AtAJUST la, 1880.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



27 



woods (saored to the memory of Pious " Jeems" ), pass- 

 ing through its entire Isiigtli and thc-n rounding and re- 

 turning soutli to (he Jit. MitiPry pUintation. As soon ;is 

 I heard the bacliwai-.l muv e' 1 balt(.'d io see {'.jx and 

 hounds and to mark positions. In a moment all were 

 upon me. The mushed dogs, with tongues hanging out 

 and tails dropped, were in earnest and iloing their work 

 nice trained fellows, but sorrowfully. The fox seemed 

 perfectly fresh, and at a bound moved off, closely 

 .pursued by one of the hounds that had been left behind 

 by the pack when it emerged from under the river hills, 

 tufning right bark into the pursuing pack. TJp to this 

 point tilings looked disfouragiiigto lier, and were so, but 

 a temporary lireak, followed hy only a minute's confu- 

 sion,proved a fortimato respite and gave her lime to widen 

 the distanoe between her aird her pursuers. She made 

 .iudicions use of it, and down the Roanoke she flew, 

 keeping close under the hilk and in paths that skirted 

 the low grounds until reaching the Roanoke Mills, some 

 three miles from the break. She here turned due north 

 out from the river a mile and kept up east until parallel 

 with Eaton Ferry road, for a while. 



A few huudreil y.ards above the'^sorateh field" — a 

 field saered to the niemory of Cols. Edmonrlo ami Putney 

 — she crossed the road, returning to the Roanoke. Ilere 

 I headed the pack and had a fair opportunity to enjoy 

 the sport and note positions of each dog. Plunder, a full 

 brother of Brodnax's Ledrew, was in the lead, \\ith little 

 Mischief well contesting his position. The mush hail 

 gone, and the whole pack hjoke.l dr:iwn lor the race. 

 And so they moved. As they jjasseil me. wiili e^ er} in- 

 dividual dog in his place, I was enthused willi tlie scene, 

 put spurs to my horse ajid dfished tlirough the woods 

 with iio feeling of the lagger about me, I had not gone 

 over half a mile wlieii I v,as abruptly thro^Ti against a 

 tree, backwanis froru my hurse, momentarily stunned, 

 with the Ijlood flowing from my forehead and nose and 

 unable at first to get iqi. Tliore, 1 remained until the 

 sweet music of my hounds had failed away in the dis- 

 tance and I had siifliiieutly recu\ered to mbve my limbs 

 to ascertain if any were broken, i-'iuding all^soand, I 

 (juiefcly got up anil remounted my horse, who all the 

 while "stO'xl quietly and sympathetically by, awaiting my 

 pleasure, an<i cantered home, anticipating something 

 serious after the excitement of the chase had passed 

 off. The. hunt was conipletely taken out of ine, and it 

 was no longer fun to see or liear the hounds. When I 

 arrived at home I had my wounds carefully examined 

 and cared for. There was a cut in the forehead, one on 

 the nose, and the entire right side bruised. But I am 

 again on my feet and ready when the season advances to 

 try it again. 



The result of the chase I cannot give. If there was no 

 interruption of 4t, the fox soon \\as either put to earth or 

 killed. It was impossible for luiu to stand \ip and escape 

 under the press. A]iart from this the pack soon returned 

 home, and [iretty nnich together. Logan was in the ad- 

 vance, and Logan ■' nevi.'r suia-enders." 



How my collision against the tree occurred may be a 

 matter of interest to all huntsjnen. My horse is a thor- 

 oughbred one— very intelligent, easy and quiet in the 

 chase, and perfectly under control of the rein. So he 

 majr be pronounced a perfect " hunter,"' more especially 

 when you add that he is a fine leaper and no blunderer. 

 In riding through woods I usuaUj' look svime distance in 

 advance, marking the line of niv uidtion. I did so on 

 this occasion. But the woods being very open and free 

 from shrtdjs, I did not use my customary discretion, and 

 permitted my horse lo have Ids i.iwn way up to within a 

 few yards of the tree. I dis<;iiiied if lu" went to its right 

 tlies'pace between it and anotlier was too small to allow 

 safe passage, I consequi'nity atteiupted to puU him to its 

 left, and succeeded ; but it brought the half of my body 

 and face against the tree, and with a horrible crush of 

 my whole frame. The feeling cannot be described. If I 

 had been a heavy man the result might not lurve been so 

 favorable. I weigh only 112 pounds in full dress, arul tlic 

 speed of my horse couUI not have added enough to my 

 niomeutum to render such a condition fatal. At all 

 events I am still myself. T. G. T. 



— Address all comiivunications lo " Forest and Stream 

 Publingish Company, New Yorh.'' 



A CAPTIVE WOODCOCK. 



