April 8. 1830.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



185 



for in at the back door walked the old sexton with the 

 owls, lie had goue straight to the harn, and there were 

 the birds in a barrel. I accompanied the party to the 

 wer and saw the birds safely replaced in the 

 miss of filth that had served as a nest— prob 

 years. There were birds arid mice, frogs and snakes, 

 young hares and rabbits, and even fish lying all round in 

 various stages of decomposition. The old owls hissed 

 snapped sound, "but "finally, though they had been 

 away three days, came and sat near and caressed the 

 young, to the Squire's intense delight. The sexton, who 

 Was also assistant gamekeeper, shook his head and said : 

 " Don't you think they be a leetle too hard on the hares, 

 Squire? 1 but the kind old gentleman, with a 6pirit 

 worthy of Uncle Toby, answered: " Nevill, there are 

 plenty for thorn and for us too." It is needless to add, 

 the owls were no more disturbed, 



Among the strange styles of head gear affected by 

 ladies, one of the most fashionable lately, has been hats 

 trim mod with owls heads and wings. Faust refused to 

 dauco with the young witch, because "there sprang a 

 red mouse from her mouth." Somehow, the association 

 of ideas brings this passage to my mind when I sec these 

 a a hat. It is curious to observe what 

 material for head decoration feathers are, both 

 with civilized and uncivilized nations. 1 have Seei in 

 various islands in the South Pacific head dresses made of 

 feathers, as elaborate as those of Paris or New York. A 

 g&udy feather, or bright wing, is easily attached to a 

 head, whether the owner is the possessor of a hat or not, 

 I shall not discuss the propriety of destroying by whole- 

 sale, beautiful and harmless creatures, sacrificed because 

 fashion with doubtful taste demands it. I must, how- 

 ever confess a feeling akin to horror — a fealing that 

 every true naturalist must experience, at any enormous 

 waste of animal life, whether it be thousands of buffa- 

 loes, slain for their hides, or bright-hued birds, for their 

 feathers. Owls, not being generally gregarious, are 

 hardly likely to ba exterminated by the million, yet 

 they inust be destroyed in considerable numbers to sup- 

 ply" the demand. 



The fashion of wearing owls' heads is by no means 

 new. I saw an Imperial hunting fete at Versailles, when 

 the Empress Eugenie was in her glory — bright, beautiful 

 and, I suppose, happy. The ladies and gentlemen both 

 wore owls' heads on their hunting caps. The fashion 

 spread, and owls of all kinds, from " Lc Grand Duo" (as 

 the great homed owl is called) down to the little spar 

 row-owl, were in great demand. A kind-hearted natural- 

 ist protested against their destruction, urging that they 

 were, the best friends of the agriculturist, and should be 

 protected. However, fasbiouB changed in the spring. The 

 owls had then- day, and poor Eugenie had hers ; the owls 

 still hoot and blink round Versailles, but the Bonapartes 

 have departed, perhaps never to return. 



When the boys in Europe wish to rob an owl's nest of 

 the young, and cannot reach down the hollow tree, they 

 tie a worsted stocking to a stick, and poke it down. The 

 birds turn on their backs and grasp the stocking with 

 their claws, and are easily drawn up, as they possess the 

 faculty of holding on in a high degree, as my torn clothes 

 and lacerated hands could frequently testify. Owls are 

 easily tamed, and sometimes make interesting pets, al- 

 though there are more differences in individual tempers 

 than most people would imagine. 1 have living at this 

 time three snowy owls, captured this winter. One was 

 Wounded with a, riflehall : one was trapped ; the other at- 

 tacked a hen in mid-day, but was in turn knocked over 

 by a gallant game-cock; the farmer saw the circum- 

 stance, ran and threw bis coat over the owl and secured 

 him. All my birds are very tame, and will submit to be 

 coaxed on the head, and will take food from the hand at 

 of the day or night. I think I may say the 

 snowy owl is an exception among rapacious birds in the 

 qtiaiity of its flesh, as it is really tender and well tasted. I 

 have known it eaten on several occasions, and pronounced 

 excellent. One was served up incog, at a publio dinner, 

 and was greatly relished. 



The voices of some of the small owla are very peculiar. 

 During the Franco-Prussian war I was at Ohantilly, and 

 on several evenings, as I walked along the race-course, I 

 heard a strange cry from the chestnut trees near the 

 most, l-iew ! hew! kew 1 rang out loud and clear at regu- 

 lar intervals. I asked one of the chasseurs what it was. 

 He shrugged his shoulders. "How could he tell 1 It was 

 an omen— a bad sign— a bete noir." 1 appealed to the 

 lodge-keeper ; that worthy not only concurred with 

 Pierre, but sagely added "it betokened war, and his 

 wife's father had heard it before every revolution." How- 

 ever, I watched attentively for a couple of evenings with 

 my gun ; my patience was rewarded with a pah of the 

 pretty little scops owl, and the noise was heard no more. 

