230 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



such a combination of characters that it is impossible to 

 rank them with either of the exsiting families of the order 

 to which they belong. In some respects they were like 

 dogs, in others they were bear-like; in still others they 

 were more generalized than any existing members of the 

 order. Then there were several species of hygenodon, some 

 larger than any of the European forms, and others no larger 

 than a fox; 'the last survivors of a group notablv differing 

 from any now known.' In the character of their skulls 

 they stand intermediate between wolves and opossums. 

 In the earlier periods, still more generalized types abounded, 

 some of them combining the gereric characteristics of half 

 a dozen of our specialized modern carnivora. 



"Perhaps the most remarkable of these comprehensive 

 types was the tillodontia, which seems to have combined 

 the characteristics of several distinct groups, the carnivors, 

 the hoofed animals, and the rodents. Some of them were 

 as large as the tapir. Their molar teeth were of the ungu- 

 late type, their canines small, their incisors rodent-like. 

 Their heads were bear-like, their general structure like that 

 of the ungulates, their feet plantigrade. Two distinct 

 forms abounded: one in which the incisors grew from per- 

 sistent pulps, like the beaver's, the other having all the 

 teeth rootless. 



"The dominant types of tertiary flesh eaters, however, 

 were various modifications of felidse, fierce cats, some of 

 them surpassing our modern lions and tigers in size and 

 strength. Chiet among them in the miocene age were the 

 saber-toothed tigers, which seem to have overrun the whole 

 world about thai time, and to have lingered in some parts 

 until the human period. It is one of the puzzles of pake- 

 ontology to account for the extinction of this highly 

 specialized type, apparently the fittest of all the cat family 

 to win in the straggle for existence. Happily for man they 

 did not survive in force, to contest his progress toward the 

 mastery of the earth." 



A Spider Fisherman .—In the American Naturalist for 

 November, Mr. T. M. Peters relates the following remark- 

 able incident: "Just before the late war, I was at Col. Oak- 

 ley Bynum's spring in Lawrence county, Ala., near the 

 town of Courtland, where I saw a school of minnows play- 

 ing in the sunshine near the edge of the water. All at once 

 a spider as large as the end of my finger, dropped down 

 from a tree overhanging the spring. The spider seized one 

 of the minnows near the head. The fieh thus seized was 

 about three inches long. As soon as it was seized by its 

 captor it swam round swiftly in the water, and frequently 

 dived to the bottom, yet the spider held on to it. Finally 

 it came to the top, turned upon its back and died. It 

 seemed to have been bitten or wounded on the back of the 

 neck, near where the head joins. When the fish was dead, 

 the spider moved off with it to the shore. The limb of the 

 tree from which the spider must have fallen, was between 

 ten and fifteen feet above the water. Its success showed 

 that it had the judgment of a practical engineer." 



— Prof. Huxley has returned to England and has resumed 

 his professional duties, but the interest which his visit ex- 

 cited, not only in the scientific but in the clerical world as 

 "well, has not yet altogether subsided. We still hear of 

 anti-Huxley sermons preached by eminent divines, and the 

 newspaper columns still produce letters pro and con on the 

 evolution question. But aside from all questions contro- 

 versial in their character it is interesting and gratifying to 

 hear an opinion from Prof. H. in regard to science and 

 scientific men in the country. In the Cincinnati Commer- 

 cial Mr. M. D. Conway speaks as follows: — 



"As for American Science, Prof. Huxley thinks that the 

 same movement and tendency of thought are going on 

 there as in England, though America is some years behind 

 yet. He found the American men of science generally full 

 of kindness. Prof. Spencer F. Baird cf the Smithsonian 

 made the best of guides for his appreciation of the mar- 

 velous exhibition in Philadelphia. I need not say that he 

 spoke with the utmost enthusiasm of Prof. Marsh, of Yale, 

 for his lectures at New York sufficiently attest his opinion 

 concerning Marsh and his achievement. But Prof. Huxley 

 manifested some misgiving whether the Americans really 

 knew what a man they have in Marsh, or recognized that 

 he is one of the best drilled and thoroughly informed men 

 of science now living. 'Indeed,' said Prof. Huxley, 'I 

 much fear that the Americans do not recognize some of 

 their greatest men. There are Prof. Dana, for instance, 

 and Leidy, of Philadelphia, who, with us over here, have 

 long been in the front rank; but I read an article in The 

 North American Review — a Centennial article on American 

 Science— in which those men were hardly more than men- 

 tioned.' " 



A FieHT with a Heron. — Believing that the following 

 account will be interesting to many of your readers, I send 

 it as an instance of pluck all round, in man, dog, and 

 quarry alike, i. <?., in all except the writer, who took but 

 an insignificant part in the tragedy. I should state that 

 heavy and continued rain had greatly swollen the river 

 Wye prior to September 7th, and past Erwoorl Hall, Bre- 

 conshire, the residence of Mr. H. T. Gwynne-Vaughan, J. 

