342 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



largely, aa indeed they must have done to have supported a 

 population capable of executing such gigantic works in 

 such vast profusion — for it is stated that the mounds and 

 earthworks of various kinds in the State of Ohio alone 

 amount to between eleven and twelve thousand. In their 

 habits, customs, religion and arts they differed strikingly 

 from all the Indian tribes; while their love of art and of 

 geometric forms, and their capacity for executing the lat- 

 ter upon so gigantic a scale render it probable that they 

 were really a civilized people, although the form their civ- 

 ilization took may have been very different from that of 

 later people subject to very different influences, and the 

 inheritors of a longer series of ancestral civilizations. We 

 have here, at all events, a striking example of the transi- 

 tion over a large extent of country from comparative civ- 

 ilization to comparative barbarism, the former having left 

 no tradition and hardly any trace of influence on the 

 latter. 



As Mr. Mott remarks: "Nothing can be more striking 

 than the fact that Easter Island and North America both 

 give the same testimony as to the origin of the savage life 

 found in them, although in all circumstances and surround- 

 ings the two cases are so different. If no stone monu- 

 ments had been constructed in Easier Island, or mounds 

 containing a few relics saved from fire, in the United 

 States we might never have suspected the existence of 

 these ancient peoples. He argues, therefore, that it is very 

 easy for the records of an ancient nation's life entirely to 

 perish or to be hidden from observation. Even the arts of 

 Nineveh and Babylon were unknown only a generation 

 ago, and we have only just discovered the facts about the 

 mound builders of North America. 



But other parts of the American continent exhibit par- 

 allel phenomena. Recent investigations show that in Mex- 

 ico, Central America and Peru, the existing race of In- 

 dians has been preceded by a distinct and more civilized 

 race. This is proved by the sculptures of the ruined cities 

 of Central America, by the more ancient terracottas and 

 paintings of Mexico, and by the oldest portrait pottery of 

 Peru — all alike show markedly non-Indian features, while 

 they often closely resemble modern European types. An- 

 cient crania, too, have been found in all these countries, 

 presenting very different characters from those of any of 

 the modern indigenous races of America. 

 [To be continued.] 



**•»» 



THE LAKE MAGOG MONSTER. 



West Hoboken, Dec. 28th. 

 Editor Forest and Stream : — 



Although not a seafaring man, dear Editor, yet I have 

 hunted a great deal, and been fortunate enough in my 

 travels to come across a similar monster, and cheerfully 

 answer your appeal to throw some light on the subject, 

 and herewith relate nvy experience and successful battle 

 with the unknown monster of the deep : 



In the fall of 1870 I was in the lumber business in Pike 

 Co., Pa., in the vicinity of Promised Land, about nine 

 miles west of Blooming Grove Park. There is quite a 

 lake here noted for its tine pickerel; which run from two 

 to six pounds in weight. It was a dark, foggy day when 

 our engineer and myself set out for a mess of pickerel. 

 We had trolled with some success, and were nearing the 

 middle of the lake, I standing in the bow intently watch- 

 ing the motion of the spoon; a light fog had settled on the 

 water and made it hard to distinguish objects at a distance. 

 Suddenly the exclamation "Great heavens! see that snake," 

 whispered by the engineer, startled me. And there truly, 

 from the left shore came a monster snake, so distinct that 

 no doubt was possible. 



Dear Editor, the beast looked awful. Imagine a snake, 

 seemingly 30 or 40 feet long, the body the size of a barrel, 

 coming at you when you think that you know every beast, 

 rock and rattlesnake in the country. 



I was thunderstruck. I rubbed my eyes, and tcok 

 another sharp look. "By heavens! its a snake!" The 

 motion of the boat had stopped the paddle, and we gazed in 

 awe. Apparently the monster had not noticed us and 

 was crossing our bow about forty yards away. I counted 

 seven distinct waves of his body, appearing porpoise-like 

 above the water. 



Many a man, dear Editor, would have fled in terror. 

 The sight was actually enough to shake the stoutest nerve. 

 I reached for my gun, both barrels were loaded with buck- 

 shot, and I felt easier. Right ahead laid a log in the water, 

 and the snake was heading for it. A moment more, and 

 when the large, horse-like head, about three feet in length, 

 appeared above the log, my finger touched the trigger. 

