Septeudkk 16, 1880.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



J27 



Bketoh is not a fancy one. It is all, substantially, fact, 

 made out by actual, daily estimate, of the gentleman 

 whose trip to the woods it outlines, and gives a rather 

 f aTOrablo view of a successful tour for two weeks through 

 the Northern Wildernesa. 



The gentleman went home a week since, and the guide 

 passed the camp where I write, thaee days a2;o, rather 

 proud of his achievement in making tire Ford House 

 from Bpaver River in one day. Let me quote from the 

 ' nielrmcholy Jaiques in "As Ifou Like It:" " A fool, a 

 fool 1 As I do live by food, I met a fool i' the forest. 

 Oh, noble fool, motley's the only wear." Nessmuk. 



— Addresn all comrnunications to " Forest and Stream 

 Publishing Company, New i'ork." 



BALD-HEADED MEN BEWARE. 



IT is related of one of the South African crows — 

 a large species of rook, with a white spot on his 

 breast — -ibat ha will fly up in the air with a atone 

 in bid claws and dro^' it into a bird's nest to sniasli 

 the e'Tgs for foud. .Sonie naturalists have doubted 

 this, but it is perfncOy true, and ostrich eggs are fre- 

 fjiuMitJy deniolislied iti tlii^ way. Not only wiU this 

 biid deriU-ny eiiL'.^ in this i/iannor, but he obtains his 

 livelihood cliirfly by killing torluises in the same way. 



Tlie biid Jelibfra'tfely selects a stone, mounts high in the 

 a'r with it in his el;n\'.s, and p^.i^iui;- over the tortoise a 

 Di inient, with alt accuracy of aim s'mply astonishing 

 caiisiJeriiig liis great beiglit, the circumstances of breeze, 

 afld the inovemeat of tlie animal below, lets it drop. The 

 tortoise, poor creature, goes along in his humble luiobtru- 

 sive. way, nut meddling with anybody, when crack 1 and 

 there is a great ghastly opening in the top of his shell. 

 Dnvii comes tire ravenous roolc, cleans all the meat out 

 of the shell, and lea^^es it to dry in the sun. In some 

 places these hollow shells may be counted iu hundreds. 



E. B. B. 



One can readily see how a stone might bs dropped from 

 even a great height with sulficient accuracy to strike 

 amoug twenty or thirty large objects like ostrich eggs, 

 lying close together, but it is hard to believe that a bird 

 could take such exact aim as to strike a tortoise, which is 

 scarcely luvger than a single ostrich egg. If, in addition 

 to the conditions stated, the tortoise sliould be moving, 

 and a breeze blowing, the feat becomes still more as- 

 tounding. It must be remerabered that the crow men 

 tioned is not a very large bird, and would probably be 

 unable to rise with a large scone in its claws, and there- 

 fore to break the tough shell of a tortoise, the pebble 

 must be dropped from a great height. 



Our valued .South African correspoadent, while, as he 

 tells us, he has never seen this particular feat performed, 

 thoroughly believes iu it, having been informed by re- 

 liable people that they hatl seeu it done, and has seen 

 hundreds of tortoise shells fractured as if in this way. 



We may imagine that the young of the bird has to 

 practice a good deal before it attains the acoiu-acy re- 

 quired to kill its food, though it is fair to suppose that 

 in accordance with certain now generally accepted laws 

 of heredity the lesson is more easily learned by each suc- 

 ceeding generation of crowa. 



There is a story long current about a certain bald- 

 beaded man who went into a menagerie, and after spend- 

 ing some time in examining and admiring the animals, 

 feeling tired laid down in a retired corner and vveut to 

 sleep. Presently the ostrich belonging to the show came 

 along, and taking his bare and shining Head for one of 

 her own eggs, sat down upon it to the great embarrass- 

 raent and annoyance of the bald-headed man. We should 

 im igine that in South Africa, where the crows referred 

 to by our correspondent abound, bald-headed men would 

 beat a decided discount, unless they "wore wigs or had 

 then- hats tied firmly on. 



Oar readers will remember the story of the venerable 

 Greek philosopher who is said to have lost his life be- 

 cause a crow mistook his naked head for a stone and 

 tried to break a quohog olam by dropping the latter on it. 



H(Bc fabula docet. 



THE LAMENT OF THE FRUIT GROWER. 



Nashua, N. H., isept, 6th. 

 Editor Forest and Stream ; — 



The seaj^on of birds is about over, and I beg you to al- 

 low uic 10 give the results, as footed up by a fruit raiser. 

 Like most of the good folks, we are the friends of birds. 

 We have made them at, borne on our premises, protected 

 them from i-ats and small boys, have offered thein in- 

 ducements in the shape of neat tenements, and have 

 g'^nerally shown ourselves well disposed toward them. 

