parrots. T have no doul i 

 darks, etc., where the liiii. 

 tht'irown atc.'iinsr i1h> fi-c-qiicn 

 visil.M-t', rliev an/ mon- silent, 

 thc'yarriuthcjimgk-.san.lfnv 

 Suili liiLS Iti'cii my cxpcric 



I lielit 

 ovir (!(.: 



pMAIu: hi 



White Bill aud feet black. The former wUh'a. ycMom jtpof. | liy tUc- wlustlo of llie iii' 

 uriir itH Imm, and nharter tfiwt, tfie head. JfustriU about »»(?- 



, y hetwirn Ivise find tip. Tail of tRuent}/ fcaUwrH. 



rijt yduiig of l)iiLh spiAiics are gray, and are smaller ihau 

 h' aflults. Tlic spot on the hill of Oygnm americamt.i is not 

 always to be found, brinu; often absent in young birds, Ju 

 whicii the IhII ia somtiime^ llesh colored. The a zo of tlic 

 fiill, position of the nostrils aud number of tail fetitliers ■n-ill, 

 tiowever, serve to distinguish the two species. 



The geese of JSiorlh America belong to four genera, ■one of 

 wtiich, IhmlviH'ygna, is quite southern iu its distribulaoa, and 

 ia searerly likely to eonie to the notice of any of our readers, 

 f/xfC'iJt tho8c of Ti.-sas and Soutliern California. One species, 

 /'. auliiii/iinS% merely ero.sses our soulbi-rn hountl!i.ry line, 

 whilej?;.y"!r,/ rearbt.M California, and is stated oy Beldin- 

 to occur as far north as (Stockton, Cab The former spceJes 

 is reported by Dr. Jlerrill to lie extremely abundant in the 

 vicinity of Ft. Brown, Te.xas, where it is called ;Mto.s ww«(fZ, 

 iir eomliuUl duck, from its habit of frequenting such locali- 

 ties. A correspondent of Koiik.st and .Sti;i;am recentlj' gave 

 sonic ac<-onnt of shooting this siiecies in Te.xas. Tlie bird.s 

 included in this genus lu'c duck-like, tree-iulmbiting geese, 

 and serve to eounect this group, with the true ducks. 



Typical forms of the three remaining gciierti of our geese, 

 AiiKnr, Chen and Branbi, are to Ite found generally distriliuted 

 throughout the United States during the migrations. Of 

 these by far the most iibundanr aud generally known is the 

 common gray or tlanaiia goose, and this is probably the only 

 one whichever breeds with us, all tiie others proceeding to 

 high latitudes for the pm-pose of nesting. The peculiar little 

 " wai'j " ' '/unro.mi is more Arctic than any of oui- geeso, and 

 is vc.iy rare in collections, but reaches the United States in 

 wialer, and has been taken at San Francisco. The Painted 

 Glooise, FMlMte rjinagica, is an Alaskan species, and is only 

 If ound on the northwest coast. 



LTO be OONTINTJKI).] 



if the alarmed 

 fill lids as the Adiron- 

 laTc hard time to hold 

 >of hunters and otlicr 

 aud hideling in their liabits llian 

 •st.sof more imfrcqucnicfl places. 

 everywhere witli wild animnlf 



'/"■ have the s;oiic lialat of scronadini: as 

 icstic cat : 1 know the .South Arncriciin and African 

 species have. Like the questions, Do snakes hiss? anti 

 Will the shark attack a man? I presume there will be plenty 

 of an.swcrs in the affirmative to the question, Dots tlie 

 pantlicr S(.TC;un ? Pf.i^erhine. 



There ia no doubt; tliat the panther (-Felk eoneolitr) does 

 scream. Its cry is merely an exaggeration of the voice of 



the cat. We luo'c freqtiently heard caged animals of this 

 species give ntipranee to sound.s which \vcre exactly similar 

 ■ric.'^ heard in the RociiyjMoiiiitains and said In old hunt- 

 ers to be maile by panthers. 



It should iierhaps he remembered that the jaguar spoken of 

 by "Pcregi'ine" is not identical with the panthec. The lat- 

 ter is foimd in South America, but is apparently an inhabi- 

 tant of higher ground than the former, its range including 

 niountainBand elevated plains, while the jaguar seems to pre- 

 fer jungle and river bottom. 



SNAKE BITES. 