 Anxiously I peered thilmah the smoke and fog, ready with 

 the second barrel at close quarters, expecting to see a head 

 like an alligator's, with naming eyes as big as soup plates, 

 and fangs like canthooks. But, thank God! no such sight 

 appeared. The smoke cleared. We heard a shrill whistle. 

 A lot of heads bobbed up; the monster went in seven 

 pieces, and seven badly scared otters were diving for 

 dear life from Whippoorwhill. 



P. S. Try five drachms of powder and a corresponding 

 number of buckshot on your Lake Magog monster, if 

 hooks won't hold him, Mr. Hubbard, and if you don't 

 blow him in sundry seven pieces, my name be Davy. 

 -*•*>- 



Fauna of the Arctic Regions.— The results of the 

 British Arctic Expedition show that, as to human life in 

 these desolate lands, no traces of Esquimaux could be found 

 north of lat. 8i deg. 52 min., where these people appeared 

 to have crossed the water—here only about fifteen miles 

 -into Greenland, The nwtheva limits ol the hauats 



of wild animals was evidently almost reached. At the win- 

 ter quarters of the Alert, six musk oxen were shot, seven 

 hares, three foxes, one seal, and eighty-eight birds. The 

 naturalists of the expedition thinly that birds do not migrate 

 beyond Cape Joseph Henry, which is on the American 

 coast of the Frozen Polar sea, in lat. 82 deg. 52 min., north. 

 The ermine and numerous owls were met with in Green- 

 land, near where the Discovery wintered. 



-*-«♦> 



For Forest and Stream. 



INTRODUCTION OF A WESTERN RO- 

 DENT INTO NEW JERSEY. 



THE Spermophilus Franklini of Richardson, known in 

 the .Northwestern States as the gray gopher, has be- 

 come a permanent resident in Little Egg Harbor Township, 

 Burlington county, on the sea coast of New Jersey. 'I 'his 

 rodent's proper habitat is northern Illinois, Wisconsin, 

 Iowa, and to the Saskatchewan. Including tail it is less 

 than fifteen inches long; the body being about nine inches 

 in length. Upper parts of body light yellowish-brown; 

 head and neck gray. Under parts of body, whitish. Ap- 

 pearance, squirrel-like, with small and not prominent ears, 

 and well-develeped cheek-pouches. To persons unacquaint- 

 ed with rodents in general, this spermophile might be mis- 

 taken for a gray squirrel, though the tail would si em 

 insignificant when compared with that of the latter animal. 

 Of the habits of this animal when in its true habitat I can 

 say nothing; but I am aware that some of the members of 

 the same genus are so destructive to western farmers that a 

 sum of money is paid to encourage their destruction. 



During September, 1872, while harvesting a cramberry 

 crop, at my plantation in Manahawken, New Jersey, a friend 

 presented me with two rodents which were new to me. 

 They had been trapped on a farm two miles south of Tuck- 

 erton, Little Egg Harbor Township. The owner of the 

 farm had not heard of the existence of the gopher upon 

 his premises, and though they still abound there he does 

 not believe to this day that they exist in his vicinity. 

 The habit of observation frequently needs cultivation. 

 About this time Mr. Samuel Jillson, the well-known taxi- 

 dermist „of .Hudson, Mass., purchased a shore-farm and 

 moved into the locality inhabited by the gophers. He trapped 

 several pairs, in their holes on his farm, aud sent me two 

 stuffed specimens. The first pair that came into my pos- 

 session I contributed to the Academy of Natural Sciences of 

 Philadelphia, and they were kept alive for several weeks in 

 the building of the society, and were then stuffed for the 

 museum. They commenced to hybernate during the last 

 of September, remaining dormant for a few days at a time, 

 then venturing from their nests in search of food. These 

 interruptions to sleep grew less frequent, and by the time 

 cold weather set in had almost ceased. 



Mr. Samuel Jillson informs me that this rodent destroys 

 his young turkeys and chickens, besides eating his corn, 

 &c. 1 have searched out the history of the introduction 

 of this animal after much inquiry. 



About the year 1868 Mr. Sylvester Mathis, of Mathis- 

 town, (a hamlet near Tuckerton, N. J.) returned from a 

 visit to the west and brought a pair of gophers, which soon 

 after his arrival gnawed out of their cage and escaped to the 

 fields where they propagated their species until the animal 

 now ranges over, probably, two square miles of territory. 