 Like many of those to whom we show a kindness, they 

 prove ungrateful, and I am now in favor of repealing the 

 law which protects those which are the most mischiev- 

 ous and desiructive, at least until they become less of a 

 nuisance than they now are. 



I'iibC and foremost on the list stands cock robin, the red 

 breast ; he claims your protection to a oertain extent, by 

 nesting in the lied ge, in the bush beside your window, 

 on the lowest Umbs of the tree, in fact, just where the 

 cat can most conveniently gobble the wlioie family, or 

 the email boy steal the eggs. And how does the bloody- 

 breasted villain repay us for the care we lavish on him. 

 First by taking the best (and most) of our strawberries ; 

 we submit with good grace on account of the younglings 

 in Ihe nest. All ihe ciierries go uito his rapacious maw ; 

 cunanlsare Ico tlitap aiid plenty for us to offer any ob- 

 jeutiunsto his taking his fill, but when raspUrries come 

 and go, w e piultbt. Eaiiy ptais ripeii anU the robins are 

 on hand ; tLty tuu't cuiry them oU, bo they just perch on 



a twig and take a mouthful from this, then from that, 

 until they have spoiled most of the fruit. Blueberry time 

 comes, and you may expect a rest if you live 5n the 

 country, but as soon as the early apples begin to ripen, 

 "presto" our friends (?) are back as thick and hungry as 

 ever, and as destructive. Early harvest and Porter apples 

 .seem to be just to their taste, and the largest and fairest 

 fall to the ground partially devoured ; we find no fault, 

 for we have apples in abundance, and only wish that the 

 robins would confine themselves to astrictly apple diet, to 

 help us to dispose of the crop. But this is not enough. 

 Our luscious g;ulden apricot, which i7i this latitude re- 

 quires more than ordinary care, and which is the crown 

 jewel of our fruit garden, now attracts these ravenous 

 rascals. My wife has succeeded, by dint of "shooing" 

 and shoeing, in securing tlie best part of the crop. The 

 contest has been a hot one, as the mass of empty cans, 

 old shoes, firewood, etc., which lay about the tree attest. 

 Peaches we have, and when the birds commence on them 

 I swear (or hire a bad boy to do so for me), and take down 

 the gun and make the feathers fly. Grapes are their par- 

 ticular fancy ; cluster after cluster is destroyed, and the 

 vineyard which has given such promise during the sum- 

 mer is now only an eye-sore, and a resort of our friend 

 the robin. 



But he is not alone ; the oriole, or golden robin, has 

 been his constant companion during the season, only he 

 has branched out on his own hook, and made sad havoc 

 with the green i)eas, picking open a pod and Taking a pea 

 or two, then opening another, and so on, kicking up a 

 pretty mess (of peas). Still another, the much abused (?) 

 English sparrow, is as fond of grapes and is as big a thief 

 as tlie other two. The catbird is, I think, the slyest thief, 

 but I have never detected him destroying the larger fruits. 

 The cedar bird, or cherry bird, is nearly as destructive as 

 the robin, but he confines himself more to the smaller 

 fruits. Eobins eat grubs, insects and worms, to be sure, 

 but it is in the early part of the season, before the fruit 

 is ripe, and when they are obliged to. X like birds so well 

 that if they would not come to me I would go to them, 

 but I am beginning to think that perhaps we are having 

 too much of a good thing ; that we have protected them 

 until they have increased so as to be a nuisance which 

 must be abated. What is the remedy ? Please don't say 

 stuffed oat-skin.s, red rags, wind-mills, etc., etc., for we 

 don't want to convert our fruit garden into a junk yard, 

 and we have tried them all, The stuffed cat-skins were 

 good, but there is a short market on cat-skins in this vi- 

 cinity. Small boy and pot metal to the front, for a sea- 

 son, at least. Webb. 

 * 



Captive Cats. — The following contribution to the 

 Archives of Comparative Medicine and Surgery is from 

 the pen of Mr. W. A, Conklin, and the observations ai'e 

 of so much interest that they deserva as wide a currency 

 as possible. Mr. Conklin says : — 



As the felida family comprises some of the most val- 

 uable and interesting animals to be found in the zoolog- 

 ical gardens and menageries, their treatment in captivity 

 is of great importance. It is impossible, in view of 

 their confinement and consequently limited opportuni- 

 ites of exercise, for them to have all the conditions of 

 li fe favorable to health. Constipation is one of the se- 

 rious difficulties we have to contend with. To guard 

 against this, liver is fed them once a week : when this 

 proves inelteelaal castor oil is administered with their 

 meat. Their food is either beef or horse flesh, the latter 

 being used altogether in the Zoological Garden of Phila- 

 delphia, and in the principal European gardens, as a 

 measure of economy. Old and worn-out horses are taken 

 to the gardens, where a veterinary surgeon examines 

 them to ascertain if they are free from disease. In some 

 gardens, the mode of killing these horses is by a blow on 

 the head, as this retains the blood through the meat. 

