of the metalic box or tray. 



SINGLE FLIGHT OF TIIE COSTE TRAYS. 



Plate 4 represents a single flight of the Coste hatching 

 trays fed by a small jet of water and resting upon a stand 

 which can be moved anywhere in the hatching house where 

 the water supply is most convenient. As these boxes have 

 an average capacity of fifteen hundred spawn, the entire 

 (light is capable of containing and hatching about seven 

 thousand eggs. It must be apparent to every fish culturist, 

 of large or small experience, that in elevating hatching 

 boxes nearly breast-high, when the fall of water will admit, 

 the labor of attending daily to the eggs is vastly abridged 

 over the old method of arranging the trays upon a plane of 

 the hatching house floor, where the stooping posture is con- 

 stantly necessitated in the care of the hatching ova. The 

 Coste tray is also inexpensive, when its duribility is taken 

 into the account, and hence is strikingly well adapted to the 

 small fish farmer who is desirous, of producing only a small 

 stock. The trays are economical in reference" to water, for 

 they require but a gentle trickle, which enters the highest 

 and flows down step after step until all have been supplied, 

 and when the last box has been served the water glides 

 away into an appropriate waste gutter beneath the series of 

 flights, which are usually placed along either wall of the 

 hatching house by twos, and thus leaving a passageway in 

 which assistants can stand to examine and remove those 

 eggs which fail to present indications of vitality, or have 

 become affected with parasites which make their way into 

 the trays in spite of eternal vigilance, which fish culturists 

 have come to understand, applies with full force to this in- 

 dustry, and is the key to success and the price of fish. 



THE SHARP-TAILED 



Phasianethos- 



GROUS K—tPeclicecetes 

 -Elliot.) 



THE habitat of this bird is principally in British Amer- 

 ica from Hudson's Bay territory south to northern 

 shore of Lake Superior, and west to Alaska and British 

 Columbia. They are also found within the limits of the 

 United States, as our Field Editor, whose letter we publish 

 in another column, is now shooting them in Eau- Claire 

 county, Wisconsin. In fact, they abound in all the north- 

 ern counties of that State, as well as in Michigan. The 

 rather curious fact is mentioned in the leffter before alluded 

 to, of the writer having killed in three consecutive shots 

 specimens of the sharp-tailed, pinnated, and ruffed grouse. 

 In addition to its table qualities, which are unsurpassed, 

 this bird is liardy and a good breeder, and we have advo- 

 cated its introduction into localities from whence the pin- 

 nated grouse has been exterminated. The barrens and 

 scrub oaks of Long Island, if the outrageous poaching 

 which prevails there could be stopped, would be admirably 

 adapted to the propagation of this bird; so also would cer- 

 tain portions of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The low- 



est limit of its habitat is at present set down as latitude 41°. 

 The time is coming when we shall have to breed our game 

 as they do pheasants in England, or conserve it as closely 

 as are the grouse of the British moors. The present indis- 

 criminate netting and slaughter will soon finish, the pin- 

 nated grouse, but the sharp-tails have as yet escaped the 

 pot-hunter, and it is to be hoped that before war is declared 

 upon them that sufficient numbers can be obtained for 

 breeding in localities where they can be protected. 

 ■ The prevailing colors of the sharp-tailed grouse are a 

 clear dusky black above and pure white beneath; no buff 

 about the head; upper parts variegated, with tranverse, 

 rather zigzag spots of yellowish brown; wing coverts with 

 large rounded, and outer webs of primaries with smaller 

 and more quadrate, spots of pure white; breast thickly 

 covered with broad V shaped, and the sides with less nu- 

 merous, sagittate marks of uniform clear slaty or dusky; 

 legs densely feathered; throat thickly spotted with dusky; 

 the two middle feathers of the tail one inch longer than the 

 others. (Baird, Brewer and Ridg way.) The Arctic form 

 of this grouse is found throughout the Arctic region, from 

 Alaska southward and eastward to an extent not fully as- 

 certained. We find the following in the excellent work 

 just referred to: tl It is found in abundance on the out- 

 skirts of the Saskatchewan plains and throughout the 

 wooded districts of the fur countries, frequenting the open 

 glades or low thickets on the borders of lakes, especially 

 where the forests have been partially cleared; perching on 

 trees in the Winter, but keeping to the ground in Summer, 

 and at all seasons met with in small flocks of from ten to 

 sixteen. They are said, early in Spring, to select some lone 

 place, where a covey meets every morning and runs around 

 iu a circle of about twenty feet in diameter, so that the 

 ground is worn quite bare. If any one approaches this cir- 

 cle the birds squat close to the ground, but if not alarmed 

 by a too near approach they soon stretch out their necks to 

 survey the intruder, and resume their circular course, some 

 running to the right and others to the left, meeting and 

 crossing each other. These 'partridge dances' are said to 

 last a month or more, or until the female begins to incu- 

 bate. They are said to lay about thirteen eggs early in 

 June, the nest being on the ground, formed of grasses and 



lined with feathers. 



