356 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



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[7 hie Department is now under the charge of a competent Naturalist, 

 indorsed by the Smithsonian Institution, and will henceforth be made a 

 special feature of this paper. All communications, notes, queries, re- 

 marks, and seasonal observations will receive careful attention.'] 



THE NESTING OF AMERICAN BIRDS 



IV.— Hermit Thrush; Swamp Robin. 



Turdus Pallasi—Cahsms; Baird; Ooties; Bd. Brew, and Ridgw. T. soli- 

 tarius— Wilson; Audubon, (Birds of America); T. minor— Nuttall; 

 Audubon, (Ornith, Biog.) ; Griraud. 



^HE typical hermit thrush ranges all over eastern North 

 America, wintering in the Southern States, whence 

 at spreads northward in the Spring, reaching New Eng- 

 land by May 1st. It breeds in the AUeghanies from Penn- 

 sylvania northward, but in New England only north of the 

 hilly parts of Massachusetts; thence to Labrador, the 

 islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and perhaps Green- 

 land. Dr, C. C. Abbott says that this thrush seems to be 

 less common urNew JerseVgthan Audubon described it to 

 be } and that about one in twenty which pass the city of 

 Trenton breed, retiring for that purpose about June 1st. 



The nest is always built upon, or close to the ground, 

 usually away from the woods, and under bushes in swampy 

 places. Dr. Brewer mentions that inParrsboro, Nova Sco- 

 tia, he found one in the midst of the village, but in a 

 marshy place, nearly inapproachable. At Upton, Me., Mr. 

 Maynard found two nests on top of decayed logs, and Mr. 

 Samuels has several which he took from low scrubbjr 

 bushes ; but these latter were in wet places. The materials 

 used are decayed, deciduous leaves, remnants of dried 

 plants, sedges, plants and grass mixed with twigs and 

 lined with fine matter. In the North much moss is used, 

 and sometimes exclusively among the pine woods. When 

 you have found their hiding place, and approach it, the 

 birds mournfully retire and keep silent; but it is said that 

 if a hawk or a crow, in search of young birds, comes near, 

 they attack it courageously. 



The eggs are laid about the first week in June. Mr. 

 Maynard found a nest at Upton, Me., with three fresh eggs 

 on June 5th, and another with young on June 9th. Mr. 

 Samuels found full nests at Lake Umbagog on the 10th. 

 The eggs are of a somewhat elongated, oval form, and in 

 color light blue, with a tendency to green. Wilson de- 

 scribed the eggs as pale greenish-blue, "marked with 

 specks and blotches of olive, particularly at the great end." 

 Giraud, in his birds of Long Island; DeKay, in his Ornith- 

 ology of New York, and Nuttall, in his Manual, all repeat 

 this statement; but, like Wilson, they were probably mis- 

 taken in the bird, and were describing another egg; 

 since there is no well-authenticated instance of the eggs of 

 the hermit being spotted. The eggs measure about .90 by 

 .62 inches. 



In the West there are two varieties of tbe hermit thrush— 

 the dwarf thrush (var. nanus), and Audubon's thrush (var. 

 Auduboni). The former is chiefly confined to the Pacific 

 coast, but is also accredited to Pennsylvania. It breeds 

 from Oregon northwards, and in the Sierra Nevadas; and, 

 except in being smaller, its nest and eggs are like those of 

 the eastern bird. Audubon's thrush is more common, and 

 is southern in its habitat, extending from northern Colo- 

 rado and Utah in Summer to Central Mexico, where it is 

 resident upon the table lands. It breeds abundantly 

 through the southern Rocky Mountains, at high altitudes, 

 and at Salt Lake City, where Mr. Henry Henshaw found 

 its nest. Another nest, taken on June 7th, by him at Fort 

 Garland, Col,, he describes as built in the cavity of a 

 broken pine stub, about three feet from the ground , It 

 was composed almost wholly of strips of bark aud coarse 

 grasses, covered externally with mosses, and contained a 

 single light blue egg. 