 The augury was fulfilled, however, for in three months 

 the German army was encamped on the course. 



The singular cry of the saw-whet, oracadian owl, was a 

 puzzle to ornithologists for a long time. It was attributed 

 to several species before the right author was discovered. 

 This small owl is moderately common near Lake Ontario, 

 I have met with it there at all times of the year. I cap- 

 tured two hardly fledged young on a stump in June, 1877, 

 one of which I lost through the curiosity of a lady, who 

 opened the satchel in which they were. The birdslooked 

 up at her so quaintly that she dropped it in alarm, 

 and one scrambled out and got lost. I kept the other 

 until it was well feathered, and then killed it for a speci- 

 men, as it was in the white-fronted immature plumage. 

 The present winter it lias been common. I have myself 

 Obtained four fine specimens and seen several others. It 

 is by no means ashy bird, although it can see very well 

 by day. Its food seems to be chiefly insects ; its castings 

 invariably contain the elytra of beetles. 



During the fall of 1378 I was staying at a farmhouse 

 where a very tame and sagacious crow was kept, a gift 

 from myself by the way. The chickens had been sadly 

 thinned by the hawks and owls, and I always kept my 

 gnu in readiness. One night when the guinea fowls Were 

 unusual lv clamorous I got out of bed, took my gun. ami 



walked barefooted to the garda&j just in time to see a 



large owl make an unsuccessful dash at one of the watch- 

 ful"-.' iiiiieis. I waited some time in vain for a shot, 

 then went to bed again — only to be aroused by a terrible 

 cawing just outside my bedroom window. I opened the 

 sash, and there was poor Jack — the crow — and a large, 

 owl on the ground engaged in a regular rough-and-tum- 



ble field. 1 could not. shoot for fear of killing the crow, 

 which was a great favorite, so I ran out round the house. 

 The owl escaped in the shadow of the orchard, but I 



.,1 p, 



r Jack, tin 



tin 



wl." 



whose 



ofthi 



nebula 



J popubi 



to prove the identity of the rol 

 lmn-i [f bravely, for a number 

 scattered around —it was the 1 

 The enmity between the owl a 

 Hindoo tradition. Kfikaris. or 

 of the Sanskrit names of the 

 fights with the ow 

 at midday, while the owl on the oth 

 crow's eggs at night." The Italians use the expression, 

 ■•the owl amongst the crows," [to indicate a serious dan- 

 ger. 



The common screech owl is one of the most audacious 



of the fa 



three atle 

 dashed at 



ily. On 



ivl , 



ot. 



-IT I 



glass with 

 me. Wl 



id 



ghborh. 

 irr that bun 



1 h; 



od last winter made 

 a window ; it 

 ch force as to knock itself 

 e eatu ry was removed the 

 tention 'on the tame doves, 

 &ad and their heads partly 

 1 not only killed therighi- 

 but had taken possession. 

 antlvat the hired man, who 

 loll at once, but the lady 

 me ; it however escaped in 

 , that was caught in a dove- 

 id partly eaten four doves. 

 Another in mv possession didn't escape so easily, for it 

 killed a female dove and attacked the male, a large, 

 strong bird, and during the struggle the dove broke one 

 of the owl's wings by the vigorous Happing of its own. 



If any person wishes to know what opinion small birds 

 have of the owl they have only to fasten one on a pole in 

 a garden in the breeding season and they will hear more 

 j ioal abuse than ever was expressed on the spar- 

 i ' ' , j 1 1 si; ion. A robin had budt its nest on the window- 

 sill of an out-house in my garden, and when the young 

 were nearlv fledged, during the absence of the parents. 

 I placed a stuffed screech owl by the side of their nest. 