■ •+*+■ 



— A queer bird has been shot in Lebanon county, Pa. It 

 resembles a chicken hawk, with a white head, blue and 

 white spotted back. The wings are black outside and white 

 inside; its tail is shaped like that of a swallow. It meas- 

 ures two feet from head to tail, and four feet from tip to 



tip of the wings. 



•+•+» . 



SINGULAR FREAK OF A COOT. 



Boston, Mass., 1S75. 

 Editor Forest and Stream:— 



The following curious incident, which is vouched Tor on good author- 

 ity, happened ou the east of Nantucket some time during the past Sum- 

 mer: A well-known fisherman was returning alone from his labors, to- 

 wards shore, in a rowboat, when he was suddenly struck down senseless, 

 and remained in that condition for perhaps a minute. On recovering his 

 senses he could not, for tire momeii', account for the unwelcome salute, 

 but saw a loon rise from the water in front of him. Then he felt scrne- 

 thing fall from his shoulders down into the boat. Turning, he found a 

 black coot lying dead there, and the back of his own head was covered 

 with feathers. The story was thus soon explained: The coot, on rising 

 from the water, must have flown blindly against the fisherman and 

 caused its own death iu the heavy blow it had given him. An after ex- 

 amination of the bird showed that it was literally crushed to pieces, and 

 many of the bones were protruding from the skin. It was also blind in 

 one eye, which accounts for its wild flight. The bird was allowed to re- 

 mai?\ where it had fallen in the boat until the shore was reached, that it 

 might be seen by others as the fisherman had first seen it. Several ex- 

 amined the bird, but it was missing when asked for to preserve. Ti. 

 *+•**- 



CENTRAL PARK MENAGERIE. 



__ — * 



Department op Public Parks, } 

 New York, Oct. 4th, 1875. f 

 Animals received at Central Park Menagerie for the week ending 

 Oct. 3d, 1875:— 

 One Arabian Baboon, Cynoceplialus hamadryas . 

 One Cliacma Baboon, Cynoceplialus percanus . 

 Three Lions, Felis leo, fourteen months old. 

 One Leopard, Felis leopardus. 

 One Bald Eagle, Ilaluelus leucoceplialus. "W. A. Conklin. 



The following are recent arrivals at the Philadelphia 



Zoological Garden:— 



Gardeh op the Zoological Societt, j 



Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Oct. 4th, 1875. \ 



Two Prong horn Antelopes, Antilocupra Americana. Purchased. 



One English Magpie, Pica candita. Presented by L. Simpson, Phila- 

 delphia. 



Two Cardinal Grosbeaks, Cardinalus Virginianus. Presented by 

 Miss Ilaffelfinger, Philadelphia. 



Two Sandhill Cranes, Grus Canadensis. Presented by E. F. Cabada, 

 Philadelphia- 

 Two Wood Ducks, Anassponsa. Presented by E. F. Cubada, Phila- 

 delphia. 



One Troupial, Quis calus h/gubris. Presented by Miss E. P. Smith. 



Two Caribous, Taarandus rangifer. Purchased. 



PURCHASED. 



One Rhesus Monkey, Macacus erythraeus. Two brown Capuchins, 

 Cebusfaluettus. One weeper Capuchin, Cebus capucius. One common 

 Ocelot, leopardus pardalus. One grey Ocelot, Leopardus' griseus. One 

 Capybara, Hydrochoerus capybara. Oi_e white-lipped Peccary, Dicotyies 

 lubriatus. Four Acouchys, Dasyprocta acouchy. Six crested Curas- 

 soms, Crax alector. Two silver-fronted Amazons, Chrysotes ochrocepala. 

 One blue-fronted Amazon, Chrysotes amazonica. One little Tinamou, 

 Tinamus pileatus . Six Grey's Guaus, Penelope greeyi. One common 

 Trumpeter, Fsophia crepilaus. Four white-faced Ducks, Beudrocygna 

 viduala. 



A Knowing Bird.— The Boston Post is responsible for 

 the following, and our readers can believe as much of it as 

 they like :- 



"A family near Boston is happy in the possession of 

 parrot of more than ordinary intelligence, and oi 



a 

 one 