Editor Forest and Hlremn : 



Dr. Stradling, surgeon on board 

 Elbe, is credited with liaviiiL' made a 

 by allowing himself to be billen, on 

 by a rattlesnake ((Jrotalu.i hdrridnx) 

 have provided himself with the nsu; 

 moniii, brandy, escharoiics and ligat 

 niclini:' liiil "iv.-.nlts from the bite 

 !!' Liuird and failed to ii 

 r -.: ic four V 



ad wa 

 Jons, lasliui^ . 

 ■comit i lia\c 



the British man-of-war 

 very foohsii experiment 

 the Isl of last August, 

 , The doctor seems to 

 1 1 antidotes, such as am- 

 lu'es, but feeling no im- 

 pctanitted himself to he 

 iiake use of them. After 

 lis found suffering under 

 •ough 



restored to life agahi 11 

 er two or more days. 

 .St read in a leading American 

 a from iui English scientific 

 .diich the details of the occurrence are mi- 

 It ditTer.s tnateiially from another narrative 

 seen in several papers, to the elTect that tli 



RALi.tn.vE IS Kekticky — BaviM.ijii'ii, 

 W.— l'kliUir Jutre-st and St/ri'iii : A good in 

 been killed in this vicinitv this fall, a bird 



learn, has never beeij founil hiTc hctV, 

 also shot two yellow rail (Ponnmt 



The coot yPulkd (mtir-irinia). at 

 be entirely new to this region, lias 

 have only lieard of four, and the}' 

 r V, ere ajiiiarenlly unable to fly 

 dently migratin; ' ' " 



seme wa\-, and 



h'rutuck//. iViir. 

 ny sura rail have 

 .liicli, so far as 1 

 c. InOcloherT 

 '■■<. Cass;. 

 'liieb seems to 

 fottud here. I 



ither bird t 

 lately been 



,'cre all captured alive, as 



Kow as they wiTc evi- 



and mast have got here from the Korth in 



mldn't very well come by rail and steam, 



cd the fciit ? I 

 ■onbnement for 



stream, which is some SOO feet wide and navigidjle for small 

 steamers. The country ia nciw thorougldy settled, and has 

 been for x'cars, but I here are beaver to' lie found there yet. 

 They oidV disappear about as fast as ihey arc caii-bt off. 

 There were two shot near here by a boy only a few days ago. 

 "They have cUsappewed." E. B. B. 



".:i,-:- iii.d cab- 

 ala rlylVaid Of. 

 C. W. B. 

 ■ mature coiisidcralion that perhtips they 



the I. II - .r 



.unwearied' ex 

 Such is th< 

 journid, purj 

 publication, i 

 nutely given 



that 1 have . . 



Quixotic experimenter professed to have disc<:ivcred and used 

 an infallible remedy against snakebites; did actually rcs' 

 it successfully at Hio.and suli.scipiently aboard ship. I refer 

 to tills circtinistance simply as introductory to an event, 

 mui/iia jicir.'ifiii', whicli iuttaested me very much at the time, 

 and which seems to me worthy of being generally known. 



Intendiuir to spend the sununer several years ago in the 

 mounlains of Virginia, 1 took xvith me, to have constantly 

 about mc as a, iirctcantion against tlie perilous venom of 

 rattlesnakes, a small vial of ammonia. One day while out 

 shooting with my son, and being a short distance from him, I 

 heard him call several times loudly to his dog, and tinally tire 

 his gun. 



instantly 1 heard the yiJp of the dog, a pointer, and the 

 voice of my son urgin;;- nie to come to him. ITurrving to his 

 assistance, questioiiiijL>: whether he h.id shot the ikig or had 

 himself suffered scnic injnry, 1 found on my arrival near 

 him that the dog luid point eil ;i co|.iper-liead snake ((irignno- 

 CKpliKi-nix a-,titort>-ix), or ratlier tw.n .if lle-in, which seemed to 

 be male and female, and had been slvack by .jue of llicm <in 

 the fure leg just aljo\-e the ankle joint. !My son had shot the 

 one he observed with head erect, which Jirobably hadinflicted 

 the Votuid, not seeing the other which was killed a few 

 moments later b;y a companion. 



The iioor dog scenicd to be suffering great agony, and was 

 struggling abiml on three legs uttering incessant erioi of iiaiii. 