AC AGED woodcock, now to be seen is this city, ia at- 

 tracting much attention. The bird, wliicli is appar- 

 ently a male, was captured July 38th by the proprietors of 

 an auction store mi Sixth Avenue, into which it had 

 flown, and was afterwards transfen'ed to the hands of 

 Mr. J, Morris, of Jeif erson Market, where it is now to be 

 seen. Its present owner, who was formerly a dealer in 

 game, and has a very clear idea of the requirements of a 

 woodcock, has fitted up for his pet a very comforta- 

 ble prison. This, which is an ordinary canary's breeding 

 cage, is covered on the floor with dry nioss, exca'p't at one 

 end, where ^here is a box of mud three inches deep, ten 

 wide and eight long. The bird is fed wholly on earth 

 worms, of which be eats each day a great number. They 

 are buried in the Ik.x ',f mud by Jlr. Mon-is, who has 

 great diiliculty in keeping the bird away from that end 

 of the cage until the food is covered up. When his mas- 

 ter introduces his hand into the cage the bird 'nanifests 

 great excitement, and declines to give up his place on the 

 mud, so that he has to lje pushed away to the other end 

 of his quarters. As soon as he is permitted he returns to 

 the box of mud and commenced to bore with the utmost 

 vigor, 



Stalking over the damp eavtii with much deiliberation, 

 he introduces the extremity of the bill into the mud at an 

 angle of al)out 80", and by a series of slow pushes, buries 

 it to the base. AVhile doing this his leit fool is advanced 

 and his body slightly iucliued downward. When his biU 

 is fairly buried the woodcock stands perfectly still. He 



looks as if he were listening, and many of those wdio 

 have seen him believ e that this is what he is doing, but 

 we think that there is no ilonbt that he waits to feel if 

 there is any movement in the mud, The point of the 

 l»ill of woodcock, snipe and some other waders, are ex- 

 tremely sensitive, and thej' can no doubt detect any 

 movement in the soft earth in which the bill is plunged. 

 If the bird then feels no movement he withdraws bis bdl 

 and repeats the same performance at a little distance. If 

 a worm is felt, however, or the motion which indicates 

 that one is near, he partly withdraws tlie bill, and chang- 

 ing its direction sli.ghtly, jdunges it in again, and with- 

 draws the luckless worm, which he then devours, appar- 

 ently with great satisfaction. This proceeding is re- 

 peated until all the worms sujiplicd have been extracted 

 from the mud. He then with great deliberation cleanses 

 liis bill by means of his feet, ruffles up all his feathers 

 and gives himself a shake or two, and then retiring to 

 the dry moss at the other end of his cage, buries his long 

 bill among his scajnilar feathers and prepares for a nap. 

 Slowdy his bright brown eyes close, and at last he drops 

 off, to dream, no doubt, of the swamp where he was born, 

 and where he passed his early days. 



One of the most remarkable things about the bird was 

 the rapid way in which he sucked in the longest worms. 

 His upper and lower mandibles came together very rap- 

 idly, and almost before the worm was fairly drawn from 

 his hole he disappeared down the woodcock's throat. 



We understand that Mr. Morris is having a larger cage 

 built for Dick, as he calls him, mid we hope that in his 

 more ample quarters the latter may live long and hap- 



pUy- •►.-,..^^ 



DIRECTIONS FOR COLLECTi;sa ALG.^. 



BY DANIEL C. EATON, PROFESSOR OF BOTANY IN TALK 

 COLLEOtS. 



TH_K following notes are printed for the use of those 

 persons in any part of the American Continent 

 who are wUling to help tlie cause of natural history by 

 making collections of seaweeds and sea-mo.sses, but are 

 yet uninformed as to the modes of coUectiug and prepar- 

 ing their specimens. 



WHEBB, WHEN AM) HOW TO C'OLIjEIJT. 



After a heavy gale blowing on the coast, almost any 

 beach of sea, gulf, or btiy, will be covered with alg;t, 

 often in great cpiantities, coarse and fine, black, red and 

 green, in entangled masses. Such hcajis sliould lie care- 

 fully examined as soon as possible after their formation. 

 or else the more delicate kinds will be quickly destroyed 

 by decay. 



At extreme low water the sea will leave tide pools 

 among rocks, or sometimes in the sand, and by wading 

 in these pools manj^ sorts may be obtained. The rock- 

 pools with clear water and some shade from the rocks 

 win generally yield the fuiest specimens. Old buoys, 

 piles, wrecks, etc.. afford good nesting places for sea- 

 weeds. In quiet weather a small dredge worked from a 

 boat, in water from one to fifteen fathoms deep, will 

 often bring up varieties not to be obtained in any other 

 way. A strong fishing line with coarse hooks -will bring 

 them up from the bottom also. A seine left a day or two 

 in the sea. as a pound-net for instance, will catch many 

 algte which were floating in the wa,ter. 



