ArRtL SO, i880,] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



245 



It may perhaps seem ungracious to call attention to 



. a paper so generally excellent and v&lu&ble as 



tlie one in question, but we cannot hi lp remarking on tba 



ku ■■■!■ ■■■■ proof-reading and the numerous, typographical 



Bfrdrs hj which il ii marred, 



Tin: Hi \i:y ofaBird, TJhdej thin title Mr. II. 1 1. Minoi: 



■is w hat purports to be a translation of thadiary 



ur smaller birds, and theqiroduclion is not only 



. ;. but lias a real raixmi. d'etre, lis author is evi- 



dently an ardent lover of Nature and an earnest student; 



ription of the migration of the little "blacky 



irbleffrom bis winter to bis-summer 



very entertaining, His conversations with bis companions, 

 and the birds whom lie meets during Ins peregrinations, 

 are grapuioand amusing. But we are especially interested 

 in the mass meeting for the discussion of "The Destruc- 

 tion and Extermination of Birds, How Caused, and How 



BVjrsi years the marked decrease in the number of 



Reds of every kind bas been a source of deepanxiety to 

 all true lovers of Nature, and Mr. Minoi bas given forci- 

 ble utterance to this fooling. Surely hereafter, the hith- 



farto ruthless hand of the" collector'' will hesitate be- 

 fore bringing to the ground, simply as an ornament for 

 "her liai.' due of the little warblers who has so fouch- 

 Egly made his appeal to mankind in bfhalf of himself 

 and friends. So much utterly unnecessary dust ruction of 

 ■roommon birds ts going on all the time, that we shud- 

 der at the thought. The absolute, slaughter of game birds 

 need not be mentioned.; that, unfortunately, is too well 

 known. Mr. Minot's work is worthy of high praise, as 

 ftving brought tins subject before the public in a novel 

 and interesting form. The law which he suggests may 

 mewhat too stringent, but it is apparent tha't 



Rnne great effort must soon be made or we shall lose all 

 Our birds. We venture to predict that at no very distant 

 day, some measure like that advocated by this writer will 



he put in beve. Too figures which Mr. Miuot gives of tin* 



number of birds kill,-, 1 a tally in a single State are ab- 

 solutely startling. We can only hope that this little 

 book in iy perform its mission of calling general attention 

 ITO this subject. 



'... March 



i"Rav.i us 



Stream 



r know- 



Habits of the Grow.— Plumixoille, Pen 

 fst.—E iitov Forest and'St ream :— The articles o 

 and Crows/' in the issues of the Forkst an 

 of February 19 th and 26th, have at trade, I (/(//attention 

 Etso. While. I neither condemn nor approve the 

 Kbits of the crow— having substantial reasoi 

 rue nat urc— mv views do notaltogethe 

 win. '.i C. IV He is often called "the tarn: 

 —nominally so. As the result of a closed, se< 

 running I tl ■ in spring, and making fc 



hum- trouble by unhilling and takit 

 insfi id of the cut-worm : also when the con: 

 is young he is known to strip the husk and 



id' 



porn at the point of th 

 never develops and matu 



n the ear 



the milkv 



the 



water 

 double 



if unpr, 



COW., I'd 



in. ' per 



ulds the 

 ' take eggs from 



Thai 1 



oil" 01 



•key or chick, 

 tlelib.-ralelv approach tho n 

 t|' triumphantly " fly awa 

 rare as black snakes layi 

 To compare thecruw will 

 io see the crow take a yo 

 he has been under my ev 

 says. ••th,s<- ugly birds b 

 : lambs on the lo 

 land and Virginia, and r 

 itonishhig ! Dead lam] 

 berless reader,- of t 

 •d tell of such wicked 

 dead fish, defunct q 

 delectable reminisce: 

 other slaughter-hous, 

 earned a position in 

 scavengers. 



■Where tl: 



as the open husk admit: 

 •, and ic dies. Crows un- 

 its of wood and field birds, 

 rird. Naturally tho crow is 

 ome so near the premises 

 re. to await the laying of 

 n, and as soon as vacated 

 lest and -bill" the egg, and 

 ■villi it. is a circumstance as 

 about waters catching fish. 

 i chicken-hawk 1 t have yet 

 g or old domestic fowl, and 

 11 my life time. "J. O. B." r 

 i a bad habit: of finding un- 

 ity managed farms in Mary- 

 tang the eyes out of them." 

 I presume. Have any of the 

 Forest ami Stream before 



If the 



crow consumes 

 :i thousand and 



i the deep," he 

 ; of beneficent 

 Wild Oats. 