 It was the work of a moniont lo bring*forth my hartshorn 

 and thoroughly .saturalc the w.amd, tlie situation of which 

 was very appa'rcnl fmiii the pirescncc -if a drop of blood that 

 stained the hair around it. The relief seemed to be instan- 

 taneous. Kot anotlur cry lie uttered, luid seemed to e.xperi- 

 «nce no ill eileel exeejil that, the leg and corresponding shoul- 

 der swelled to twice their natural slice, and remained so for 

 a day or two. Coidd the remedy have been instantly apitlied 

 it is quite possible even tliis result nf the woiui.l might not 

 have tali en place. Two or ihrce minutes elapsed between the 

 infliction of the bite and the laiiploymeut of the remcily. 



In India it is a common practice, 1 imilcistand, for the .■u-ni}- 

 surgeons to have aliout them eonvenienr for instant use 

 supplies of -Ii/!«< «.W7Hrtrt//r in order to neutralize tli(; poison 

 of the deadlvcobra. Why should not sportsmen, and hunters 

 especially, and all other persons acc.ir.iiiig to the measure of 

 their exposure cairy with them in their mountain expeditions 

 a small dass stoppered phial tilled with the same liquid a.s a 

 precaution as.iinst mi.schief from the hardly less dangerous 

 copper-head aud rattle snake ;' E. 6. W. 



Cmnbriilqe. M/1. aVr;r. 9, 18.S0. 



grass or high and 

 Ix' Hushed. If ii 



will you kindly exphiin bow tliey accompli.sl 

 oblai'neil two of them and have had Ihemin 

 over three weeks. Thev thrive well and an- 

 tame, eating freely from the hand. Thrv n 

 omnivorous, their mam vesterday consi'--' j 

 angle-worms, crickets, tomatoes, corn limil 

 Imge leayes ; the latter they seem lo be pailici 



tjuail are abundant here this season. 



It occtirs lo us aft 

 flew. 



It must be mentioned that most of the niemliejs of tlie 

 rail family live in such localities that the sportsman might not 

 in a long time catch sight of one. Most of the rail fly only 

 ■when forced to and nsiitiUy nm away tlu'ough the tangled 

 thick reeds, so .swiftly that they cannot ctisily 

 is really the ca.se lluil they arc now but 

 rarclj, found in Kentucky the fad is an interesting one, and 

 we should be glad to hear more on the subject. It seems 

 likely that th* coots in cpiestion had been blown out of their 

 course by recent severe storms and this, if true, might ac- 

 coimt for their mability to fly. 



We hope that C. W. B. will advise us of the sncce.ss which 

 may att<md his al temiits lo domesticate these birds. We be- 

 lieve that Ihey can be domesticated and that they will very 

 likely breed in confinement, 



WraxEB BiRiw CoMKO Ox.— The appeaiance of some birds 

 which are with lis only during the winter months woidd seem 

 to hint that cold weather is near at hand. We noticed in 

 Connecticut, Nov. 6," specimens of Sjrk/'!ia mordirol^i. ami 



yEgiatlnm tiiiariii, and in this city near (_)ne Hundred and 

 Fifty-seventh street and Eleventh avenue, a .specimen of 

 /.cm/ h-u-uplj-rii w;is seen feeding on the liemlock cones. JNov. 'i. 



Latb Stay oh Bw.A.r.Low.s — Editor Forent and Stream r On 

 the 13th of October, being at Clai'k's Island, Plymouth, 



S^lf gnUme, 



THE CULTURE OF CARP. 



v\ __- 



THE widespread interest manifested in the culture of this 

 fi.sh since it.s introduction h\ iht l^ S. Fisli Commis- 

 sion is so great that we are certain thai, ,air readers will find 

 the following letters from Mr. Rixfonl and Hcrr v.in Behr, 

 the well-known President of the Deutsche Fischeici Verein, 

 who hits done so much for flsh culllU'e iu ticrmaiiy. of great 

 interest. 



Although we have many fish wlvieh excel the carp aa a 

 table fish, yet we believe that its ititroduotion will prove of 

 the greatest value in those portions of the country where the 

 warm waters produce nothing edible, and that we could with 

 more profit dispense with any other fresh water fish, outside 

 of the whitefish of the lakes, than the carp, sia'aking from 

 the fishculturist's and an econouucal point of \kw : for there 

 is no fish which in confined waters will turn out so many 

 pounds of food as the carji, and its food costs little or nothing. 

