FOREST AND STREAM. 



405 



ornithological, in a recently published work, prefers to 

 regard the European and American bird for the present as 

 distinct though closely related species. 



pedmestes phasianellus should, we presume, read, Pedfa- 

 cetes phasinellus var. columbian us.—~ED.] 



A TOUGH OWL. 



New York, Jan. 6th, 1876; 

 Editor Forest and Stream:— 



On Thursday evening, Jan. 4th, a train on the Baltimore 

 & Potomac Railroad, running at the rate of thirty miles an 

 hour, collided with an owl, who struck a window in for- 

 ward end of the car, smashing it completely. The little 

 fellow was captured seemingly unharmed and was heard to 

 remark in an undertone ''Set 'em up again." R. T. G. 



Another correspondent relates that while a "Shore 

 Line" train bound for Providence, II. I., was between 

 Mystic and Stonington, and running fast to make up lost 

 time, a small sized owl, probably bewildered by the loco- 

 motive head light, was caught upon the foot board of the 

 engine, where he was seen and captsred by the fireman, 

 and taken into the ba'ggage car apparently uninjured. 

 . «*•♦. ■ 



A Symmetrical Development of Fat in a Steer. — A 

 correspondent, "M," writes us from Boston, saying: "The 

 first wonder of the new year in Boston market, is an ox 

 four years old, juet slaughtered by Holden & Son, He 

 was found to be much more heavily coated with fat on 

 one side than the other, and on opening him the suet in 

 one side was of the ordinary size— about twenty-five 

 pounds— while the fat side contained a suet of the enorm- 

 ous weight of two hundred pounds. No indication of 

 disease existed in any part, and notwithstanding the 

 unequal distribution ot the adipose tissue, the lively steer 

 always seemed to have a well balanced mind. The com- 

 bined weight of beef, hide and tallow, was nineteen hundred 

 pounds." 



We do not remember ever to have heard of a case like 

 this, and should be glad if some of our correspondents 

 could give us an explanation of its cause. Has the fact 

 that the stomach in Bos is unsymmetrical, anything to do 

 with this unequal development of fat? 



<**4»- i 



Wild Geese in Confinement.— A correspondent wiites : 

 "Speaking of wild geese breeding in confinement, 1 know 

 of a very interesting case; a farmer up in Ontario county, 

 this State, whig-tipped a wild goose one fall; he cut off the 

 injured part, and the bird became quite a pet. In the 

 spring it called down a mate; the farmer amputated the 

 tip of this one's wing and they raised a brood. When I 

 saw him last he had nineteen, and they were beautiful." 



—A correspondent in Central Pennsylvania writes:— 



"About twenty-five years ago David Buchanan, Esq., of 

 Washington county, Pa., had about twenty Canada geese 

 that he had reared from a single pair. This shows that 

 they will breed, when domesticated, farther south than 

 Canada. I well remember that the old goose, when sit- 

 ting, was almost as noisy as the others, and that is saying 

 a good deal. I do not think I ever noticed this in any 

 other sitting bird." 



Remarks— Hon, Stephen Taber, of Roslyn, Long Island, 

 has twenty domesticated wild geese at his shooting box in 

 Worcester county, Maryland, which have the same range 

 as the hens and other barn-yard fowls. Wild geese are 

 used as decoys in many places in Maryland, Virginia and 

 North Carolina.— Ed. 



y - -♦♦*. . 



\ Man-eating Shakes. — Edii or Forest and Stream: — 

 "Some time since some one started the inquiry whether a 

 shark was ever known to attack a man in the water. The 

 following (Bancroft's U. S., Vol. X, page 545) would seem 

 to settle that question : 'Of the poor wretches who were 

 cast into the sea some clung to bits of the wreck; the 

 sharks, of which the fight had called together shoals from 

 the waters round about, tore them all off, and even after the 

 carnage of the day could hardly be glutted.'— Juniata." 

 - — •+*+» 



Parisian Paleontology.— The lake bed of Saint- Owen, 

 which has hitherto proved very poor from a paleontologi 

 cal point of view, has just furnished Mr. Paul Gervais with 

 an important discovery. In studying the bones collected 

 by Mr. Raboux in Pans itself, in the neighborhood of the 

 park of Monceaux, the learned anatomist has recognized the 

 remains of a large Edentate, belonging to an entirely new 

 genus .— La A ature {Paris, France, ) 



• «**«• . 



In the last session of the Berlin Anthropological Society, 

 Jn-ot Virchow presented a communication from Dr. 