Tailixo Skunks.— Lebanon, N. H„ March 23d.— 



Edltnr /•, 



pssue of • 

 ,n instan 

 when 1 u 

 Was at tl 



mind and sli 

 cellar which 

 zled me now 

 aunt, liowev, 

 commenced - 

 six stairs bell 

 do it. when, 



$ and Str 



Awah- 



chthesar 



jam.— Reading i 

 cape, 



pre.se, 



aid caught i 

 as. how to g 



stepped up, 

 lending the i 

 it and wond 



thout a se 



last 



a lad of about ten years 1 

 it, a maiden Jady strong of 

 There was a skunk in the 

 a steel trap, but. what puz- 

 thim out of the cellar. Mv 

 seized him bs- the tail and 

 sllar stairs, I following about 

 ring how vuy aunt dared to 



what 1 would have sworn was a streak of lightning, only 

 never had seen any lightning that smelled as that did ; 

 but it struck all the same everything within reach, mv- 

 3f-.lt included. Eyes, face and mouth— which latter was. 

 . open -all of which I did not recover from for 

 pome days ; but my aunt held fast and carried him out 

 of the house and dropped him into a barrel. Now, I 

 think this story shows two things: first, what kind of a 

 oil, an my aunt was, second, that it is not always safe 

 to carry skunks by the tail. Muggins. 



id of a large pro- 



Barniverous Mice,— In order 



Wl 



jeny 



iy 



of 



] 



which had 

 ved 



:l| , 



;he mi 



Htt bewildered animal then 



iffnrded bv a second adjoin! 

 Lrraugod ujion the 



ItO Which (l,e bail temple 



eparlineni from which th 

 Miction of the nuisance wi 

 agitimale result; and it ha 

 ireven three, victims found 



Che course of a few hours. In one instance, to winch I 

 Kdsh to draw attention, two were caught, an old one and 

 IhOther two-thirds grown. They were allowed to remain 

 >yer night, in their" novel lodgings, and next morning I 

 jiscovored only one half of the young animal, Tho miss- 



ipelicdoc 



themselves entrapped within 



hich closes 



vironiiient. 

 •t. which is 

 ii chamber 

 is a pa ii try 



' Rapid ex- 



l things it£ 

 allv tl::-, t wr- 



ing part had been literally devoured by the stronger 

 partner of its misfortunes. Whether this had been under 

 the impulse of rage, or the cravings <>f hunger, 1 am un- 

 able to say : but if d\n' to the latter cause, it would ac- 

 count for certain Bmitutions upon tho increase of this 

 pest, which would augment otherwise in wow of the 

 probncjiesa pf the spoctea to sliflleient utiUibers to tender 

 Ihemevi'ii nitire obnoxious than they really are. Thus 

 far such carnivorous diet has been relegated to the large 

 congener to eat, but it seems to be a typical trait of all 

 MuHdat as well. chas. Linden, 



That many of our rodents are more or less carmvorona 

 in habit is well known. Coues and others have observed 

 thai many ofjthe small rodents of the. West feed at cats 

 tain seasons of the year almost exclusively on grasshop- 

 pers, and wo have recorded an instance of a Tamias par- 

 tially devouring a dead HUperomy. 

 * 



Hakits of the Beaver.—^ Bedford, 0., March 30/ft.— 

 I am well acquainted with the habits of the northern 

 beaver. Several years ago I bought up several hundred 

 acres of mining lands near tho south shore of Lake Supe- 

 rior, m Ontonagon Countv. Mich. On Carp River, a 

 small stream that crossed a part of mv lands, the beavers 

 had built Beveral dams, and formed "extensive londs, in 

 which fchey built their houses, or lodges, as the Indians 

 call iliem. These lodges are built in water several feet in 

 depth, and the entrance is several feci under water, hut 

 the door or the lodge is I milt at least two feet above high- 

 water mark. The floor is built solid from the bottom°of 

 the pond, except the entrance. Although the beaver is 

 warmly clad with long fine fur, ho is very sensitive to 

 the cold, and rarely, if ever, leaves the pond or lodge 

 during cold weather. He lays in his winter supply of 

 food, which mainly consists of the bark of a species of 

 poplar. He cuts down small trees and outs them into 

 short pieces of one foot, ora little over in length, and takes 

 them into the pond, and fastens one end of these pieces 

 securely in (he mud at the bottom of the pond. These 

 pieces of wood are dragged up into the lodge, as often as 

 food is needed, and the hark gnawed oil' ; and after being 

 denuded ot the bark, they are by no means thrown away as 

 useless, but are taken under the ice, and carefully placed 

 in the dam. to strengthen it. They built one dam a little 

 below the foot of Carp Lake, which raised the lake thirty 

 inches. The lake is a small one— about one mile long 

 and a fourth of I mile wide. 1 measured the stump of a 

 maple tree that they bad cut down, and it measured 

 fourteen inches in diameter. There were no less than 

 eleven dams on the stream, all in sight of our buildings, 

 whore we were mining for copper. The beaver possesses 

 great engineering skill, always building his dams in the 

 form of an arch, the crown of the arch being invariably 

 up stream, giving it strength to resist the pressure of the 

 water. The Indians used to tell me inanv singular traits 

 of character that ibis animal possesses. Tin-y build their 

 dams and lodges of mud, sticks and stones. Compactly 

 and very strong. I once saw an albino beaver skin. I 

 thought, and still think, that it. was the purest white 1 

 ever saw. T. Garlick. 



