mmm 



373 



him aa aristocrat. He delights only in the purest water, 

 and lives only on the daintiest food. He associates with 

 none but his eqnals, and is by far the most gamy and high 

 spirited ot his kind. In former years all ot our New Eng- 

 land rivers were abundantly supplied, with this valuable 

 ifisb, but with the march of certain kind of civilization, 

 ■which has been blind to the importance of fish as an article 

 of food, the salmon has entirely disappeared from most of 

 ■our waters. The salmon continued to frequent the rivers 

 i of Massachusetts until the building of the Holyoke and 

 Lawrence dams, which sounded their death knells. The 

 rivers of Maine suffered the same fate, the Penobscot being 

 the only river that has not suffered in like manner. With 

 the exception of the latter river, all the rivers of New 

 Eogland have been effectually cleared of all migratory fish. 

 Since the Legislature of Maine made efforts to regulate the 

 inland fisheiies of that Stale, the supply has been doubled, 

 and within the past three years the catch has increased 

 some 15,000. 



Mr. .Brackett gave an interesting sketch of the history 

 of the salmon. As it requires a dam onlv 12 feet high to 

 arrest his progress to the spawning beds, the utmost leap 

 being 10 feet, the building of fish ways over and around the 

 dams became necessary in order to restock the exhausted 

 rivers. This has been done to a great extent by private 

 parties and by State authority. The lecturer proceed- 

 ed to give a description of the natural and artificial process 

 of spawning. Speaking of the fecundity of the salmon, 

 he said that a salmon casts 1,000 eggs for every pound of 

 her weight. The enemies of the young salmon were the 

 sea-trout, the sheldrake and kingflsh, which can each stom- 

 ach twenty small fish per day. He advised the sportBman 

 who went fishing for salmon to take a breech-loading rifle 

 with him and make war upon the enemies of the sslmon. 

 But tbe greatest of those enemies was man, who resorts to 

 every possible artifice to capture the salmon; and of all 

 deadly weapons invented the Indian spear was the most de- 

 structive, a specimen of whiok Mr. Brackett exhibited. 

 The localities frequented by the salmon, his instincts and 

 habits were fully described. Eods, gaffs and flies, such as 

 the true sportsman uses, were desciibed and specimens ex- 

 hibited. The best rod to be had is made of split bamboo, 

 always provided it is made by Mr. Leonard, of Bangor. 

 He did not say this to advertise the wares of Mr. Leonard, 

 for they advertise themselves by their own merits. Brad- 

 ford & Anthony were cited as the best source from which 

 to obtain lines, flies, and gaffs, and in conclusion Mr. 

 Brackett told his hearers that if they would know how 

 much real enjoyment could be got out of life to go a 

 fishing. If they could not go a salmon fishing, they should 

 catch trout or anything that would take them away from 

 their daily and monthly routine. Live in the woods a few 

 weeks every year and they would not only be more healthy, 

 hut happier. At tke close of the lecture, which was in- 

 structive and at times eloquent, a vote of thanks was ten- 

 dered Mr. Brackett for his efforts to please, and subse- 

 quently the members repaired with their ladies, to the 

 library room, where a substantial banquet was spread. 



Florida — Homosaxa, Jaauary Sth — We have a very nice 

 party cf visitors, but not quite full yet. We are taking 

 fceveu kinds of fish on the "fly." Cavali weighing five and 

 a half pounds on seven ounce rods makes a nice play. Mr. 

 Greene Smith took it, and it took one half hour to land it. 

 S«a trout take tbe fly as fast as it is cast, and 1 saw two* 

 gents lake about a dozen trout in front of the house in a 

 very short time. Tne channel bass went for the "fly" so 

 fast that Mr. Smith took in his fly, afraid of hooking them, 

 they were so large, as he did not want to break his tackle. 

 They are having real good sport. Ducks are in pretty, well. 

 Deer sign are plentiful. 1 have a fine pair of hounds, and 

 we are going to take a good hunt in a few days. 



Alfred P. Jones. 



BIRD PETS. 



Editor Forest and Stream:— 



Your good editorial of ihe2d ult. on aviaries brings before 

 my mind memories Jong passed, pleasant reminiscences of 

 former bird pets, and from my refreshed remembrance I 

 shall try to recall a ft w incidents connected with my ex- 

 perience in this line. If I can succeed in placing these 

 little episodes of long ago in the light of interesting facts it 

 is all I desire. Since boyhood I have been devotedly at- 

 tached to the woods, and even now am never quite happy 

 away from them. Of course fondness for the forest and 

 love of its indwellers are terms synonymous, and birds 

 have always been my hobby. I have, too, learned some 

 uselul and practical lessons from this book of nature, the 

 page's of which I have been so long carelessly perusing. 