 Its rate of growth here has exceeded that in its native land, 

 and its introduction into American wiiters will [)rove to be 

 worth a vast sura withm the next ten years to onr liog-eating 

 farmers, who seldom get a fish dinner. With thi.s preface 

 we give the following correspondence : 



/! RixFOKD, Suwannee Co., Fla., 'N'ov. U 



Editor Forest and Stream : 



Your favor of the 23d of October covering a veiy inter- 

 esting letter from Baron von Behr, camido me in due sea- 

 son. It appears that I am indelited to yon for this coiTes- 

 pondenee, as it was through the medium'uf the Forest ,yNp 

 Stkjeam that the Baron's ^attention was drawn to my letter to 

 Prof. Baird, which you published, and I cheerfully" send yon 

 a copy of his letter for your use, tiswell as aeojiy of my re- 

 ply, which you can use or not as you lieem best." 



(tEo. ('. liixroim. 



^^ Scn.Mor.Dow, in Poniorania f Germany )j I 



October 4, 1880. i 



Ml/ d,o,' Mi: lii.iford : 



ft is after having read in FoKEST ASD Stijeam of Sept. 10 

 your letter aliout cari) that I take the libert}^ of wiiting you 



some lines. 



1 have been receiving such manifold, assistance from your 

 comilrymen in my fishcultnr.al interests, that fain glad to be 

 able, perhaps, to iissist y(ni, (hough, of c.nirse. Prof. Baird 

 will have furnished you with the most needed hints. 



I dare say carp "will delight in the elinuite of Florida. 

 They are a fish liking warmth before all, and tlicrefore retire 

 in my climate (Northern German vj from October to May, 

 into the deeiiest possilile mud in the ground of our carp lakes, 

 and seem to slumber there in entire apathy. They .spawn 

 with us in ]\Iay, .June and Jtdy, the special time depending 

 entirely upon the warmth of the water. W^e ai'C of th'p 

 opinion that they need for spavniing something like 16 deg. 



IMass., I obs 

 low I '/'. /-/. 

 easlern part 

 p.iint of .'it 

 sand el ■ I 

 plumi,,, ., 

 swaying': a 

 ing abf 



r tlu; 



iggiug of the alo 

 the way. of the 

 have recorded 



amiense flock of the white-bell 



It seemed as if till the swtillowh 



^tale were cillected at a single 



n;ia'e-.. wi-re certainly one or iw.- 



'- !■ liavslaekson"the marsh, tl 



.vailablefor aliLditiiiL', c 



a !,i i.a arass. Atone lime when 

 took a n.iti.in [■> aliaiil 



own 



tiiy 



dswai- But 



Reiuimi 



mav be 

 We . 

 in the 1 

 end of 

 pond s 



.Ml flii 



■albt 



superfln 



■ vou. but now I 



idles helow the surfa 

 to spawui they fix their gbitii 

 merable quantity upon thebranche 

 thesame time Mr. and SI "' 



ofeiiirs 

 as for ' 



It 



it.ir I he 



ip yaeht Sire 



allow in speed. 

 the two seasons — tJie 

 the island, and shortly every part ol 

 was occupiied, and many not finding 



the 

 by 



' - ''""• ™'P 



a • aa- m innu- 



diail ia, laitalaslat 

 Caip la-gill to eat eagerly tlieir 

 . inly iu consequence of the immense quan- 

 Hpawn that the cani is as plentiful as it is. 

 ;-<amtry, which wishes to uet quickly great 

 11- carp, y.m could make no l.ctlra arranicc- 

 1- out, aflcr sceiim- the hratiches cvered with 

 I branches i trans|ilantin<; them in a tub of 

 the egas do not gel dry) and bring thei 



ake 

 ,11 d and 



idf'd 



iiiath. 



to the 



amalical 



boom or rail. Tie 



;li 



your col 

 at anchr 

 landing ri 

 V.dt-r.ibm 



will s 

 take I 



: pond, quite empty of other fish. 