Jfisff (Ejilhuc. 



RAPID GROWTH OF BROOK TROUT. 



i)( Manchester, Iowa, April 16th; 



Editor Forest and Stream:— 



in your issue of Sept. 33th, 1S79. 1 called the attention of 

 the lish culturists to the great growth of brook trout in 

 the spring streams of Delaware County, Iowa. I desire to 

 inform you of our further success, ii Seems to me to bo 

 extraordinary. 



In dune, 1877, the Fish Commissioner, Hon. B. F. 

 Shaw, placed in " Spring Branch," in this county, live 

 thousand brook trout. In March. 1879, the same trout 

 were caught, weighing one and one quarter pounds, and 

 in August Of that year they were caught weighing one 

 and three-quarters pounds: They spawned in November. 

 1870, and now the stream, which is almost three miles in 

 length, seems to be teeming with young (rout. Vou can 

 catch from twentv to one hundred with your hat 

 the spring. The most of the trout c; 

 one and a half pounds,. and some two t 



In March (27), 1879, the Commissi,, 

 hands of the " Delaware Countv Assoc 

 '.- I..,., of Fish and. Game," ftvcthoUsa 

 an: being caught eight inches I 

 traordi nary growth? There seems to I 

 large and small, there now, and it 

 would be their home for long years. 

 ibis healthy condition is caused by tl 



ght nc 

 mds. 



•r placed in the 

 Delation for the Pro- 

 land mi, re, and they 

 Is this not an ex- 

 millions of trout, 

 ms as though il 

 m of tho opinion 

 dod. The banks 

 English water- 



id bottom of the stream is lined 



v.-s. which they eat and are \ery fond off and it has 

 le same effect on the flavor of the fish as docs the weed 

 ilery on the canvas backed duck. 



< lommissioner Slun 



^'ii thousand brook t 



waters of the Ms 





3n tin 



Mil 



hist 



In 



- ass, i 



liatioi 



l lifli 



pl: 



iced ii 



the 



head 



p,„,ls eve 

 as c.oiii ai 

 River, 



•yfe 



dies fi 



This f 

 h flows sc 



IS Ii lie. I. Ii ^ 



River, with blaol 

 seven pounds. Tli 

 .streams and sprin 



' the head 

 S| 



turned over to 



it, which were 



.eta River, the 



the northern line of the county. 



trout country 1 ever saw anywhere. 



twenty barrels of water in a mo- 



nong rucks ami pine timber with 



from three to ten feet deep, water 



rins the source of the Magnaketa 



ithward through the county, and 



Springs to the Miss'i sip.p 



tl 



s frequently v 



•lub planted i 



and should vi 



of the Mag 



i to 



i the 



alee 





we bavj 

 of the si 

 finesi tr, 



g Branch and otl 

 character, we would have, in fo 

 fishing in the West, 

 The commission has placed i 



three years iifty thousand trout. 



salmon. The salmon last year 



long, and we. bad sport taking them With a fly ; but thi.. 



spring they have all departed, We can't cultivate them 



here. 



The commission obtains from tho shores of the Mis- 

 aissippi in the fall milUoneol voting black bass, wall-eyed 

 pike, cvappiea, and other native fish, and distributes three 



our countv in the past 



id thirty-five thousand 



■ about seven inch 



millions a yi ar, which.greatly increases our supply. The 

 Fish and Game Association consists utmost of the gen- 



loving men of the countv. The President. 



fi. A. Vananda ; Secretary, Ed. P. Keedes. and Treasurer 



X. W. Clark, are enforcing the close season in all tho 



streams and ponds, andour damson the Magnaketa alone 

 more than a hundred acres, filled with black 



Our Legislature, last session, made a fishery law similar 

 to the Hah law of Virginia, only more severe. Some of 

 the provisions are :— That all who obstruct any stream Or 

 lake shall erect a fishway, to be in accordance with the 

 instructions of the Fish Commission; the Board of 

 Supervisors are to see it enforced, and failing so to do, 

 shall be liable to a line of fifty dollars each ; the properly 

 10 pay all expenses of the fishway, and double damages >'t' 

 not built ; no person allowed to catch or kill afish within 

 one hundred yards of a dam, under heavy penalties and 

 imprisonment, 



The iishmen and game protectionists here never had so 

 fine a show before, and if we do not succeed here it is 

 our own fault. ^ S. G. Vananda. 



