212 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



acid at tlie mouth and vent, it will prevent decomposition 

 from taking place immediately. After injecting, the 

 mouth and vent should be plugged to prevent the acid 

 staining the feathers. Birds injected this way for three 

 successive days will keep fresh for a long time, and if 

 kept dry, may afterwards be skinned. The acid must be 

 used with extreme care; and the time spent in this process 

 might much better be applied in becoming expert in taxi- 

 dermy, 



—An American sportsman writing from Bremen, Ger- 

 many, says that the best street in the city, includes, so to 

 speak, an old water course, the banks of which are clothed 

 with well clipped greensward, flowering plants or shrub- 

 bery carefully kept. In this water various kinds of wild 

 ducks are found perfectly tamed, coming to call, almost 

 taking bread crumbs out of your hand. Among them are 

 some old acquaintances, the green winged teal, bald-pates, 

 red -heads, sprig-tails, broad-bills and butter-balls. Some 

 winsc feathers are frequently pulled out of both wings, but 

 more out of one than the other, so as not to mar the beauty 

 as in cropping one wing. Nineteen species are thus domes- 

 ticated, eleven of which breed there. 



—A correspondent in East Hampton, Conn., who, last 

 August, wrote to us about, a rattlesnake in continemeut 

 which remained as irascible and deadly as when first taken 

 from its den, now tells us that the snake died a fewvveeks 

 alter that date. 



•*»*»- 



—A taxidermist in Paw Paw, Mich., is preparing a case 

 of the birds of that State for exhibition at the Centen- 

 nial. 



— — — — «-♦♦♦■ — • ■<— 



THE MAMMALS OF THE BLACK HILLS 



^XJRING the Summer of 1874 a military reconnoissance 

 of the Black Hills was made by Col. Wm. Ludlow, 

 Chief Engi neer of the Department of Dacotah, an elegant 

 report of which has just been issued from the Government 

 presses. The topographical and geological information 

 therein given is of great value, but of most interest at 

 present are the reports upon the mammals and birds of 

 these unexplored regions, which are written by Mr. George 

 Bird Grinnell, of New Haven. The expedition started in 

 June from Fort Abe Lincoln, crossed to the Belle Fourche, 

 where the Black Hills were entered and completely tra- 

 versed. The return march was made from Custer Park to 

 Bear Butte, and thence across the plains to Fort Lincoln, 

 where they arrived on August 30th. There is only time 

 now for a brief review of the list of mammals, which 

 comprises thirty four species, leaving the Ornithology of 

 the Report for another day. 



The cougar, wild cat {Lynx rufus), Canada lynx (Lynx 

 Canadensis) gray wolf , and coyote, are put down as com- 

 mon in the Black Hills. The kit-fox, or swift (Vulpes ve- 

 lox) is abundant on the plains. It is not considered very 

 fleet of foot, well trained hounds having caught it in a 

 fourth of the distance required to overtake a jackass rab- 

 bit. The mink, otter and badger are abundant on the riv- 

 ers flowing iuto the Missouri, and squirrels, gophers, 

 woodchucks and muskrats are common on the plains. The 

 beaver builds its dams in all the streams. Indications of 

 many grizzly bears were seen and a few shot . No evi- 

 dence of great ferocity was manifested by them, and they 

 always ran, unless too badly wounded to do so. The au- 

 thor says that the swiftness of the grizzly is considerable, 

 and in a rough country it can easily run away from a slow 

 horse, while it requires a pretty good animal to catch 

 it, even on the prairie. Thirty miles east of the Little 

 Missouri was the most easterly point at which this bear 

 was noticed. But few elk were seen, but there was every 

 indication of their presence in large numbers. There is 

 much variation in the horns of this species, which is 

 thought to be largely due to injuries received when young. 

 The extremities are apt to be very much flattened, and in 

 two instances noted, the basal prong, instead of projecting 

 forward and downward, turned outward and downward, 

 and then inward and up again, so as to bring the point of 

 the snag immediately under the animal's throat. A few 

 red deer were seen near the Missouri River, but in the 

 Black Hills this species was replaced by the white-tailed 

 (Cerous leucurus), which were very numerous. The mule 

 deer (Gervus macrotis) was also abundant. The prong- 

 horned antelope afforded fine sport after getting away from 

 the vicinity of Fort Lincoln. "The antelope," to quote 

 the text, 4k is regarded by hunters as the most difficult to 

 kill of any animal found on the. prairie, or in the moun- 

 tains. In proportion to its size it is more tenacious of life 

 than the grizzly bear, and from its astonishing speed it is 

 often enabled to escape, even after having received a 

 wound that would have brought a deer or an elk immedi- 

 ately to the ground." 