 Regularity as to time of feeding is of importance. We 

 feed once on week days only, and fast on Sunday, in 

 order to avoid surfeiting and to ^ive the stomach a rest. 

 The animals understand this perfectly ; for while at the 

 approach of the feeding hour during the week, they pace 

 their cage, impatiently watiihing for the keeper, on Sun- 

 day they give no sign of expectation, but remain quiet in 

 their cage. I have had instances of animals voluntarily 

 abstaining from food for a period of ten days without 

 suffering apparent inconvenience. In cases of this kind, 

 I try to tempt their appetite with a live rabbit, or chicken, 

 or other delicate morsel. The tiger and lion are allowed 

 for one meal twelve to fifteen pounds of meat, including 

 bone ; the smaller animals less, iu proportion to their 

 size. When the meal is finished, water is given them, 

 after which thej' pace the cage for awhile, and then 

 sleep. They are all very fond of catnip, and when it is 

 placed in their cage, enjoy rolling in it, thus resembling 

 the domestic cat. It is advisable to place logs of wood in 

 the cage, ao that the animal may scratch with its claws ; 

 othervvise, the nails will grow into the flesh and fester, 

 causing much pain, and will have to be cut from time to 

 time. The felida* live in captivity from fifteen to sixteen 

 years, showing signs of decay at about the age of twelve. 

 The lion seems to breed more freely than any other 

 species of the felidae ; and, strange to say, that in travel- 

 ing menageries they breed as freely as in gardens where 

 the ca,ge8 are more spacious. This may be attributed to 

 the change of air and scene in their circus life. The jag- 

 uar and leopard have been crossed, also the tiger and lion. 

 Specimens of the latter were exhibited last year in this 

 city by Mr. Forepaugh in his traveling menagerie. Pe- 

 riod of gestation in lion, tiger and hyena, sixteen weeks ; 

 leopard, fifteen weeks ; panther, thurteen weeks. The 

 number at a birth is usually from two to four, in the case 

 of the Uon, an hour or two intervening between the de- 

 livery of eaeJi cub, The last time a hyena at the menag- 

 erie gave birth to young, there was an interval of twenty- 

 four hours between each cub. Weight of lion cubs when 

 bom, tour to six pounds ; hyena, three and a quarter 

 pounds. Eyea open after from four to seven days, and 

 iu three weeks teeth all cut. The young of the spotted 

 hyena are bom without spots, while those of the self- 

 colored animals, lion and panther, are born with spots 

 which disappear in from three to four months, The 

 young of the tiger and leopard are marked like the adult, 

 but. of course, less distinctly. It frequently happens 

 that tlie mother will devuur her young, but after llie tubs 

 are three or lour weeks old there is no further danger. 

 The tiger cubs are generally tiikon from their mother as 

 soon us boru, and given to a bitch to bring up. Our cuba 



at the menagerie suffer chiefly from rickets, which af- 

 fects them when about six or eight months old. Asa 

 remedy for this we give lime, and have used calcis 

 phosphorus precipitate with good result. We h.ive a 

 lioness at the park menagerie that has bred twenty -seven 

 cubs in seven years, and raised lint one. Mr. Bartlett, in 

 a paper road before the Londnii Zooloaical Society, savs : 

 "A very extraordinary malformation^or defect has fre- 

 quently occurred among lions produced during the last 

 twenty years in the Regent's Park. This imperfectioa 

 consists ill the roof of the mouth being opened ; the 

 palatal bones do not meet ; the animal therefore, is un- 

 able to suck, i).nd consequently dies. This abnormal 

 condition has not been confined to any one pair of lions, 

 but many lions that have bred in the garden, and not iu 

 any way related to each other, have from time to time 

 produced these malformed young, the cause of which 

 appears to me quite unaccountable." 

 ♦ 



The Bkavek dt Iowa. — In a recent number of FoE- 

 EST AND Strkam, "Neesmuk," in "Rough Notes from 

 the Woods," states that " the beaver is tlie first wild ani- 

 mal of importance to disappear before the white man." 