 It burrows in the open field— not in the woods. Years 

 hence, when this little pest shall have extended his field of 

 occupation, and shall have entered neighboring States, this 

 simple record of its early history may prove of interest to 

 our descendants. N. H. Bishop. 



Lake George, Warren county, If. T., Dec, 1876. 

 ■««»• > 



MICHIGAN NOTES. 



Ann Arbor, Mich., Dec. 11th, 1876. 

 Editor Forest and stream: — 



In your issue of Nov. 30th, your correspondent, Thomas 

 H. Howell, of Srteator, 111., tells us of the capture of a 

 specimen of the short-eared owl (Brachyotus palustris), 

 which he says is a bird of considerable rarity in the United 

 States. Now I beg to differ with him in regard to this mat- 

 ter. I have been engaged in the work of collecting orni- 

 thological specimens for the past seven years and have 

 always found it to be the most common of all our owls in 

 this vicinity, nesting about May 20.th, laying four or five 

 dull while eggs, which measure about 1.5U inch in length 

 by 1.25 inch in breadth. In one instance I found the nest 

 of this bird built on the ground in a small opening in s 

 tamarack swamp; it was composed of a few sticks, feathers, 

 and grass, and contained five eggs of the above description. 

 Whether this was a departure from the general rule, I can- 

 not say, but the other nests of this bird I have always 

 foundbuilt in trees, generally using the abandoned nest of 

 the common crow (Covus Amerieanus). I have found this 

 bird to be of a very sociable disposition. For instance, 

 last Christmas day (1875) I procured seven of these individ- 

 uals without moving more than ten rods, but enough of 

 Brachyotus for this time, and I will finish **ith. a few gen- 

 eral items. Snowy owls (Nyctea nivea) are quite common 

 heie, and have been all the fall. Gunners report them 

 common about the Monroe ducking marshes and Lake St. 

 Clair flats. The weather has come on very cold and had a 

 careful observer noted the action of the winter birds he 

 would have been fore-warned of its approach. For the 

 past two weeks the woodpeckers and jays have been work- 

 ing more diligently .than before, secreting acorns, kernels of 

 corn, beetles, &c. This might have been noticed especially 

 in the jays not trooping about the country in bands scold- 

 ing and quarreling about trifles, but eacti working silently 

 and alone with a suspicious air as if fearful that some of 

 his comrades were watching him. The redpoll linnet and 

 snow bunting have not as yet made their appearance, but 

 at this date of writing we are having a heavy fall of snow 

 and I shall expect them in a short time. 



Adolphe B. Covert. 



What is It? — "Huntington," a Bridgeport correspond 

 ent, sends the following description of a bird which he 

 wishes us to determine. If he wiil tell us where it is to be 

 seen, we will try to arrange to examine it ourselves, and will 

 let him know what it is. We cannot tell from his descrip- 

 tion. Can it be a coot, Fulica? 



Mr. John Bache, of Stratford, Connecticut, has shown 

 me a mounted specimen of a water bird which he shot 

 this &ll,,whi%h lias pulled- all the a&perts in Qfnitho&gy 



hereabouts; stands one foot high; has slightly web feet; 

 has head and beak similar to a young pigeon; has long 

 black legs similar to yellow leg snipe, breast mottled 

 white and blueish; brown back, nearly black, shading steel 



brown. 



«*►*♦. 



English Sparrows in Cold Climates. — A correspond- 

 ent, "P," writes from Nashua, New Hampshire, saying:— 



"Your correspondent, "Bob," writing from Minneapolis, 

 Minnesota, is curious to know how the English house 

 sparrow will stand the climate in that locality. Perfectly 

 well, I think, as they are to be found in great numbers in 

 Montreal, where they appear to thrive well, notwithstand- 

 ing the severity of the climate, the thermometer frequently 

 falling 30 degrees below zero." 



[We think the climate of Minnesota scarcely more trying 

 to these birds than the climate of New York, where they 

 are very numerous. — Ed.] 



r aadhnd, «$Hrm mi <§Hrdm. 



PRESERVATION OF CUT FLOWERS. 



THE question is so often asked, "How shall I keep my 

 cut flowers fresh," that the best method of doing so 

 ought to be known by all who are fond of floral decora- 

 tions. Of course to those who possess large green-houses 

 from which to cut daily, this is not so much of an object. 