— The voyagers in the Pandora report having encoun- 

 tered the most lovely May weather for several days in the 

 latter part of August in Peel Strait, and found a colony of 

 gulls secure in their isolation on the face of rocks where 

 the vegetation formed an extensive green patch down to 

 high water mark. 



— Speaking of the use Natural History is to Geology in 

 deterijiming changes in the earth's surface which have left 

 no geological vecord, Mr. Wallace says with reference to 

 the Malay Archipelago, "It is certainly a wonderful and 

 unexpected fact, that an accurate knowledge of the distri- 

 bution of birds and insects should enable us to map out 

 lands and continents which disappeared beneath the ocean 

 lonir betoie the earliest traditions of the human race." 



—A writer in Land and Water speaking of Australian 

 snakes says: — "lu its fiercest rage if a snake's eye meets 

 the eye of a man it is instantly calmea; no magnetic exer- 

 tion is required; a man has simply to keep his eye on the 

 snake and it is entirely at his mercy. Snake charming is 

 extremely easy with Australian snakes." It would be 

 ve;y interesting to see how far this is true of American ser- 

 pents. 



A Transatlantic Pigeon Post. —Experiments are now 

 in progress in England, in training a variety of carrier 

 pigeon indigenous to Iceland, the object being to establish, 

 is possible, a pigeon transatlantic mail between the United 

 States and England, The bird is of great docility, intelli- 

 gence, and spirit, and is naturally ocean-homing. Its 

 speed is over 150 miles per hour, and it is said to be able to 

 return to its habitation from any part of the world. Should 

 the present efforts to educate the birds prove successful, 

 next Summer will find an almost daily ocean mail in prac- 

 tical operation, as it is believed that the flight from conti- 

 nent to continent can easily be accomplished between sun- 

 rise in one hemisphere and sunset in the other. The re- 

 cords which we have of the vigor of endurance of flight 

 displayed by these birds, are such as to make believe this 

 will be possible. A pair of these birds brought dispatches 

 from Paris to a lonely part of Kent, within ten miles of 

 London, in one and a half hours. Press carrier pigeons 

 took the dispatches on to the city, the whole distance from 

 Paris to London by actual parcel mode of conveyance be- 

 ing done within one and a half hours. Yarrell mentions 

 carrier pigeons that flew from Rhuen to Ghent, 150 miles, 

 in the same time, but this speed is surpassed by our wild 

 pigeons, which have been shot in New York before the 

 wild rice they had picked in Georgia had been digested. 

 Pigeons were used in transmitting to Baltimore the result 

 of the recent races at Pimlico. The four birds used were 

 very young, having been bred last Spring, with no training 

 whataver. At the end of each race a small tag was at- 

 tached to the bird's leg by means of a slenier silver wire, 

 having on it the name of the winning horse, the time made, 

 and the time the pigeon was tossed. The birds took a di- 

 rect line to the city, and were out of sight in from fifteen 

 to thirty seconds after being set free. The first bird made 

 the distance from Pimlico, five miles, in 9£ minutes; the 

 second bird arrived in 11£ minutes; the third bird making 

 ihe distance in 9^ minutes; and the fourth bird arrived in 

 i?£ minutes. A contest between the fanciers of Baltimore 

 will probably come oh next January, and it is said that 

 the Poultry Association will pay especial attention to the 

 cultivation of carrier pigeons. 



*■» . 



Farming Ostriches for their Feathers The ex- 

 periment of farming ostriches for the purpose of securing 

 a regular and abundant supply of their valuable feathers is 

 being tried in the vicinity of the Cape of Good Hope, 

 where the ostrich is native, and where land of the right sort 

 can be obtained to any extent. A large extent of suitable 

 bush land is fenced in, over which the birds roam peace- 

 ably enough in ordinary times, but in the breeding season 

 the pairs select and occupy one of the several small camps 

 laid out for the purpose. The birds are very fierce and 

 savage at this period, but at all other times are as tame as 

 a flock of sheep. They assemble to be fed at bugle call, 

 though the feeders have to be careful of any loose articles 

 there may be about, for the ostriches snap up and swallow 

 immediately any such trifles as tobacco pipes, knives, 

 spoons, coins, &c, and make attempts to wrench off but- 

 tons from clothing. The plucking of the birds is a danger- 

 ous operation. They are enticed by the bugle call into a 

 small inclosure, where they are packed as closely as possi- 

 ble to prevent them from administering those terrible 

 kicks which are delivered with a force sufficient to break a 

 man's thigh. The plumage of the farmed ostrich is stated 

 to be abundant in quantity and superior in quality, and the 

 yield from a well-stocked and carefully tended farm re- 

 turns a large profit on the whole outlay. 