 This conclusion is directly opposed to the experience of 

 an Iowa correspondent, who sent us an interesting note 

 on the subject. It is to be hoped that the praiseworthy 

 efforts of " E, B, B." to protect the beaver may continue 

 to be successful. The few dollars that the skins might 

 bring would be a very small matter compared with the 

 interest which the town at large and all strangers visiting 

 it, would feel in the presence of a colony of beavers Jiving 

 in the midst of a settlement. Our correspondent says : — 



We have, within eighty rods of town, three beaver 

 dams ; two of them are within ten rods of the railroad 

 iTack. They have been there for about three years, and 

 have been kept in good repair b}^ the beaver family. The 

 backwater is used by the boys in the winter for a skating 

 pond, and in summer for a fishing |)ond. I never heard 

 of but one being caught, and discourage the idea as much 

 as possible. E. B. B. 



A PARTHioaE Fly.— Booimboro, Sept. lOth.—Elitor 

 Forest and Stream: — I send, inclosed, one of the Hip- 

 poboscidce, or partridge fly ; at least I wish your judg- 

 ment on the parasite, as I never saw one. 



A few mornings ago, as I was returning from a squir- 

 rel hunt, I observed a blue-tailed hawk looking after Ids 

 usual breakfast of quad, flying low and searching the 

 fields carefuUy. On flying near a cluster of young trees 

 he was attacked by some crowa. I thought at once that 

 the crows would prove his destruction, and so hastened 

 to slipinto my gun a long-range shell, loaded and carried 

 for such occasions. 



While the hawk tarried to fuss with the crows, 1 quickly 

 made my way to a cluster of brush, a long shot from 

 him, but the No. 4 brought him down. On going to pick 

 him up, I found him standing up erect, wiugs outspread 

 and apparently ready for fight. While lot king at him 

 in admiration, as it was a beautiful speciiuen, large and 

 full feathered, I observed something like a flash of liiiht 

 come down from above, dart over the back of thp biiti, 

 alight on the outspread leathera, and. by a side move- 

 ment, disappear under them. I gave him a crack im the 

 head and began at once a search for the hidden object. I 

 could find nothing on the back of the bird, but on turn- 

 ing it over and lifting the feathers of the breast, out it 

 came and flew for my neck. I grabbed for it and fortu- 

 nately caught it. It was hard to kill, see.ued tough and 

 very tenacious of life. This is the otdy one that has ever 

 been observed in this locality, W. B. W. 



The specimen sent Is a partridge fly {Olfersia aiaeri- 

 eana). As we have stated before, they are frequently 

 found on hawks, herons, ruffed grouse, quail, etc. They 

 are, however, so quick in their movements and usually 

 keep themselves so well hidden among tlie feathers that 

 they are not often seen, unless they are specially looked 

 for. 



INTELLIQKNCE OF THE IIONEV BiRD.— The hoDey bird 

 of South Africa has long been known to travelers. Its 

 most striking characteristic is exhibited in the way it 

 discovers to some passer by the whereabouts of a nest of 

 wild bees. An old resident of Kaft'raria told me several 

 incidents of this bird, showing how it will wait near a 

 roadside or Kaffir path, and when any one comes along 

 will make a great to do by fluttering and chirruping 

 about till his attention is attracted, and the bud leads 

 him to the uost, where, after it is robbed, he conies in 

 for a share of the spoils. One anecdote he related shows 

 a power of mind in this bird nearly analagoua to reason. 

 A bird once met him and was leading him on by wing, 

 by hop and jump tosvard some nest, when another honey 

 bird came along. On the approach of the other bird the 

 shrewd pilot stopped, hopped off in another direction, 

 and refused to show him further on the way till the 

 other bird had gone. E. B. B. 



MiGKATiNO HmuTHAWK.— Fort Wayne, Ind.. Aug. 

 &Ut.— Editor Forest and Slre>'xm :— I wish to state what 

 to me was a phenomenon. As I was riding in my car- 

 riage, last week, in this city, my attention was called by 

 an acquaintance to an immense number of birds that 

 were flying in every direction, near the ground, very 

 much like swallows— I mean their flight was like swal- 

 lows, though the birds were very much larger. My neigh- 

 bor asked me what I called them. I told him they were 

 nighthawks ; but another gentleman, who happened to 

 come along as we were watching them, said th^-y -.vere 

 whippoorwills. I thought he was mislaken, and, afier 

 I went home, I constilted " Wilson's Ornitnology," and 

 found that I was right, as a perfect description of these 

 birds is given in his works, and the distinguishing marks, 

 especially in the plumage — therci being alarge wiiite si>ot 

 on the upper surface of the wings of the nighthavvk, 

 which does not exist with the whippoorwill. Wilson 

 says they migi'ate South in August, and probably this 

 was the general muster of " the Grand Army of the Re- 

 public," preparing to move South ; at any rate I lis ve not 

 seen any since. I never saw, except pigeons, so many 

 birds together in my life. Dk. C. S. W. 



It is not uncommon to see these great flights of uinht- 

 hawks at this season of the year. The whippoorwill 

 never migrateB in a similar raanntr, we thinJc, 