 When the robins returned the effect was ludicrous; the 

 female came first, unsuspicious as usual, with a mouthful 

 of food. She didn't notice the owl until close to it, but 

 then dashed back screaming and in such confusion that 

 she struck herself against the house. The male bird was 

 soon on the spot, and such a chink-drinking was kept up 

 that one Would have thought half the robins in the coun- 

 try were there assembled. I removed the owl after a 

 time, but it was torn to pieces and the robins didn't re- 

 cover their equanimity that day, 



The great Virginian owl is the worst enemy of the 

 quail, much more so than any species of hawk, as 1 

 have had good proof. My owls are. almost tfrantic to 

 get at my tame quails, and the sight of a stuffed one is 

 sufficient to keep the latter wakeful an hour. The dis- 



gorged pellets 

 prey on these biros in pn 

 the'quails are found in 

 the owls. I have had fo 

 tailed hawk, reared t'r 



istakable 

 ferehce to 



ilentv 1 hi 

 ; several y< 

 the 



dence that they 

 ithers, and whenever 

 ve alwavs discovered 

 ars a fine female red- 



» c tame. I had 

 . the cellar, until he 



1 that I kept in the c 

 knocked down too many things fo please th< 

 I then put him in the hawk's house ; then was pie 

 room, and they didn't fight, but they kept a constant 

 watch upon each other. At every movement of the 

 hawk the owl would bristle up as big as a lager beer keg, 

 and at n igln when the owl moved the hawk would scream 

 with terror. After a week 1 was obliged to separate 

 them, for although they were both enormous eaters, 

 neither bad touched a morsel of food since they had been 

 together. 



The hawk owl I have met with but once. I was hunt- 

 ing in November. 1877, and while crossing a rough, stony 

 lot. always a favorite resort for the marsh hawk in sum- 

 mer and the snowy OWl in winter, an owl rose from be- 

 hind a stone pile with a mouse, intending to alight on 

 the stones. He saw me and rapidly changed his mind, 

 but too late. I fired, and was delighted to find I had 

 secured a very fine male hawk owl. I received one the 

 lame winter shot by a friend on the Canada shore of 



Lake Ontar 



Many superstil 

 the earliest time 

 generally in all 

 tor superior wist 

 tainly if blank, 

 this quality, 1 he 

 pauses for a re pi 

 lief of the anci 

 scended to our ti 

 cal illustration. 



uns respecting owls have prevailed from 

 to the present day. Birds of ill omen 

 ountries, they have vet the reputation 

 mi among the feathered tribes, and eer- 

 lexpressive gravity is characteristic of 

 >wl who •• nightly asks who's who, and 

 ," is entitled to ail the honors. One be- 

 nts regarding these birds has not de- 

 cie. At least I have heard of no practi- 

 I think it must have escaped the re- 

 of the apostles of Teetotalism. it, is, that the 

 eggs of an owl drank for three days in wine make drunk- 

 ards abstemious, Phildsfcratna says that no one can ever 

 like wine after eating an owd's egg, 



I will conclude this rambling paper with an account of 

 my first experience with the Virginian owl. When I 

 arrived in the States a few years ago one of my first in- 

 quiries was respecting this bird. Several friends prom- 

 ised to procure one for me. On returning home one day 

 I found a splendid newly-killed specimen lying on the 

 floor of my room. I was examining my prize, when in 

 came my Office boy, cook and general factotum. - 'A 

 man brought it," said lie. " He beard you wanted one ; 

 but I am afraid I paid too much for it." " Oh, no, you 

 didn't." I replied ; "how much did you giver" " Five 

 dollars,' said Ted. " Oh, well ! that is rather— well, 

 'tis a beauty, Here is the money, and there is a quarter 

 for yourself. Many thanks for buying it." 1 skinned 

 and preserved my specimen that evening. Some weeks 

 after that we were out hunting together, and I shot an 

 owl of the same kind. I incidentally mentioned our lira 

 speci.men. " Well." said Ted, " I behaved real mean 

 i that bird. I have often wanted to tell you, and 



now I must. 1 only gave a quarter for it." 



PEREGRINE. 



A Shower of Worms.— Wasliiiujtoii, D. C, March, 

 5</i.— The Baltimore Sun of this date contains a short 

 noti i of a -sliuwer of worms" in that city yesterday 

 morning, The tact that the worms could not have come. 

 up through Lbesolid Schilliugtou pavement was cited as 

 evidence that they must have fallen from regions above. 



The same phenomenon was noticed here this morning;. 



The worms were to be seen in great numbers on the con- 

 crete pavement of Pennsylvania Avenue, through which, 

 of course, they could not have made their way. The 

 street railway on the avenue is bouldered, and the side- 

 walks are of brick and si one. But in these places there 



were no indications of borings through if 



the surface from the soil below , The question is, did 

 they fall from the clouds, and if so, hou del they 

 get there. The fifteen puzzle is not a circumstance , 

 pared to this. .1. 0, 1 ! , 



Our correspondent can rest assured that the worms 

 came up out of the ground, and not down from the clouds, 

 The first warm rains of early spring always bring out 

 these animals in great numbers. Probably their appear- 

 ance at this time is connected with the breeding instinct. 



Buried Horns.— Our correspondent " Sycamore," who 

 started the question " Do deer bury their horns?" cdviveS 

 the topic, and hurls a Parthian dart at his Opponents in 

 the following note. He says : — 



1 was in Druid Hill Park this afternoon taking a look 

 at the deer. In conversation with Capt. Cassell, the 

 Superintendent, we fell upon the burying question, He 

 informed me that they had just ploughed Up a piece of 

 ground, and had unearthed more deer-hot -is than had 

 ever been found before during the whole fourb • 

 the deer had been confined in the park. As I am the one 

 who first started the discussion, I feel at liberty to add 

 this last word. 