 1 altoi;ellier from your spawning p. 

 to the yonna- ones. "whicli after a short time 

 ■c bv ifiaiiy tfiousaiids, and ver\' soon beein to 

 '.- kind, say cooked potatoes (Jr bread. By 

 nstantly my children got our carp sii tame 

 d eat bread from their hands. They gel 



,• v.\ 



rds I 



Does the Panthkb SoBEA^r? — In Foeest ast> Stkeaji 

 for October 14 your correspondent "Ap-wa-cun-na" expresses 



a doubt of the scrciming of the catamoimt or panther. W'hile 

 I leave it to Mr. Ciaaiisii to describe tlie "kind of noise" his 

 luiimal in.adi'. 1 bee letivc to say thai if the Korlheru panther 

 is idenliea! with the panther or jti.t^uar so common along the 

 Itanl^s. if the Amazon and other iiarts of South America, its 

 v.ical powers arc decided enough. Its common cry is a loud, 

 miarlingyell. increasing in shrillness and volume, and then 

 gi-adually dimiuislibig in sound. When the opposite sexes 

 meet, they play citt in a manner that makes the surrounding 

 forest pretty "musical, as each strain ia generally aneworeij 



fcrenceof tlie wings in aliglitingl suppi ,-a i. it,"-, i i a a a, ■ y 

 ciirious a]ipearance, as if'ihe ropes vvere re.Li,tii.iriy st.i.ldid 

 witli larg.a knnis. When the skipper went ulKiard and saw 

 the cnidition ..f his decks bis remarks indicated that he held 

 swallows iu about the same estimation as Dr. Coues does 

 English sjiarrows. F. 0. Browxe. 



Framingham.. Ma,ts., JSTm. 4, 1S80. 



The swallows were certainly late, for they usually leave 

 early in September. The species referred to, however, comes 

 first of all our swallows and is the last to leave lis. 



In connection with this note we may mention that, we saw 

 in this city on the evening of Octolier -'4 a night, hawk. The 

 bird passed close to us and the identification was unmistak- 

 able. 



H.yBiT8 0FTHEBE.iAT;R — TW^, foira, A^w). 9. — Editor Forent 

 and Stream: I have just been to the liver to visit the beaver 

 ioned some time ago in Forf.st a>,d SiKii.iXi. 

 ive just completed a large new dam, not more 

 rods from a farmliouse which stands oil I he bank 

 There are .seven dams within three miles nf 

 '•Nessmuek" terms these beaver semi-domcsli- 

 lich may be true : but if beaver are SO shy and so 

 dread the presence of man as Ne.ssnnik would have uh be- 

 lieve, how did they become semi-domesticated f 

 ■Wlule living on Cedar River in this State some twenty 



eed. 



an is to have many ponds for the carp all of 



ranged in such a way that they can be m.'ide 



That .t^ivesyou the possibility of having the, 



aeeonliug to their iiges — say of one. 'two, 



us they will grow in your clinlatc to alwml teu 

 ily. Vou know that in rare nnseswe have cai-p 



' to have 



e), and 

 ermiiny 

 lo were 



dam 



s I men 



J til 



d f,ii 



y 1 



that 



twe 



iiy 



of the ri 



'er. 



Ibis 



10 WI 





cute 



d, w 



net 



\\ Sum 

 pomldsca^ . 



of thirty or forty jioiinds, while it is n"tliiiTr 

 them up to twenty pounds. If you a I i 

 anybody who understands this, my liriL I 

 by care of Prof. Baird some bonks ahii : . 

 and nursing. Yon know that the i, re. 'lis 

 old Romans knew this. Tliey lamefroin h; 

 in tlie eleventh centm-y— of course by (,li... m 

 the great protectors of fishes. 



In the iionds which cont.iinyom'cai-p of two, three and four 

 years you will do wisely lo keep with them a few voracious 

 "flshe.s as Emit (pike), or similar ones. This seems to prevent 

 their desire to spawn, and therefore a.ssists their 'quid 

 growing. This principle is generally followed wherevci 

 we have large etup culture in Germany or .'Vustria (Bohemia >. 

 Bewtue of having other fishes of a simUar family iuthe same 

 pond A\1tli your carp — the crossing gives very Ijad fishes full 

 of bones aiid of bad taste. 



^How this, mv letter, may go. If it reaches vou 1 hope you 

 may tind ii uf a little use.' 1 finish as T bcgu"u. 1 got sUcU 

 kind assistance from your countrymen that 1 shall be very 

 glad to be useful to you. Newapiipers make nnw in a few 

 weeks k Pmr de inv/uU. Let everybody try to make use at 



1 * About 66 degreeeFahrenheit. 