-♦♦♦- 



— Prof. Richard Owen writes to The Colonist, (London,) 

 with reference to a correspondent's notice of the discovery 

 of remains of the moa — one of the gigantic fossil birds of 

 New Zealand— in the North Island, where they were sup- 

 posed not previously to have been found; to say that all 

 the series of bones which hav« passed through his hands, 

 and which are described in Vol. Ill of the Transactions of 

 the Zoological Society, came from the North Island, as did 

 also the remains of the dinoruis which he also described. 

 ''Since that date," says Prof. Owen, "most of the evidences 

 of the great extict wingless or flightles birds of New Zea- 

 land which have reached me have been from the South 

 Island, and I need not add with what interest I should 

 compare those which have been recently and abundantly 

 discovered in the North Island. I have no idea that this 

 strange group of birds is any longer in existence, notwith- 

 standing all the stories of the natives and others. If any 

 be alive they will probably be found in the middle island, 

 which may be almost said to be uninhabited, except on the 



coast." 



«♦»** — 



The following are recent arrivals at the Philadelphia 



Zoological Garden:— 



Gakden op the Zoological Society, | 



Fairmounx Pabk, Philadelphia, Nov. 8th, 1875. J 



Three gray Foxes, Yuipus Yirginianus. Presented by Mr. JohnBaird, 

 of Philadelphia. 



One black Squirrel, Sciurus Carolinensis. Presented by Master John 

 K. Sulger, of Philadelphia. 



One red-tailed Hawk, Buteo borealis. Presented by "Kind Hands." 



One common Boa, Boa constrictor. Presented by Mr. E. F. Moelling 

 of Philadelphia. 



One young prong-horn Antelope, Antilocapro, Americana, and one 

 red tailed Hawk, Buteo borealas. Presented by Lieut. Emmet Crawford, 

 Third U- S. Cavalry. 



One young prong-horn Antelope, A. Americana. Presented by Capt. 

 Dearie Monahan, Third U S. Cavalry. 



One night Heron, Nyctiardea gardeni. Presented by Mr. William H. 

 Brooks, of Philadelphia. 



One checkered Tortoise, Emys picta. Presented by Mr. John Pear- 

 sail, of Philadelphia. 



One golden EagJe, Aquila Canadensis. Presented by Mr. George W. 

 Bush, of Philadelphia. 



One great horned Owl, Bubo Yirginianus. Presented by Mr. M. M. 

 McNeil, of Huntingdon, Pa. 



One screech Owl, Scops asio. Pre»ented by Mr. B. M. Taylor, of 

 Philadelphia. 



One Loon, Colymbus torquaius. Presented by Mr. Ed. S. Aschom of 

 Eiddlesberg, Pa. 



One young black Bear, Vrsus Americanus. Presented by Mr. Harthy 

 Howard, of Pittsourg, Pa. 



O ne Mer.opoma, Menopoma alleghanimse. Presented by Mr, Andrew 

 Fredricks, of Philadelphia. 



One Llama, Lama peruana. Still born at the Gardens. 



Two American Rheas, Rhea Americana. Purchased. 



One Mocking Bird, Mimus poli/glottvs. Presented by Mrs, S, R. Ma 

 garge, ©I Philadelphia, 



f oodhnd f ^rtn nnd §zrdm. 



THE EFFECT OF FORESTS ON RAIN- 

 FALL. 



THIS subject is attracting much attention, both in this 

 country and Europe, and the weight of observation 

 and of scientific evidence has seemed to demonstate the 

 utility of forests in piomoting atmospheric moisture, and 

 consequently the fall of rain. But on this subject, as well 

 as on the diagnoses of human diseases, "the doctors differ " 

 and we find ourselves confronted by opposite theories, each 

 apparently supported by existing facts. For instance, 

 "Walker's Statistical Atlas'* states that the rainfall in the 

 forest regions of Maine and Minnesota precisely identi- 

 cal with that of the prairies extending west of Chicago 

 which are almost treeless. Also, that the heavy timber 

 district of Northern Michigan has the same rainfall as- 

 Southern Minnesota, which is in the same latitude, and 

 almost treeless. 