 P., it came down at a tremendous pace. While shooting 

 rabbits in a little copse on the farm, which slopes down to 

 the river, the dogs flushed a heron. As soon as it cleared 

 from under the cover of the trees, I fired as it made for the 

 ©ther side of the stream, and broke the left wing. The 

 heron fell into the river, but we could see his head and 

 neck above the water as the stream carried him rapidly 

 down. In a moment, Sam, a retriever dog, took to the 

 river; but, though as large as a Newfoundland, and a pow- 

 erful swimmer, the rush of the water was too strong for 

 him, and Mr. Gwj nne-Vaughan, who was with me, called 

 him back, and we ran down the river side keeping the her- 

 on in view. Again the dog was bid to "seek dead," and 

 once more took to the river, for the heron was being borne 

 rapidly towards the Gro'man Falls, where he would have 

 been dashed to pieces. Again the current carried the dog 

 down, and to save him from drowning, he had to be 

 recalled. At this moment an eddy of the stream carried 

 the heron under some trees on the opposite side, close 

 to the spot where the Craigpwildu brook falls into 

 the Wye. Here was a chance to find him, as he was 

 only wounded; but how to get at him? To swim the 

 river was impossible, and the ferry at Cafntwmbach was 

 toette? than a mile up the river. It was our only means of 



crossing; so off we set, and were soon across the ferry and 

 on to the estate of Mr. Vaughan, of the Screen, an uncle 

 of my companion. A path under some noble trees brought 

 us opposite the spot where the heron was shot, and within 

 ten yards of the spot where he was marked down. I spied 

 him in a large nool some yards from the river bank; seem- 

 ingly, as he rested on the water, he was unhurt. As I shout- 

 ed out " 'there he is, Sam !" the retriever plunged into the 

 eddying pool and swam to seize his prey. Now the fight 

 began. Without swerving an inch, the heron, with his crest 

 erect and with a scream, darted his formidable beak straight 

 at the dog's eyes; Sam was puzzled. In a moment how- 

 ever, he was at him again, but the terrible beak of the heron, 

 as the attack was again renewed, held him fairly at bay. 

 Sam now changed his plan; he tried to circumvent his for- 

 midable enemy by swimming round to his back, but the 

 heron presented a bold front at all points, and once more 

 Sam rushed in. The fight was getting fast and furious, but 

 Sam, though considerably punished, stuck to his post, and, 

 though repeatedly recalled, would not return without his 

 bird. There was nothing left to do but to kill the heron, 

 to prevent his blinding the dog, if he had not already done 

 so. Accordingly I raised my gun, when my companion 

 shouted out, "Don't shoot; don't spoil the bird; I'll save 

 the dog." In an instant he leaped from the bank into the 

 pool, and, swimming, made for the heron. The bird now 

 left the dog and turned on his new assailant; rushing at 

 him with a scream, in an instant the heron darted his form- 

 idable beak at Mr. Gwynne-Vaughan's eyes; but as he 

 swam he managed to cover his face, and his hand only was 

 wounded. Again and again the heron attacked him, but 

 never succeeded in wounding his face. At last he grabbed 

 the heron by the legs, drew it under the water, and struck 

 out for the shore; grasping the bird by the beak, he was 

 soon on land, none the worse for his courageous exploit 

 than a wounded hand and a wet skin. Sam, the retriever, 

 was bleeding from at least five honorable wounds, all within 

 a quarter of an inch of either eye. It was a courageous 

 fight all round, and was such a five minutes of exciting- 

 sport, of its kind, as one is not likely to see again. Next 

 morning the bird was on its way to London, where Mr. 

 Cole, of Great Portland street, is preserving it in his best 

 style.— W. Henry Fisk ( University College, London.) 



The foregoing very interesting account is copied from 

 the London Field. We remember to have witnessed an 

 exciting combat in northern Minnesota, in July, 1857, be- 

 tween a heron and a man armed with a knife, during which 

 it seemed doubtful for a while on whom the laurels would 

 rest. The man came off victor, with several serious hurts. 

 To strike the body in a vital part, while the lance-like bill 

 and neck, flexible and lithe as a snake, thrust and parried 

 with the rapidity of a rapier, required a dexterity possessed 

 only by a professional swordsman. It was only by inter- 

 posing the brute strength of the left arm, with the certainty 

 of receiving damage to it that the heron was vanquished. 