My bird-houses, for I owned two, contained most of the 

 hbxU mentioned in your article, but in addition I had 

 some larger birds in a wire room separate from the others; 

 fivt crows, a barred owl, a red-tailed hawk, and (I hesi- 

 tate, for methiuks 1 detect your smile), a turkey buzzard. 

 This was my "happy family," for this term is applied, I 

 believe, to those miscellaneous collections of animals 

 where discord is most rampant — and very prolific was it of 

 amusement. I agree with you that the smaller birds are 

 interesting and instructive, but for affording unadulterated 

 amusement I know of no bird to compaie with the Ameri- 

 can crow. The owl, buzzard and hawk did little to make 

 themselves interesting. At times the hawk, when live 

 rood, either chickens or wounded birds were placed in the 

 cage, would exhibit hi3 ferocity by pouncing down upon 

 ™*L unfortunates. He would seize one of them, and 

 ruffling his every feather till he seemed twice his former 

 size, would renu the warm and quivering flesh, making 

 dangerous passes at any who approached within reach of 

 his talons, keeping up at the same time a shrill whistling 

 noise. This cruel sport was, however, of rare occurrence. 

 1 nnally turned him loose, having first labeled him by 

 fastening a metal tag around the tarsus of one leg. With- 

 in two days the bird was brought back dead, having been 

 Ruled at some distance from my place by some one who 

 took him for a wild bird. But to return to Corvus ameri- 

 canu». Durance vile has apparently no effect on him, and 

 he bears it sine cura. He, however, makes it warm for 

 "is companions in captivity, and I have often wondered 

 whether they at times did not long for death, to whom life 

 was made such a burden. It seemed to me that my crows 

 nmst have been born in sin, they displayed so many 

 characteristics m their everyday life to hear out this sup- 



position. Thieving, deception, and frequently murder 

 with malice prepense, together with many minor vices, 

 were of constant occurrence. And yet they were taken 

 from the nest while still in down and brought up in most 

 exemplary manner by their self-appointed parent. The 

 crow is of an exceedingly affectionate disposition, and 

 becomes as devotedly attached to his master as a dog. 

 Pie shows his affection in most unequivocal ways. Some- 

 times perching himself on the arm he will rub his head 

 against your face, making at the same time a low guttural 

 noise signifying in his unmelodious crow voice his trust and 

 confidence in you. I have stroked the head of one of my 

 black pets for five minutes while Oorvus held himself in an 

 unmoved statuesque attitude, all the time keeping up the 

 guttural melody, and finally dropping his wings and quiv- 

 ering his tail and body he glides away with a joyful caw, only 

 to return shortly to the same perch. They are exceedingly 

 provident of future wants, and there seems to be no limit 

 to their gastronomic abilities. If a well filled dish of 

 palatable food is placed in the cage, after having satisfied 

 their hunger, they cram full their capacious mouths, and 

 in a sedate manner start on an inspection tour. As soon 

 as some convenient hole or crevice discovers itself to them 

 they there deposit their bonne louche and cover it carefully 

 with sand, bits of paper, and so forth, then returning to 

 the dish they repeat the operation till in a few moments 

 the plate is as clean as the traditional dish of Jack Sprat. 

 After kaving placed a morsel in such a hiding place they 

 eye it circumspectly from its various approaches, and if 

 any part is still exposed they cover it more carefully or 

 becoming provoked drag it forth, and seek another place. 

 In an hour cr so they are seen to g* systematically to each 

 corner and draw out the food and devour it with evident 

 relish. Query: Do the crows act in a similar way in the 

 wild state? Sometimes the tidbit having been swallowed 

 long before by one of the others who watched its conceal- 

 ment, the rightful owner sigwifyks his rage by lusty caw- 

 ings. They are inquisitive to a degree, and also show their 

 thieving propensities by seizing any bright or shining ar- 

 ticle, such as a silver dollar or a knife, which they will 

 conceal with remarkable skill. 



One of my most mischievous birds had a trick of seizing 

 the buzzard by the tail with his bill as the latter sat on his 

 perch, and ©losing his wings woulc 1 swing back and forth, 

 the buzzard meanwhile keeping up a peculiar hissing noise 

 and making frantic but futile attempts to reach the tor- 

 mentor with his strong beak, while Jim Crow thoroughly 

 enjoyed the agony of his victim. The owl, too, was an 

 objective point of attack for the crows, and of course they 

 had him at great disadvantage while daylight lasted, but I 

 suspect that retaliation took place at night when the boot 

 was on the other leg, for we frequently heard the most 

 melancholy noises down below, and if he accomplished 

 nothing else he must have proved a frightful incubus to 

 them during their sleeping hours, for he troubled ourselves 

 not a little by his weird song. Ramon. 

 >+•-•» 



BREEDING OF THE WILD GOOSE IN 

 CONFINEMENT. 