—Latest advices from Berlin report the American rep- 

 resentatives very busy getting their exhibit into shape. 

 The trout eggs sent by James Annin, Jr., of Caledonia, 

 N. Y., in care of Mr. Fred Mather, arrived in excellent 

 condition. Three thousand of these go as a present to the 

 Deutsche Fischerei Verein.. 



gen and 



§wei[ JM%, 



FISH IN SEASON IN APRIt. 



—Now that the fishing season has fairly opened, we 

 invite correspondence from the great body of anglers 

 throughout the country. Fresh, crisp items of angling 

 news, notes of fishing excursions, and extended accounts 

 of angling trips are all in order. We mean to make this 

 column a live one, and to that end invite the cooperation 

 of our friends and correspondents. Variety is the spice 

 of a newspaper's life ; the more the merrier. In addition 

 to notes of personal experience, we are always glad to 

 receive such information as is indicated by the following 

 hints. We, in turn, by publishing here, benefit the 

 whole fraternity of sportsmen : — 



What kiiul of game-fish is found in yourownoradjaccntneia-li- 

 uorhood? Average size n d d weight. > Heaviest weights this sea- 

 sou? Ordinary in-.nleui capture, and Irtnd of bait used ? 



4 ny improvements made in stocking ponds and streams, build- 

 ing lisli-ways, or duuis, m- establishing haieliing-houses? 



Increase or decrease of fish over previous years, in neighbor- 

 hood V 



Any local laws govern i ng trespass ? Mentiongood fishing local- 

 ities, if not conflicting with private interests? How accessible 

 from nearest railway station ? Any hotel accommodations ? 



How many anglers on lake or stream this season ? Notable per- 

 sons, if any? 



Canada — BwitomQham, Quebec, April 21st.— The ice 

 will soon be out of the lakes back of here ; then the sport 

 can begin, for the brook trout are ever on the 

 feed where they are seldom disturbed. Sportsmen who 

 wish to get back away from civilizatjOn would do well 

 to come, here, as this is one of the best entrances into the 

 great untracked northern wilderness. Mine host, Mr. 

 Lynch, of the Montreal Mouse here, is well posted and 

 charges light. Hotel tare S1.00 per day, other charges 

 in proportion. Fare from Montreal here via, Q. M. O. & 

 0. B., return ticket, §o.l0, and S3 cents stage-fare from 

 station to village. _ Stanstead, 



Massachusetts— New Bedford, Ajyril 22d.— During 

 the past week large quantities of herring, shad, scup, 

 tautog and striped bass have been taken in the traps in 

 this vicinity ; in fact, the fishing, which usually com- 

 mences the !0fh of May, is this year two weeks earlier 

 A large part of the herring are used by the fishing smacks 

 as bait lor cod and halibut. A few mackerel have also 

 been taken. The trout fishermen have not met with 

 much success, as the brooks hre very low. The large 

 ponds between here and Fall River are nearly three feet 

 lower than ever known at this time of year. 



Concha. 



♦ 



Ohio— O.vford, April 22<t— Black bass in Four Mile are 

 not as plenty as they were last year at this time. 



. M. S. I. 



< 



Colors of Perch and Habits of Bass.— Savan- 

 nah, Tenn., April With.— I wish to communicate to your 

 columns a few facts that have come under my observa- 

 tion, and have puzzled me somewhat to account for. 

 The first of these are some things I have noticed about 

 the color of lish, I have caught several fish of the 

 perch species, of a variety known throughout the South 

 as black perch, or goggle-eye, which when first taken 

 from the water were almost entirely yellow, showing 

 only a few black spots near and upon the dorsal fin. 

 After these fish had been strung for a few moments, the 

 black striper., as prominent m this verity w.-uild appear 

 Strongly marked. At first sight, this would appear to ho 

 due lo bringing the fish more directly under the influ- 

 ence Of the sun's rays, but as if in disproof of this theory 

 comes another fact". In fishing under a mill-dam near 

 this place 1 have taken porch and bass abnormally dark 

 colored, but when these have been on the string a short 

 time they fade, and soon become but little darker than 

 l heir neighbors. These two contradictory effects can 

 hardly be attributed to the action of the sun's rays. I 

 have met others who have observed the same things, bufe 

 IB i f them could give any explanation of the phe- 



Another matter, of which I wish to speak, relates to 



the habits of bass in ponds. We have here many ponds 

 l„t, ley the sir, anis changing their beds. These are gen- 

 erally in a horse-shoe form, and in many instances are at 

 the foot of the hills, where they are often fed by springe. 

 Most of these ponds communicate with the original 

 teams during high water, and are well-stocked with bass 