 Still, even these may require to send or take flowers some 

 distance, and, unless the}' are properly packed they will, 

 at the end of the journey, prove worthless. When possible, 

 flowers should always be cut from plants that are well 

 hardened off, avoiding as much as possible those grown in 

 stove heat. In Ferns well matured, fronds oniy should be 

 cut, as young fronds are certain to shrivel up in a few 

 hours after being used, and consequently spoil the effect of 

 any decoration in which they may be employed. In 

 cutting'them a sharp knife should always be used in pref- 

 erence to scissors, which crush and close up the minute 

 tubes or veins through which the moisture is drawn up,, 

 while, if cut with a knife, they remain open. If required 

 to be kept for only a day or two, the flowers should be 

 cut early in the morning, each variety tied into bunches by 

 itself, and then placed in earthenware jars or wide glasses, 

 filled with cold water, which should be put in some dark 

 cool place till required. A cool, dark cupboard in a cellar, 

 is an excellent place to keep them, sprinkling the shelves 

 and sides first, and keeping the whole place as moist as 

 possible. Many flowers, such as Kosebuds, Gardenias, Eu- 

 charis, etc., keep better if cut and put in water, or laid on 

 damp moss, than if left growing on the plant. Others, like 

 Heliotrope, Tuberoses, etc., spoil much more rapidly if 

 wet overhead, though the greater variety of flowers used 

 are all the better of a good sprinkling before being placed 

 away. It is an excellent plan with the many of the finer 

 Ferns, such as A. Adiantum or Maiden's Hair, to leave 

 them in water for an hour or so before using them; they 

 thus get thoroughly saturated, and will keep a whole day 

 without wilting. When loose flowers are arranged in vases 

 or dishes, it will be found a good plan to lift them out and 

 place them in a basin of cold water in a cool, close place; 

 then, in the morning, cut a short piece off the end of each, 

 in a slanting direction, to keep the ends of the tubes open, 

 arranging them again in fresh, cold water. Vases of flow- 

 ers can be kept fresh for a week at a time if they are thus 

 treated. Bouquets and baskets of flowers, such as come 

 from the florists, if well sprinkled every evening aud placed 

 in a cool, damp closet, as before described, will keep fresh 

 a much longer time than if left in a warm airy room over 



night. 



-«-•«» 



Canadian Apples in England.— A lot of 4,000 barrels 

 of Canadian apples is reported to have been recently sold 

 in the Liverpool market at prices ranging from 14s. to 16s. 

 sterling per barrel. The apples were a choice lot, especial 

 care having been devoted to their packing. The fruit ar- 

 rived in splendid condition, and the English agent paid the 

 skipper a compliment for his great success, as of several 

 hundred lots received, this one was the best. For such a 

 superior lot of apples the prices received were certainly 

 very low — barely remunerative, we should say. The Ot- 

 tawa Times, which furnishes the information, states that 

 the freight from Montreal to Liverpool is something like 

 six shillings sterling per barrel, other charges would add 

 another two shillings. This would give the shipper, at 

 the higher price, only eight shillings slerling per barrel. 

 There were large shipments of this fruit from the Upper 

 Provinces to England last winter. The result was almost 

 ruinous to those engaged in the trade; and from the prices 

 just reported it would seem that the prospects were not 

 much better this season. Notwithstanding appearances, 

 the Ottawa Times is still of opinion that if due care was 

 taken in the selection of the fruit and in the packing, a 

 profitable market for Canadian fruit might be secured in 

 Great Britain. "Baldwins" and "Greenings," our Ottawa 

 contemporary thinks, are the best kind for shipment, as 

 they stand rough handling, and generally keep well. 

 -^*^. 



PLANTS FOR HOME DECORATIONS. 



Editor Forest and Stream:— 



Your article on plants for home decorations gave me 

 great pleasure, and among the numerous plants suitable, I 

 know of none that gives such universal satisfaction as the 

 common Ivy. In England, where it is seen on every wall 

 and old ruin, and where the necessity for such strong fires 

 in winter does not exist, it is not so much used; but, in 

 ihh country, where it does little good out of doors, it is of 

 great aesviee, and being strong asd hardy 1% -will frsas 