.*t>«<e» 



Notes from Our Correspondents.— Mr. John Bur- 

 roughs writes that the pine grosbeaks {Pinicola enucleator) 

 appeared at Esopus-on-Hudson as early as Nov. 25th, and 

 are still to be seen. Last Winter they came first about 

 Dec. 10th. They are very tame, and evidently do not know 

 much about man and his ways...."E. S." writes from 

 Portland, Me., that a perfectly white live chipmunk or 

 ground squirrel may be seen there, which was captured in 

 Windham, Me. A robin was seen by him on Dec. 16th, 

 but the pine finches, which were abundant last Winter, 

 have not yet appeared. .. .N. Elmore, (Granby, Ct.,) in- 

 forms us that a ruffed grouse, with a circle of pure white, 

 half an inch wide, surrounding the left eye, was shot in 

 Hartland, Ct., last week. . . ."Teal" describes a peculiarity 

 noticed in the tongue of a golden-winged woodpecker 

 which he dissected. Unlike those of this species, and 

 woodpeckers generally, the tongue, instead of dividing 

 into two parts on the skull as commonly in this family, 

 ended at the base of the skull. There was no appearance 



of accident about it Harold Herrick mentions that the 



redheaded woodpecker was almost never seen in the 

 neighborhood of Newark, N. J., until three years ago last 

 Fall, when it appeared in large numbers. After that very 

 few " were seen until last Fall, when the bird was again 

 abundant. 



. — ■ ♦♦♦- 



A Very Rare Fish.— Mr. Blackford, of Fulton Mar- 

 ket, in his indefatigable endeavors to aid scientists in 

 procuring specimens of our rare fishes, has fortunately, 

 within the past few days, come across one of the rarest 

 and least familiar ever found on our coasts. Some fisher- 

 men, while hauling their net near Yonkers, on the 10th 

 inst., found, in company with a number of small, or 

 school bass, a "spotted, wry-mouth" Cry ptacantht ties mac- 

 ulatus, Stover). This fish is described by DeKay as being 

 the only one of the genus known. Of its habits nothing 

 is known, one of the only three specimens extant being 

 found in the stomach of a haddock. In appearance it 



>m,e what rese mble^ the wolf fish; or, to the unscientific 



observer, a small eel, with black spots on a reddish ground, 

 and a head from which the lower jaw projects like an un- 

 dershot bull- dog's. It has gone to the Smithsonian In- 

 stitute. 



WINTER HABITS OF THE RUFFED 

 GROUSE. 



Newport, December 23d, 1875. 

 Editor Forest and Stream: — 



I notice a communication from your Boston correspon- 

 dent, "M.," concerning the present scarcity of the ruffed 

 grouse, as compared witk last year, and some remarks as 

 to the probable cause. While fully indorsing his state- 

 ments with regard to their scarcity, I am compelled to differ 

 with him in relation to the cause, for the following reasons: 

 In the Autumn and Winter of 1874-5, a crew, of which 

 your correspondent was one, were encamped on a town- 

 ship on "Little Sebois," where the ruffed grouse were ex- 

 ceedingly plenty, not only in the Fall, but throughout the 

 Winter, as U M." himself, who visited the place in March, 

 can testify. Ee turning to the camp the latter part of May, 

 and remaining through June and July, we found number- 

 less broods, frequently seeing five and six in a single day, 

 although it was noticeable that they contained fewer birds 

 than usual, which latter circumstance was undoubtedly to 

 be ascribed to an unfavorable Spring and late heavy rains. 

 In October I took a tramp of sixteen miles over the same 

 without flushing a single bird! But at night, coming to an 

 u old camping," I found two flocks within ten rods of each 

 other. The cause of this unprecedented scarcity in a re- 

 gion where they usually abound was plainly owing to a 

 lack of food; for never, in the last twenty years, have the 

 forests been so barren in that respect as at the present sea- 

 son, and the checkerberry, plums, and tender cloves around 

 the "old camping" accounted for the presence of the two 

 coveys. 



In this vicinity it is a rare thing for Reynard to take a 

 meal off ruffed grouse. The grouse seems incapable of 

 burying itself in the snow, while standing upon it, and in- 

 variably does so by hurling itself into it from a height, and 

 striking it at an acute angle, so as to project itself about two 

 feet horizontally and eight or ten inches vertical ly from the 

 point of entrance. Often and often, when on snow-shoes, 

 and the fleecy snow gave back no sound perceptible to hu- 

 man ears, I have endeavored to creep on to them when 

 seeing their holes in the snow, but never yet succeeded . 

 Some instinctive sense, placed there by the great Creator 

 for their preservation, always gives them warning in time. 

 Another protection is the fact that when the snow is of 

 sufficient softness and depth to admit of their burying 

 themselves in the manner stated, it is very tiresome travel- 

 ing for the fox, and he confines his operations chiefly to 

 fields, bag, and meadows. A much more formidable en- 

 emy is the great-horned owl, which, winging its way 

 noiseless, and observant, on moonlight nights or in the 

 gloaming, snatches many a savory meal from out the trees 

 and under the overhanging branches. Penobscot. 