 Maclay, on the result of his journey through the Malay 

 reninsula. In his zigzag course through the mountainous 

 region he repeatedly encountered savage tribes, displaying 

 many points of resemblance with the Nigritos of the 

 1 hilippine Islands. Two very interesting physical peculi- 

 S- « theSe sav,i S es attracted the traveler's attention, 

 ine first was the unusually prominent development of the 

 so-called third eyelid, a feature by no means uncommon 

 among many families of animals; and the second a re- 

 markable inclination sidewards of the three outer toes, 

 lhis latter peculiarity has been noticed in several members 

 rl k i ape , Pdm[] y- ln tne course of his trip Dr. Maclay 

 reaeaed what he regarded as the highest mountain of the 



fcni nsula. At its foot he found tne most numerous re- 

 mains of the prehistoric Milanesian inhabitants, and en- 



ape above the human 



r aadhnd t <$mm md §zrden. 



ORCHIDS. 



the dreaded "Bru," an 



countered 



size His accounts possess a special interest, as they 

 supply the first accurate description of what are probably 

 t» °Tu y i comment al representatives of the insular tribes of 

 tne Malay Archipelago. Prof. Virchow exhibited also a 

 uionze tiiree wheel vehicle, excavated near the Kiver 

 ^pree, which was ornamented with oxen heads and biras. 

 iiniong a large number of anthropological objects shown 

 it > tne society, were a collection of outlines of the feet of 

 egioes on tne Loango coast, showing in the most striking 

 maimer, uy comparison with the feet of Europeans, the 

 uippiing effects of modern costume.— Nature. 



—The white whale in Mr. Coup's aquarium, New York, 

 Mori Saturday, 



AMONG the flowering plants that have been introduced 

 into this country for cultivation under glass, there 

 are perhaps none that are more worthy of attention than 

 Orchids . The fantastic forms of the flower in a great num- 

 ber of the species, their exquisite perfume, and the blend- 

 ing of the gorgeous colors of many, together with a gen- 

 eral appearance so different from all other plants, at once 

 stamp them as among the most singular of Nature's veget- 

 able forms. Their cultivation is still in its infancy with 

 us, though gaining ground every year. Fifteen years ago 

 the collections of Leinau, Van Vorst, Kelly, Buist, Buch- 

 anan and Menand, showed many good specimens, many of 

 which were brought from South America by Capt. Dow, 

 a great lover of plants, trading between New York and 

 Para, and from Mexico, sent by that enthusiastic collector 

 of rare orchids, the late T. Ure Skinner. Some of these 

 have passed under the auctioneer's hammer; still, however, 

 to be found in the collections of Paterson, Rand, Such, 

 Tweedle, Rathbone, Corning and others, all enthusiastic 

 in their cultivation, more especially the latter gentleman, 

 who, at his country seat near Albany, has the finest col- 

 lection in this country, and indeed rarely matched in 

 Europe. Among the earlier species introduced wereLJpid- 

 endrum cochliatum and Ciliare, Phajus grandifolius Cypripe- 

 dium insigne and barbatum, Gongoras stanhopeas, Bendrobu- 

 ims Lycaste, Cattleya labiata, followed closely by 0. Mossice 

 in its many lovely varieties. Then the Odontoglots and oth- 

 er varieties from the mountains of Brazil and Mexico made 

 their appearance with the chaste Pheelonopsids, yE rides, 

 Saccolabiums and Vandas from India, till now wc have 

 them from all climes, and so persistent are they, so varied 

 in their color, fragrance and time of flowering that to the 

 grower they form a perpetual pleasure, and for richness 

 and novelty among cut flowers are uuexcelled. As 

 collections were formed, it used to be no uncommon thing 

 to see plants from the dry West Indian isles associated 

 with others from the moist Brazilian forests, the open 

 prairies of Panama and Honduras, the hot aud moist re- 

 gion of India, or the cooler and dryer atmosphere of China 

 or New Holland. All having to conform to a uniform 

 mode of treatment, the result was that though some flow- 

 ered regularly, others did not flower at all. This led culti- 

 vators to study more closely the wants of each individual 

 species and its requirements in its native habitat, and the 

 result has been that plants are now cultivated as much as 

 possible separately, so that those which did nothing but 

 grow when kept too close, and without the light and air 

 necessary to solidify their growth as it was formed, are 

 now induced to bloom freely in their proper season. In- 

 deed, even those from India, Ceylon, and the Eastern Ar- 

 chipelago, that have until lately received a very moist and 

 warm temperature, and which generally do not require a 

 season of rest, are found to grow better, bloom more freely, 

 and to be less subject to that dreaded disease, the ''spot,'' 

 by receiving much more light and air and a cooler temper" 

 ature that has generally been conceded as necessary to 

 their growth and well doing. 