The collector ought always to have a light hand-net — 

 a bag of mosquito netting stretched on a brass hoop of 

 8-10 inches diameter, and secured Uj a good six-foot staft", 

 is very convenient — a light basket containing several 

 (juart or pint presei-ving jars, a few smaller wide-mouth 

 jars, and perhaps a pair of brass forceps and pocket 

 magnilier. 



The coarser .sort.s may be put in the basket, and the 

 liner ones in the jars, keeping the latter filled with clean 

 sea water. It is well to wash each .specimen clean when 

 (ii-st obtained, so that the collection taken home may bo 

 in good order. Very rare or delicate specimens should 

 be put separately into the smaller bottles. (Jare should 

 be taken to get the ichole plant if not too large, and if it 

 he very large, to cut out for preservation the root or 

 "holdfast," and portions of the stem and other parts of 

 the plant. 



The most careful collector will note also the kind of 

 place where the plant was obtained, whether on rocks, 

 piles, floating, or growing on coarser varieties, 

 oil' rREsKiiViMi •rut; i'o.\kskb sorts, 



These should he shaken a little, loosened or spread out 

 a little, but ne\ cr u a.slied in fresh water, and then dried 

 in the air. The liest way is to stretch a cord in some 

 windy, and if convenient, ^:h<llllJ place, and to hang the 

 specimens on tile cord, The flat-leaved forms, however, 

 dry to best ad\ antago if sprea<l out on coarse paper and 

 laid on a board. They should be protected from the dew 

 at niglit, or brouglit undercover. In this way a day or 

 two will dry almost any hea-\veeds, and, as the salt re- 

 mains in them, they will keep fur years, and may be 

 easily soaked out and mounted on paper at any t"inie. 

 This rough-dried collection should be packed in boxes, 

 and if the specimens pack too closely, twigs may be placed 

 among them ; if not closely enough, a slight sprinkling 

 will make them so pliable ap to pack nicely. Such sea- 

 weeds, however unsightly they may be in this condition, 

 may eventually be made into excellent specimens. Coi- 

 allines and otlier stony algifima3'be wrapped up hi paper, 

 and wdl keep so indefinitely. 



OF MOCSTING THK MORE DELICATE SORTS OX PAPER. 



Dr. Hai-vey has so well described this process, that the 

 following description of it is taken from one of his works 

 on alg». ''The collector should have at hand a couple of 

 large flat white dishes, filled with [fresh] water, in one of 

 ■which the specimens may be washed, pruned and freed 

 from parasites, and singly introduced into the other when 

 sufficiently cleaned. Wfien the specimen is floated in 

 the second dish, a piece of white paper of proportionate 

 size is to be introduced under it, tlie branches finely dis- 

 played with a pointed instrument, a porcupine's quill or 

 a small forceps, and the superfluous parts removed. The 

 paper, with the specimeJi so displayed upon it, is then to 



be carefailly withdrawn from the water, placed between 

 two sheets of soft p.a.per, and subjectiid to pressure like 

 other plants. Thin calico (white muslin) rags are useful 

 to lay inimediatelv over the s]iecimeiis. between them 

 and thesoaJie.d paper, as the cloih is less likely to adhere 

 to their surface than paper, and it it dijes adhere, is uiore 

 readily removed without injury. .Mter flic lirst six 

 hours, and again once every day till tlie specimens are 

 fully drv, the wet paper must iw changed, and tlien it 

 will be found, in most cases, that the specimen has .'id- 

 hered to the white paper on which it was disjiLayed. 

 The smaller kinds will be sufticiiMitiy dry in forty-eight 

 hours. A verj' little practice ->vill make the process easy, 

 and the trouble will be repaid by the lieautj^ and intere'sC 

 of the collections which may soon be formed." To the 

 above it may be added that the firmer red varieties wiU 

 improve in color for several hours' steeiiiug in fi-esh water, 

 but many of the most delicate must be mounted 

 from salt water only, else the color, and sometimes even 

 the structure of the" jilant, Avill be destroyed. The liesi, 

 as w^ell as the cheapest kind of press is twn good pine 

 Boards, about twelve by eighten inches, and half adozeu 

 bricks separately tied up in wrapping paper. Too great 

 a pressure leaves a print of the cloth on the specimen, 

 and renders it also more difficult to revive a IJ-agment for 

 microscopic examination. 



For ladies' all)ums algu' are often mounted on fine 

 bristoi board or large wedduig cards, and some very beau- 

 tiful specimens are pressed between layers of white flan- 

 nel — half cotton is best — without the u.se of eitlier mus- 

 lin rags or soaking paper. 