Nicasio, Marin Co., Cal., Dec. 26th, 1975. 

 Editor Forest and Stream:— 



In answer to Mr. G. A. Boardman, whether the male mal- 

 lard does not change its plumage in Summer, I would say 

 it does. By the first of June the male and female are the 

 same plumage. Old and young are of the same plumage 

 till the middle of October, when the males begin to put on 

 their winter colors. The males showing the brassy color of 

 the bill in old and young, the old females meanwhile 

 showing small black spots at the base of the bill. 



Thomas H. Estey. 



• — » 



Wintering Flowers. — All the ordinary budding flow- 

 ers can be wintered successfully in a tight, tolerably dry 

 and light cellar. We have a cellar provided with sash to 

 the windows, and about the I5th of November, before se- 

 vere frost, we make a bed of light rich soil under one of 

 the windows, and take up all our geraniums, helio- 

 tropes, and verbenas, with all their roots, and a small ball 

 of earth, put them in the cellar and pack them as closely 

 as they will stand in an upright position. Sift plenty of 

 loose earth between them, and give them a good soaking 

 of water. They will require no other attention, except a 

 moderate watering once in two weeks. In very fine weath- 

 er open the sash for. an hour or two during the middle of 

 the day. In this way we have kept a large stock of bud- 

 ding plants for the two last years. They will grow but 

 little, but in the Spring make nice plants. Before taking 

 them up in the Fall they should be severally cut down to 

 six or eight inches in height. A large quantity of budding 

 plants are allowed to perish every Fall, and the florists will 

 not thank us for this hint. 



American Beef in England.— During the last week 

 of the year just ended, forty-two tons of meat were sold 

 in the Smithfield market, London, which had been shipped 

 from New York to Liverpool, and thence by rail to Lon- 

 don. The market was closed on Christmas day and the 

 Sunday and Monday following, and the meat was conse- 

 quently kept three days longer than would otherwise have 

 been necessary. Yet on Tuesday it was in excellent con- 

 dition, and sold rapidly at an average of six pence (sterling) 

 per pound. The Germantown Telegraph claims that there 

 is no difficulty in thus transporting fresh meats between 

 this country and Europe; that it was tested forty years 

 ago, and proved a success. If that is the case, there should 

 be no difficulty in shipping over beef in these days of 

 quick passages and refrigerating compartments, only don't 

 make our own meat any dearer. 



_— — «» « ». 



A Neglected Flower.— The marad of Persia, or four 

 o'clock, as it is vulgarly called, is well worthy of attention 

 as an ornament to our flower gardens. It possesses the 

 following good qualities; The colors are rich and gor- 

 geous, and of endless variety; a, profuse bloomer j not af- 



fected by drought; the flowers expand in the cool of a 

 Summer's evening, the time when we usually walk in our 

 gardens, another good quality, and one that is not gener- 

 ally known by all. A bulbous or tuberous root is formed 

 which can be taken np, kept in a cellar, as dahlias are, and 

 planted out in the Spring. As a decoration for our public 



parks and gardens it has no superior. 



•*♦«» 



A Rare Chance.— A correspondent now employed in 

 the U. S- Custom House at Pensacola, Fla., writes to us, 

 saying:— 



"Should you know of any responsible party who in- 

 tends starting an orange orchard on the gulf coast, and 

 who will only wish to spend his Winters here to enjoy the 

 hunting and fishing and delightful weather, and who will 

 wish some one to take entire charge of the place, keep 

 things in shape for him, etc., etc., please refer him to me. 

 I know there are such parties who are as desirous of meet- 

 ing me as I am to meet them." 



This correspondent, whom we know personally,' is a uni- 

 versal genius. During the war he was a captain of cav- 

 alry. Afterwards he planted Sea Island cotton for two 

 years. He owns a yacht, and has cruised all along the 

 coast of Florida, is a first-rate sportsman and taxidermist, 

 and was the first northern settler on Sarasota Bay after the 

 war. 



New Tulips. — A new species of tulip has been discov- 

 ered in Central Asia, said to be much more beautiful than 

 those which marked the celebrated tulip mania in Holland 

 many years ago. The flower is much larger than the com- 

 mon tulip, orange, spotted with black, and the bottom of 

 the cup yellow. It is known to botanists as Tulipa griegii. 



. : <*M^»» i 



How to get Eggs in Winter. — With a warm shelter and 

 suitable feed, pullets that begin to lay in the Fall will con- 

 tinue to lay through the Winter. It is mainly a question 

 of feed. The staple feed is Indian corn, especially in the 

 West, because it is the most plentiful and the most con- 

 venient. It furnishes plenty of fat, and keeps up the heat 

 of the fowls but is poor in albumen and the phosphates. 