-*•*• 



Poultry Food.— Fowls are exceedingly gregarious, and 

 when allowed to roam about, feed on many vegetables or 

 weeds that it rarely falls to their lot to obtain. Especially, 

 is this the case with strong half-grown chickens, as these 

 are most voracious, and seem never to tire of feeding. In 

 well-kept gardens chickens are most undesirable visitants, 

 but in grounds that are not "kept," in a garden sense, but 

 are simply cropped in a rough way, they do little harm, and 

 doubless much good. As soon as let free in the morning 

 they set out in search of insects, and, if observed, it will 

 be seen that they pick up myriads of these, especially small 

 slugs, caterpillars, and other destructive vermim In return 

 for this benefit it is well to allow them the pick of a piece of 

 cabbage, or any rough kind of the Brassica family, as they 

 are ravenously fond of certain kinds of green food. It is 

 my experience, however, that their taste among the many 

 plants found in a garden is a rather limited one, and the 

 greater the range given the less mischief done. Grass is to 

 them indispensible, the eagerness with which they devour 

 it shows this to be the case, and where plenty is provided 

 they lees affect garden produce. All refuse trimmings of 

 Cabbage, Broccoli, and other green stuff should be thrown 

 to them away from the crops, and they will leave nothing 

 of the leaves but bare stems. Small Potatoes and par- 

 ings boiled up, then drained dry, and mashed with top- 

 pings, make capital food to be given once a day, and if a 

 little grit gets mixed with it the fowls are none the worse. 

 I have been surprised to see their excessive fondness for 

 the soft, woolly-like leaves of the Arabis albida, and as it 

 is a very hardy and free-growing plant its cultivation is 

 worthy the attention of poultry fanciers. Where !here 

 are poultry kept but little refuse food of any kind need 

 be wasted. j) m 



The New York Horticultural Society holds its next regu- 

 lar meeting at its rooms, West Thirty third street, near 

 Broadway, on Tuesday, Feb. 6th, at 3 P. M. We are in 

 receipt of their schedule of premiums for this meeting, and 

 understanding they expect quite a good display of Hya- 

 cinths, Cyclenueus, &c, if the weather is favorable, we 

 hope our friends will avail themselves of the opportunity 

 to see what the society is doing for the.advancement of 

 horticulture, 



Fattening and Killing Fowls.— Although the man- 

 ner of fattening poultry may seem easy, yet there is, never- 

 theless, a right and wrong way, a long and a short mode, 

 of accomplishing the object desired. Never let poultry 

 forage or shift for themselves for at least ten days before 

 killing, for they are apt to range in the barnyards and 

 pick up food, which permeates all through the bird, its 

 flesh frequently becoming so tainted that it is unfit to-be 

 eaten. The best method for steady and regular profit or 

 for domestic use, is to keep them constantly in high feed 

 from the beginning with plenty of clean, cool water; then 

 they are always ready for the table, with but very little ex- 

 tra attention, their flesh will be juicer and richer in flavor 

 than those fattened from a low and emanciated state, al- 

 ways commanding quick sale at the highest price in the 

 market, a healthful, nourishing, and restorative food. 



Some cram their poultry before killing, to make it appear 

 heavy; this is a most injudicious plan, as it shows at a 

 glance the dishonest intention of the shipper to benefit 

 himself and swindle others in his poor effort to obtain the 

 price of poultry for corn; the undigested food enters into 

 fermentation and putrefaction takes place, injuring their 

 sale a great deal more than is gained in weight. Fowls 

 should always be allowed to remain in their coops at least 

 24 hours previous to being killed, without food; then they 

 will keep longer and present a better appearance. The 

 best food for fattening fowls, old or young, is barley meal, 

 or mixed with equal quantities of corn meal, and fed warm 

 (a small quantity of iron in their drinking water is recom- 

 mended), which will make flesh faster and more solid, giv- 

 ing it a fine golden color after being dressed. Good food 

 is positive economy. 



The best mode for killing poultry, as it "causes instant 

 death without pain or disfigurement, is to suspend the 

 birds by tying their legs firmly to a pole or heavy wire 

 across the killing room, a convenient distance from the 

 floor, and opening the fowl's beak, and with a sharp point- 

 ed and narrow-bladed knife make an incision at the back 

 of the roof, which will divide the vertebrae and cause im- 

 mediate death. Dry-pluck the feathers and pin-feathers 

 all off, neat and clean, while warm, without breaking the 

 skin, then plunge it into a kettle of very hot water, hold- 

 ing it there long enough for the bird to "plump," then 

 hang it up, turkeys aud chickens by the legs, and ducks 

 aud geese by the heads. Do not remove the entrails, head 

 or feet. This mode gives the poultry a nice buttery, golden 

 color, that attracts the eye of the epicure. — Poultry Jour- 

 nal. 