 It was a most comical tilt— the stilt-like legs of the tall bird 

 playing their awkward part, and his basilisk eye unflinch- 

 ingly regarding the flushed face and nervous embarrass- 

 ment of his antagonist. 



A Queer Colorado Fish. — It has the head of a catfish, 

 the body of an eel, the legs of a lizard, while the gills are 

 long, feathery plumes. In the fall of 1850 the writer car- 

 ried back to the States four of these strange fish* preserved 

 in alcohol. They were procured in Gold Lake, Boulder 

 county, a beautiful body of water, in which they were as 

 thick as tadpoles in a puddle. One of them was forwarded 

 to Professor Agassiz, who said the fish was first discovered 

 by Humboldt, in the n ountain lakes of Mexico. He did 

 not know it was found north of that country until he re- 

 ceived the specimens we sent him. It is not really a fish, 

 but belongs to the batrachian family. — (Georgetown Miner. 



[From the description here given it would seem that 



this so-called fish was one of the genus siredon, now known 



to be merely the laivse form of a western salamander (am- 



blystoma). For a detailed account of the metamorphorsis 



of the former into the latter, see "American Journal of 



Science," vol. XLVI, Nov. 18G8.— Ed. 



-♦♦-•• 



BIRDS OF CENTRAL NEW YORK. 



BY H. G. FOWLER. 



\ Continued from page 84.] 



Macroehamphus griseus. Red-breasted snipe; a few taken 

 during the migrations. 



Ereunetes pudllus. Semipalmated sandpiper. Common 

 during the migrations. 



Tringa maculata. Pectoral sandpiper. Not very com- 

 mon. Occurs only during the migrations. 



Cahdris arenaria. Buddy plover. Found with the pre- 

 ceding. Not common. 



Totanus semipalmalus. Willet. Not very common. 

 Found only during the migrations. 



Ballus virginianus. Virginia rail. Common summer 

 resident; arrives the last week in April. Breeds. 



Pw zana Carolina. Carolina rail. Common summer resi- 

 dent. Breeds. 



Qygnus americanus. Whistling swan. Rare. One was 

 taken on Cayuga Lake in the spring of 1875, which may 

 be seen in the club room of the Seneca Fails Sportsmen's 

 Association. 



Spatula clypeata. Shoveller. Not common. Occurs 

 only during the migrations. 



Faligula collarib. Ring-necked duck. Not common, bat 

 sometimes taken during the inigra'ions. 



Sterna fuliginosa. Sooty tern. Rare. One was taken on 

 Owasco Lake, September 20th, 1876. 



Coiymbus septentrionalis. Red-throated diver. Rare. 

 Only found late in autumn. 



Podiceps comutus. Horned grebe. Not rare during the 

 migrations. ^ _^ 



THE ARCTIC OWL. 



New York, Nov. 12th. 

 Editor Forbst and Stream:— 



I noticed ia your last issue a communication from Salem, Mass., in 

 which it speaks of owls being very common. In the iatte* part of Oc- 



tober I spent a few days at Branch Rock, Marshfield Beach, Mass. 

 cooling. On the morning of October 28th a large white Arctic owl was 

 shot on the Bock. In the afrernoon I shot a mate to ii further down the 

 beach— a splendid bird, which I am having mounted. The following 

 Monday two others of the same kind were shot, and another one seen 

 One of them was shot by the proprietor of the hotel. It waa wounded" 

 and he had him alive on the billiard table. He would stretch his win»s 

 across the table. The old settlers say that the appearance of these 

 birds is an indication of a very severe winter. J. g, <$_ 



It is said that the presence of Strix bubo indicates ap- 

 proaching cold weather. Some thirty years ago there was 

 an immense incursion of these owls upon Sable Island, off 

 the coast of Nova Scotia; but the birds were no doubt at- 

 tracted more by the large colonies of rabbits, than driven 

 there by stress of severe Arctic weather. 



.». «» — , — 



Arrivals at the Philadelphia Zoological Gardens Nov. 9th. 

 —One quail (Orlyx virginianus), presented by Mrs. M. R. Sweeny' 

 Philadelphia; three raccoons (frocyon lotor); two great horned owls 

 {Bubo virginianus), presented by J. D. Towner, Blount Spring, Ala; 

 one red-tailed hawk {Buteo borealis), presented by James P. Massey] 

 Philadelphia; two ravens (Corvus coracc), presented by John W. Le 

 Maietre, Philadelphia; one Malayan tapir (Tapirus malayanus), two 

 young elephants (Elephas indicus), one black leopard (Felis pardus) one 

 chacina baboon (Cynocepholus ptrca?ius), and two eider ducks (Soma- 

 teria mollissima), purchased; two Fournier's capromys (Capromys pilo- 

 rides), born in the garden; one snowy owl (Nyctea mvea), presented by 

 Josiah Fitzgerald, Philadelphia. 