 They want a variety of grains and vegetables, and, to do 

 their best, one feed daily of warm cooked meal and veget- 

 ables. Most farmers have milk, and if this can be added, 

 it will be all they need. Butcher's scrap cake is good, and 

 may safely be kept in the poultry yard, where the fowls 

 can help themselves at pleasure. Boiled potatoes or tur- 

 nips, mashed and mixed with Indian meal, make an excel- 

 lent feed for laying hens. Fowls are particularly fond of 

 cabbages and turnips at all stages of their growth, and eat 

 them raw greedily every day, if they can get them. We 

 have found so good results from cabbages to laying hens, 

 that we always lay in a large supply for the Winter. Re- 

 fuse from the butchers, and offal from the fish market also, 

 furnish good material for making eggs. The laying bird 

 should have free access to gravel with sharp grit, broken 

 oyster and clam shells, which assist in reducing the grains 

 and forming egg shells. — American Agriculturist. 

 j — -•*♦■ 



How to Extricate a Mired Animal.— An animal 

 mired in a swamp gets into a worse predicament the longer 

 it struggles. The effort to extricate it should be made in 

 an effective manner, so that the animal may not be en- 

 couraged to exhaust itself in repeated exertions, which 

 are useless, and only sink it deeper in the mire. The usual 

 method is to fasten a rope around the animal's horns or 

 neck, and while this is pulled by some of the assistants, 

 others place rails beneath the body of the animal for the 

 purpose of lifting it out of the hole. This plan is some- 

 times effective, but it often is not, and at best it is a slow, 

 clumsy, and laborious method. The materials needed for 

 the method here referred to are all that are required for a 

 much better one. This is very simple, and two men can 

 operate it, and at a pinch, even one man may succeed with 

 it. A strong stake or an iron bar is driven into the solid 

 grouud at a distance of 25 feet or more from the mired ani- 

 mal. Two short rails, about 9 feet long, are tied together 

 near the ends, so that they can be spread apart in the form 

 of a pair of shears, for hoisting. A long rope is fastened 

 around the horns or neck of the animal, with such a knot 

 that the loop cannot be drawn tight, enough to do any 

 injury. The rope is cast over the ends of the rails as they 

 are set up upon the edge of the solid ground, and carried 

 to the stake or crow-bar beyond. The end of the rope h 

 fastened to a stout hand-spike, leaving about a foot of the 

 end of it free. This end is laid against the bar or stake, 

 and the other end is moved around it so that the rope is 

 wound upon it, drawing it up and with it drawing the ani- 

 mal out of the mire. The rope being held up to the tied 

 rails, tends to lift the animal and make its extrication very 

 easy. — American Agriculturist. 



^»-h»» 



—Our native walnut wood is, according to the Cabinet 

 Malcer y one of the best materials in the world for furniture, 

 when oiled, approaching very near the color" of dark old 

 oak, and finishing much finer. The American walnut, 

 however, requires the grain to be well filled with a compo- 

 sition to resist the action of tbe heat in most dwellings, 

 and, to effect this, mere oiling is not adequate, as it leaves 

 the pores of the wood so open that it absorbs the heat; 

 thus, in a room at a temperature of some seventy -five de- 

 grees, the oiled walnut will absorb the heat to within five 

 degrees of the heat of the room, while varnished oak will 

 reflect the heat, and will not reach over forty-five to fifty 

 degrees. On this account the wood should be well season- 

 oned and the grain filled with shellac, or other material, to 

 prevent shrinkage. Linseed oil hardens wood, and well- 

 made walnut work finished with it and shellac, wil', 

 in a few years, acquire a polish almost like bronze, and, it 

 may be added, as beautiful in appearance. 



To Clean Old Pork Barrels.— Old pork barrels, 

 whether tainted or sweet, should be thoroughly cleansed 

 before being used for new pork. A very simple and el- 

 fectual method is to put in a peck of strong wood ashes 

 and a couple of pails of water, and let it stand a day or 

 two; then scour thoroughly with a stiff corn broom, -the 

 lye will take hold of all the greasy particles with which it 

 comes in contact, and the ashes, water, and broom will, u 

 vigorously used, leave them as sweet as new barrels. R inse 

 in cold water to remove all the ashes, then pour boiling 

 water all around the sides and wash clean, then rinse again 

 in cojd water, a,nd the work is done, 