Perce, Dec. 4th, 1876. 

 Editor Forest and Stream:— 



In your number of 2Gth October, under the head of Game 

 Bag and Gun, an extract appears from the Toronto Globe, 

 giving an account of the game of Newfoundland, in which 

 the writer states, speaking of tbe wild gooee: "It is a re- 

 markably fine bird, easily domesticated, but does not breed 

 when tamed." This is an error, which the following facts 

 will substantiate: — 



At Gaspe Bain no less than four respectable inhabi- 

 tants have wild geese that breed — Messrs. Annett, Coffin, 

 Bechervaise and Patterson. 



These birds go off in the spring, make their nests on 

 some of the islands in the main river, and return home at 

 the end of October with their progeny, numbering fro m 

 seven to eight. The young birds are rather wild at first, 

 but following the old one3 are driven into the barn. 



Mrs. Benjamin Coffin states she has a pair which have 

 bred regularly nineteen or twenty years, and Mrs. Hugh 

 O'Harahad some that followed the wild ones in the spring 

 and brought home a brood in the fall. 



A neighbor of mine had a wild gander mated with tame 

 geese. But an important fact connected with these birds 

 is, that the goose does not lay before the third year. 



Philip Vibert. 



[Our correspondent has our thanks for the very interest- 

 ing information conveyed in the above note. We should 

 think that some of our sportsmen might take advantage of 

 the facts here state 1 to'secure live decoys for goose 

 shooting.— Ed.] 



-*♦+» 



THE MAMMALS OF WYOMING. 



Washington, D. O. 

 Editor Forest and Stream.:— 



The list of mammals found near Fort Sanders, Wyoming, as published 

 in Forest and Stream of Dec, 2 1st, 1876, requires many additions and 

 the following corrections:— 



For "Gray rabbit Lepus sylvaticui,^ read Sage rabbit, Lepus sylvaticus 

 var nut: alii. 



For "Say's striped squirrel, Spermophilus lateralis^ read Tamtas 

 lateralis . Colonel Brackett has excellent authority for the generic name, 

 but it has lately beea determined that the animal is a Tamias not a 

 Spermophilus. 



For "Chipmunk Tamias striatus," read Four-striped Chipmunk, 

 Tamias quadriviUatus^ 



For "Black-tailed Deer, Germs columbianus," read Mule Deer of S ay> 

 called Black-tail in Wyoming, Cervus macrotis. C, columbianus, is not 

 found so far east. 



For "White-tailed Deer, Cervus leucurus," read, Western variety of 

 Virginia Deer, G. virginianus var. macrurus. Otherwise the list is cor- 

 rect as Jar as it goes. Elliott Comas. 



Arrivals at the Philadelphia Zoological Gardens Jan. 10th.— 

 Two screech Owls (Scops asio), one presented by Melvin Lawton, Phila- 

 delphia, and one by S. N. Still, Malvern, Pa.; one red shouldered hawk 

 (Buteo lineatus), presented by T. C. Ivins, Tally town, Pa.*, one New- 

 foundland dog (Canis jamiliaris), presented by T. Mason Mitchell 

 Roxboroagh, Philadelphia; one red- tailed hawk (Buteo borealis), one 

 lynx (Lynx canadensis), one snowy owl (Nyctea nivea), and one golden 

 eagle (Aquila chrysaetus), purchased; one red kangaroo (Macropus rufus), 

 born in tbe Garden; one Virginia deer (Cervus virginianus), presented 

 by Louis J. Ladner, Jr., Philadelphia; one ocelot (Felts pardalis), pre- 

 sented by John D. Bjliss, Philadelphia; nine Saldmandra bilineata, six 

 Balamandm erythrohata, and eight Triton niger, presented by T. G. 

 §hepford, Philadelphia, Artsub Jg. Bbwn, Gea'l Snpt, 



Arrivals at the Central Park Menagerie Jan. 14th.— One golden, 

 eagle (Aquila canadens's), presented by Mr. G. H. Jones, Catskill, T5T, 

 Y.r, one wild cat (Lynx rufus), presented by Mr. Henry Seaman, New 

 York city, from Cat skill; one snowy owl (Nyctea nivea), presented by 

 Mr. Wm. J. Soharff, Canajoharie; one gray squirrel (Sciurius carolinen* 

 sis), presented by Master Thos. J. O'Donohue, New York city; one col- 

 lared peccary (Dlcotyles tajacu), presented by Mr. Peter Benson, Corpus 

 Christie, from Texas; one white-throated sapajon (Cepus hypolencus), 

 presented by Master H. M. Cornell, New York city; one duck hawk 

 (Faleo anatum), presented by Master J. A. Holmes, Brooklyn; two pan- 

 thers (Felis concolor), bred in the Menagerie. 