* Arthur E. Brown, General Superintendent 



faadhnd, ^urrn nnd %m&m. 



^_4 , 



CALIFORNIA RAISINS. 



I ant to record the growth of any practical do- 



mestic industry which promises to result in not only 

 a saving to consumers, but iu turning to the profit of the 

 producer what promises to be a surplus and unsalable 

 stock. We have before called attention in our columns to 

 the fact that raisin making in California might be prosecu- 

 ted so extensively as to rank with her wheat and wool 

 growing and wine making interests. In fact, the very 

 causes which act to retard the growth of the latter indus- 

 try are in favor of raisin making. It is a general complaint 

 that the wines of California are too "heady;'' that nothing 

 is produced which compares with the light table wines of 

 Europe. A contrast of the soils which produces the grape 

 in each country gives the key to the mystery. The grapes 

 which are made into those light and agreeable wines of the 

 old country, wines that can be drank almost as water, and 

 which in any degree oi moderation "cheer but do not inebri- 

 ate," are grown in the most sterile soil. In fact it might 

 be said that the lighter the soil the lighter the wine, in 

 California, on the contrary, the soil is remarkable for its 

 richness; its depth and quality is a constant surprise to the 

 agriculturist, and even were he so disposed, it is almost im- 

 possible for him to plant his vineyard in any but the rich- 

 est soil, and at the same time have the supply of water ac- 

 cessible for the irrigation which is necessary for the nour- 

 ishment of his young vines. Hence the land, as far as re- 

 gards wine making, has too much of what is technically 

 termed "fat" in it, and produces a grape which is unusually 

 rich in saccharine matter. The presence of this richness 

 induces a tendency to frequent fermentation, under which 

 processes the wine would spoil were it not prevented by 

 the mixture of a large amount of spirits. In some wines 

 the amount of native brandy, usually made at the 

 same, time and largely of the must or bruised grapes af- 

 ter the pressing, mixed with the wine, amounts to as much 

 as twenty gallons in every cask, or nearly twenty per cent. 

 Here we have the secret of the "heady" qualities of Cali- 

 fornia wines, particuhirly when drank within the State. 



The presence of this unusual amount of saccharian mat- 

 ter in the grape, however, is what makes it so admirably 

 suited for raisin making. The very substance the presence 

 of which tends to destroy the wine, act as a natural "pre- 

 server" of the raisin. The common "Mission" grapes of 

 California can be turned into excellent raisins for home 

 consumption by simply hanging them in clusters to the 

 ceiling, and it is most common to see the huge bunches 

 remaining on the vines long after the leaves have fallen, 

 shrivelled, but perfectly preserved. The foregoing partic- 

 ulars are called to mind through the following paragraph 

 which we find in an exchange:— 



"California raisins to the amount of 60,000 boxes will be 

 placed on the eastern market this year. The grapes can be 

 raised profitably for \\ cents a pound. Thiee pounds of 

 grapes make a pound of raisins, which can be cured and 

 boxed for \\ cents per pound. Allowing 1 cent for freight 

 and commission, the raisins can be sold in San Francisco 

 at 7 cents per pound. At present one million and a half 

 boxes are imported annually, consequently there can be no 

 lack of market. Ihe curious feature about the business is 

 that the viniculturists of California refused to try to make 

 raisins till they had lost money several years in trying to 

 find a market for table grapes and wines." 



To Mr. Thomas Dalton of the Azara Iiancho, situated 

 in the beautiful San Gabriel valley, some ten miles from 

 Los Angeles, is due the credit of making the first raisins, 

 cured artificially, in California. "We visited Mr. Dalton's 

 place some eight years since and witnessed the entire op- 

 eration, commenced then on a small scale, but which we 

 predicted would ere long expand to an industry of great 

 importance. At that time grapes were selling for wine 

 and brandy making purposes at seventy -five cents per one 

 hundred pounds. This was for the Missouri variety, as 

 but few other varieties were grown, and these in small 

 quantities, although we have seen wagon loads of beautiful 

 black Hamburghs emptied into the presses, and all sold 

 for the remarkable price of three-fourths of a cent per 

 pound. Mr. Dalton, in addition to other varieties, had a 

 small vineyard of the White Muscat of Alexandria, and 