—A large proportion of our choice winter pears are ob- 

 tained from France, Belgium, and the Channel Islands, 

 but duiiug the past week samples of Easter Beurre have 

 been received in good condition from California, aud larger 

 consignments arc expected; henceforth, therefore, Conti- 

 nental fruit growers, to whom we pay thousands of pounds 

 annually for pears alone, will have to compete with the 

 growers of the Western States of America, who have cheap 

 land and moderate transit charges, and one of the best of 

 all climates for choice late pears, these being likely to keep 

 and travel better, owing to their having been ripened in a 

 drier and more sunny climate than even that of Southern 

 Europe. Newtown pippins are beginning to get scarce, 

 the prices now realized lor them varying from 80s. to 40s. 

 per barrel; brightly colored Baldwins fetch about 22s. per 

 bushel; russets, 25s,, and culinary sorts, such as Spitsber- 

 gen aud greenings, realize 22s. Od. per barrel. Blenheim 

 orange pipius now bring from 8s. to 10s. per bushel, and 

 French Dieudonnes and Hemettes 12s. per barrel. Apple 

 culture at half these prices would be more profitable than the 

 growth of timber, and yet, while thousands of acres 

 are being yearly planted with trees for timber, how seldom 

 do landed proprietors ever plant an acre of apple trees!— 

 London Garden. 



—The Album Benary, published by M. Ernst Benary, of 

 Erfurt, is a new publication to be devoted to the illustration 

 of the choicest kinds of vegetables by means of chromo- 

 lithography. it will consist, in the first place, of figures— 

 with i he names given in the English, French, German, aud 

 Russian languages— of vegetables which already have a 

 high reputation for excellence, and to these will, from 

 time to time, be added those, new varieties which may 

 have been found, after careful trials, to be entitled to a per- 

 manent place among the inmates of the kitchen garden. 

 When we state that the colored illustrations are executed 

 by M. Severeyns, of Brussels, whose skill in this art is 

 well known, we shall have borne evidence to their excel- 

 lence. The utility of these colored plates to the dealers in 

 vegetable teeds will be at once apparent; and, in many 

 cases, they will be useful in the garden as evidence of the 

 posst ssion of the true kinds of the different vegetable crops. 

 —Gardner's Chronicle, London. r 



Winter Care oe House Plants.— A lady correspon- 

 dent of the New York Tribune gives in that paper some ex- 

 cellent suggestions on the care of house plants in winter, 

 from which we make and extract:— "Always give water 

 just before the sun reaches them, and be very sure to use 

 warm water. On bitter cold clays I give no water unless 

 there is danger of their drooping for want of it. Baskets 

 require a great deal of water, and I generally give it them 

 twice a aay. Boxes of plants 1 always sprinkle— never 

 pour water on them. Do not open windows directly on 

 them, so that they are chilled by cold currents of air— re- 

 member they are hot-house plants, delicate pets, and the 

 winds of heaven may blow too roughly on them; but be 

 very sure to have your room perfectly ventilated, so that 

 they may have pure air. 



"At night leave your room door open, or partially so, un 

 less the weather is exceptionally cold; also put a "newspa- 

 per between the plants and the window during all the cold 

 weather. I am specially particular about this last item, as 

 then you are protecting from sudden lowering of tempera- 

 ture during the night— a thing which often occurs. At 

 rare intervals give them a little bone-dust m water, or am- 

 monia and water. They should not need this of tener than 

 twice during the winter, if your soil is properly prepared. 

 l lt insects, those terrible little pests, make their appear- 

 ance, give them a dose of Scotch snuff, or white hellebore 

 blown on from a bellows, or a shower-bath of soap suds' 

 this last more especially for roses. Pick off any leaves 

 that begin to turn yellow, and put them in the earth about 

 the plant— they soon turn to dust and help fertilize it 

 The musk plant I keep standing in the sunniest spot I can 

 find, with water in the saucer ail the time; this keeps it 

 beautiful. Ferns I put in my darkest, shadiest places and 

 give but little moisture." 



Cheap Oranges.— The Columbus (Ga.) Enquirer of the 

 0th, lost, says;— U A new York merchant, in sending som§ 