W. A. Conklin, Director. 



r oadhnd, <$mm und %mdm> 



— » 



COUNTRY HOMES AND HORTICUL- 

 TURAL SOCIETIES. 



THERE can surely be no doubt of tbe humanizing in- 

 fluence of flowers, and tbe elevating moral which 

 we all may read written on tbe florid page of Nature; 

 owing to many causes, among which an eager struggle for 

 existence, and for wealth , maybe counted the chief; our 

 people give but little attention to beautifying tbeir homes, 

 and a well-kept tidy garden is tbe exception, not the rule, 

 Let a taste for plants and flowers be created, be it ever so 

 week at first, it will grow with our growth, and even the 

 few pots of flowers in the window become teachers in the 

 great lesson of life. Here also is the great advantage of 

 homes in tbe country for the working classes. If a man 

 have but a few yards of ground round his place, and be 

 not too ambitious in the selection of plants, the cost is 

 practically nothing but the labor, and that itself soon be- 

 comes a positive pleasure, removing him from many 

 demoralizing influences. It is a pleasure that leaves no 

 bitterness, but on the contrary is based on an appreciation 

 of what is simple, natural and beautiful. It diverts the 

 mind and raises the thoughts to the contemplation of 

 forms whose perfection needs no eulogy, and whose beauly 

 is its own excuse. This leads naturally to the influence 

 exerted by Horticultural Societies in this direction. They 

 not orly give an impetus to the growth of the best varieties 

 of plants, flowers, fruits or vegetables, but bringing them 

 directly before the people interested in their development, 

 influence their tastes, and lead unconsciously to a higher 

 standard of refinement. For many years, much to the dis- 

 grace and loss of our city, there has practically been no 

 Horticultural Society. The first society of tbe kind was 

 organized in 1818 by a few kindred tpirits, and gathering 

 strength its beneficial effects were soon discernable in 

 the spirit of emulation shown by the members and the 

 general aspect of improvement in all horticultural pro- 

 ductions. In the year 1821 the society had acquired such 

 a reputation that is was thought prudent to apply to tho 

 State Legislature for a charter, which was readily obtained, 

 and which is still in force. This society still continuing o 

 flourish, exhibitions were held, a library selected, the meet- 

 ings were well attended, until about 1853, a lack of interest 

 was manifested in the society, the meetings and exhibitions 

 were neglected and the society languished, until making 

 one last spasmodic effort in September, 1857, to hold an 

 exhibition, the committee in charge lost so much money 

 on it that they were disheartened and the meetings were 

 discontinued. In the mean time we have seen the Socie- 

 ties in Boston and Philadejphia grow strong and prosper; 

 their horticultural halls and libraries an honor to the re- 

 spective cities, and their meetings and exhibitions a suc- 

 cess. 



A little over a year ago about fifty gentlemen, mostly 

 connected with horticulture, met to take measures to form 

 a society, and, after organizing, a constitution and bylaws 

 were adopted, and officers for the ensuing year elected. 

 Fearing to clash with the old society, they took the name 

 of the New York Horticultural Association, and taking 

 rooms in Cooper Institute, their monthly meetings soon, 

 became a success, and the roll of membership increasing 

 they felt strong enough to give a public exhibition in Juno 

 at G-ilmore's Garden. This building being so well adapted 

 for such an exhibition, and the members and others re- 

 sponding so nobly to the call made on them it proved a 

 decided success, and gave encouragement to the growing 

 feeling that the old society should be resuscitated, and the 

 association amalgamated with it. Dr. Knight, and several 

 of the officers and members of the society were communi- 

 cated with, and legal advice being obtained, a meeting of 

 the society was called by advertisement and at an ad- 

 journed meeting thereof a reorganization was effect e J, and 

 the association merged into the Society. The exhibition 

 in June having proved so successful it was decided to hold 

 a similar one in September. Still greater interest was 

 manifested in this by all, and the society being so encour- 

 aged, have issued Schedules of Premiums amounting to 

 over $2,500 for two large exhibitions, to be held May and 

 September, in addition to which liberal premiums are of- 

 fered to be competed for at the monthly meetings, papers 

 on horticultural subjects will also be read, and discussion 

 thereon invited, hoping thus to bring the society more 

 directly before the public and to make thete meetings in- 

 teresting and pleasing. The roll of membership consists of 

 about 300 names, and the Treasurer's report for last season 

 shows a balance of $495 in the treasury. 



The annual dinner of the society was held at Mouquin's, 

 141 Fulton street, on Tuesday the 9th. The table was 

 laden with Flora's rarest treasures communicated by the 

 different florists in honorable emulation. Many ef the 

 specimens were very choice and of a character rarely seen 

 on such occasions. After the table had been cleared Toasts 

 were in order, and success to the N. Y. H. Sue. drank 

 with all tbe honors, Mr, Elliott responded in his usual 