#4 §ttlitm. 



Prof. Atwater's Paper. — We have been obliged to 

 defer the publication of Prof. W. O. Atwater's paper 

 read before the Eish Cultural Association last week. If 

 will, however, lose none of its interest nor value by the 

 delay. We shall publish it in our next issue. 



American Pish Cultural Assooiatjoi;.— ti,,. meet- 

 ing last week was harmonious throughout, and the mem- 

 bers uniformly expressed great satisfaction at the results 

 attained. The dinner at the Metropolitan Hotel, in the 

 evening, afforded an opportunity for discussions and 



speeches less serious than those of the business •;. : 



and stimulated by the ever-ready humor of the President, 

 each member contributed his share to the general fund 

 of good things. 



The officers for the ensuing year are as follows :— Pres- 

 ident, Robert B. Roosevelt ; Vice-President, George Shep- 

 pard Page ; Treasurer, Eugene Q-. Blackford; Corres- 

 ponding Secretary, Barnet Phillips ; Recording Secre- 

 tary, James Annin, Jr. ; Executive Committee, F. Ma- 

 ther, G. B. Goode, Samuel Wilmot. Benjamin West, 

 Thomas Ferguson and H. T. MeGovern. 

 » • 



A Spawning Eel. — " J. K. O." sends this note taken 

 from " Sub-Tropical Rumblings," by N, Pike, Harper's, 

 1873, page 271, with the remark that it may be of inter- 

 est to Mr. Roosevelt : — 



One day, when out at some distai 





3 f n 



1 the reefs, 1 

 eel exude tts 

 ?asily about, 

 tvesence evi- 



vas the spot 

 aeei'ully and 



.,! tneni 

 commenced, 



g of spawn, 

 chin width. 



had the rare good fortune of 



spawn. 1 noticed the creature 



and it excited my curiosity. xu<,uuug 



dentlyannoyedher.it would appear 



she had chosen to deposit her e e 



slowly circling round, she remained ft 



perfectly motionless, and then the oper 



resulting in a beautiful spiral scarlet 



nearly ten inches in length and over 



After all was completed, and the eel h; 



ined, with a sudden start it disappear 



able to capture it. I carefully colled 



preserved them in glycerine, but I am 



soon faded to a faint yellow. The string" resembles, to 



the naked eye, a delicate scarlet fabric of lace. 



Yellow Pike-Perch in Connecticut.— A new fish 



for our waters was taken in Scantic River, in a net last 



eek, by Mr. George B. Blodgett. It was brought to 



id I \ 



iay they 



me alive, and is now 



was new to our oldest fishermen, 



report, on the fisheries of Massac 



mention of it. Neither is it incl 



Binsley's list of the fishes of Col 



might have been introduced 1 



into our waters, I 



matron, and recei 



tentionally been 



andwe have no ii 



troduce it." 



It is remarkable that tl 



quite hvt ly. \As if 

 rclcred to I Jr. Hlorer's 

 lusetta, and Found no 



the Ete 



Thii 



rote to Dr. W. M. 1 

 3 the following repl 

 ■reduced by the lis 

 -rniation of any pri' 



Utht 



■c ti- 



lt 



or niioi- 

 asnot in- 

 ssioneix, 

 its to in- 



b a field 

 ogy. In 

 mi Scan- 



4.1 thai 

 >wn— the 

 ut River 



18G8 1 had brought to mo in a tub of water, f 



time this was the fourth ever taken so far as ki 

 other three had been captured in the Connect! 

 and its tributaries. It was so rare chat Prof. Haird 

 requested me to donate it to the Smithsonian Institute 

 (which I did), as they had no representative of lliat spe- 

 cies. The yellow pike-perch is even rarer in our waters 

 than the turbot, so far as I am able to le;,rn. Ii is atlBX- 

 ceedingly voracious fish, and is notnew to our western 

 waters. ' According to Delvay. it is found in most of the 

 great lakes and most of rhe streams and inland lakes iu 

 the western part of Kew York Stale. "It is found from 

 the Ohio through all the greal lakes, ami Uiougl bhi 

 rivers of the fur countries up to the fiSUli parallel of lati- 

 tude-." Dr. Kirtland says: "It iso) Il .valuable 



fishes for the table found iu the Western waters. It is 

 so abundant in the Maumce river that fishermen take it 

 as an article of commerce." 



The body in form resembles a pickerel 01' pike, but Ibc 



coloi and markings are that .Of a perch, hence it: u 



The head and mouth are not like eiLher fish— mouth 