A solution of one part crystallized carbolic acid, ten 

 parts pure glycerine, and forty parts of water, will pre- 

 serve algie a long time, and such speciuiens are even 

 better for study with the niicrosccqie than the specimens 

 on paper. 



It remains only to add thai the writer of these notes 

 will receive with thanks any coUeotion, large or smaU, 

 from all parts of the world, and will endeavor to name 

 all American specimens sent to him. 



Neiv Haven, Conn. 



A R.4-T WITH A CoLL.iR.— Many of our readers will re- 

 member that some years ago we publishe'l an account 

 of a deer with a bracelet, and gave a vvood cut showing 

 the manner in which the unluckj' animal "had put his 

 foot in it." The bracelet in this case was a hard ring of 

 wood, the outer portion of a pine knot, and it appeared 

 that the deer while small had stepped into it, and had 

 never been able to free its foot from the incumbrance. 



A somewhat similar inciclent is noticed by the Wash- 

 ington JS'atioiUtl RepiiMieoii, as follows : — 



.Mr. J. Entholfer. an employe of the United States 

 Cloast Sm-vey, residing at No. tj8 1 street Northwest, has 

 contributed a curiosity to the Smithsonian Institution, 

 which, if it adds nothing to scientific knowledge, will be 

 regarded with much interest by all persons interesti'd in 

 the habits, adventtu-es, and misadventures of rats. ]Mi-s. 

 EnthofFer had been annoyed for some time by a persis- 

 tent rat. She occasionally caught a glimpse of hisratship, 

 and was surprised to see "that he wore what appeared to 

 be a yellow collar. This fact gave rise to much specula- 

 tion in the family as to how the rat came into possession 

 of the coUar. The mystery was solved a few^ days ago, 

 when the rat wearing the collar was caught in a tx-iqi. 

 Unfortunately the rat was killed by^ a dog, lint upon ex- 

 amining the body it was found that the collar was a ring 

 of bone, fitting tightly about the animal's neck. The 

 theory is that the rat when it was small had found a bono, 

 and gnawing out the center, pushed his In-ad through 

 and was unable to extricate himself . Ashe grew larger 

 the ring of bone tightened .about his nei.rk, and he wore 

 it until death as a badge of his enterprise in the search ■ 

 for food. _ 



A Tame Ruffed Urouse.— Not long Bine© we pub- 

 lished an account of a ruffed grouse in Massachussetts, 

 which was so tame that it would come at its master's cafl 

 and eat from his hand. Subsequently^ we received brief 

 accounts of other tame grouse, but most of them lacked 

 deflniteness, and were hence of little value. From the 

 Dansville^N. Y.) Adcertiscr we take the following note, 

 which is, if true, very interesting. We give the item in 

 full:— 



Chai-Iey Sedgwick tells us of a tame partridge which 

 he has seen and handled, the like of which we have 

 never before heard. While in Mt. jMorris last week Mr,, 

 Sedgwick heard about this lurd, and w-as only too glad to 

 accept an invitation of Capt. McCarther to visit it. It is 

 found on Mr. Sweet's farm lielow Mt. Morris, about a 

 mile, and lives alone in a brirsh pile near some farm 

 buildings. To induce this bird to emerge from its hiding 

 place, all that is necessary is to iioiuid on the btnlding. 

 whenitwdll cautiously come forth, and after a short 

 time perndt vou to pick it up and handle it. ^'ou can 

 toss it into the air and it v.-ill fiy in a circle about you 

 and finally alight at your feet. "it seems that some work- 

 men first discovered the bird ^yhile eating their dinners 

 near its cover. When lirst seen it was not yet ftdl-grown 

 and apparently "alone in the world." The vrorkmen hy 

 feeding it day after day gradually overcame its extreme 

 shyness and brought it to its present state of tamene.s». 

 It is attracting much attention. 



TEHtPERATiRE OP Fresh Water Lakbs. — Some toter- 

 esting results have recently been publishod in the 

 Arduvea <1ps Scienms liy Prof. Forel bearing on the 

 temperature of certain fresh water lakes. 



From experiments conducted at l^ake Leman, it ap- 

 pears that the hundred meters nearest the stul'ace absorb 

 the heat very rapidly, but it penetrates the lower depths 

 much more slowly. At a depth of 335 meters there was 

 considerable variability in temperature, and it was evi- 

 dent that the point where variation ceases was far below 

 this depth. 'The investigator considers that by January 

 loth, 1880, Lake Leman had expended all the heat stored 

 up in its waters during the mv.vious sunimei-. 

 • 



Enliohtened LiBER.i.nii.— iue sum of 50,000 franca 

 has been appropriated by the French Uovernment to as- 

 sist Mr, Pasteur in carrying out his investigation ou the 

 contagious diseases of animals 