On the other hand, Prof. Stockbridge asserts that on our- 

 Atlantic seaboard the annual rainfall is forty-four inches,, 

 in Western New York forty two inches, in Ohio from 

 thirty-eight to thirty nine inches, in Iowa thirty inches, on 

 the plains only fifteen inches, and still further West only 

 two inches, and in these instances the maximum and mini- 

 mum of rain and of forest correspond. Prof, Stockbridge 

 thus seeks to demonstrate that while climate is in part the 

 result of forests,.) t is also true that forests are the result of 

 climate, and are more dense near the seaboard and large bod- 

 ies of water than further inland. The Desert of Sahara, he 

 must admit, forms an exception to this general condition, 

 or law, of nature, for there the barren plain extends to the 

 ocean. 



Whatever the effects of forests upon the rainfall, or of 

 moisture upon the production of forests, it is a fact dem- 

 onstrated by the commonest observation that our streams 

 diminish in volume as the country contiguous to them is 

 denuded of trees. How far this is. owing to the increased 

 amount of rain absorbed by a soil subjected to cultivation, 

 which otherwise flows off on the surface to swell the vol- 

 ume of streams, is an interesting subject of observation. 



Keeping Feuit in Russia.— Fruit is kept in Russia by 

 being packed in cieosotized lime. The lime is slaked in 

 water in which a little creosote has been dissolved, and is 

 allowed to fall to powder. The latter is spread over the 

 bottom of a deal box to about one inch in thickness. A 

 sheet of paper is laid above, and then the fruit. Over the 

 fruit is another sheet of paper, then more lime, and so on 

 until the box is full, when a little finely powdered charcoal 

 is packed in the corners and the lid tightly closed. Fruit 

 thus enclosed will, it is said, remain good for a year. We 

 have constantly at this season these new and successful 

 ways of preserving fruit; but they seldom are worth any- 

 thing, and if otherwise, who wants an apple or pear in 



June or July? 



-*&^& 



— Our cooks, and — we grieve to say it— our housewives 

 also, seem totally oblivious to the fact that the whitest 

 flour has little or no nutriment in it save starch; no albu- 

 minoids for the muscles, no phosphorus for the brain, or 

 mineral matter for the bones. These elements are chiefly 

 bolted out of the ground wheat to secure the white starchy 

 compound, which only makes fat and heat Can nothing 

 be done to disseminate the simplest principles of chemis- 

 try — principles so dosely allied to the preservation of 

 health— among those who prepare our food? 



Good Suggestions.— Dr. William Home, U. S. A., de- 

 livered a lecture at a fair in Wisconsin recently on the care 

 of horses, in which he urged the importance of light, ven- 

 tilation, and cleanliness in stables. Light, he urged, should 

 never come through windows glaring in front of the horse, 

 but should be jn his rear. So, too, in stopping a horse in 

 cold, windy weather, he should always be allowed to stand 

 tail to the wind. This protects the centre of circulation 

 from the severest effects of the cold, and the vehicle helps 

 also to break its force . 



German Method op Preserving Wood.— The fol- 

 lowing method is used in Germany for the preservation of 

 wood: Mix forty parts chalks, fifty resin, four linseed oil, 

 melting them together in an iron pot; then add one part 

 of native oxide of copper and afterward one part of sul- 

 phuric acid. Apply with a brush. When dry this varnish 

 is as hard as a stone. 



4**» ' 



— To prevent the destruction of insects on house plants, 

 a strong solution of soap suds, with a few drops of car- 

 bolic acid, is very effectual. A very simple and quite ef- 

 fective preventive, also, is to bake the earth in whicli plants 

 are to be potted, subjecting it to such a degree of heat as 

 to destroy the eggs of all insects. 



— Apples should be kept in a temperature as uniform and 

 as free from air currents as possible. If they could be kept 

 at thirty-two degrees they would not decay in a year. They 

 keep longer in barrels than on open shelves, and still longer 

 if wrapped separately in paper. 



— — , ***» — ' - — - 



— A party of over one hundred persons from Minnesota, 

 chiefly farmers and their families, arrived in Tallahassee, 

 Fla. , a few days ago. They propose to purchase lands and 

 make Florida their home. 



• — — — +++> — — — - — • 



—Potatoes are abundant in the West, as well as in the 

 Northern States. In Wisconsin they sell for fifteen cents 

 a bushel. 



