FOREST AND STREAM 
785 
in New England since that time has let! ornithologists to 
look upon this record with some degree of suspicion. 
During the past summer, however, there seems to have 
been a considerable flight of shear-waters along the New 
England coast, and they have even readied as far as New 
Brunswick. The Nuttall Bulletin for October announces 
the capture of three specimens at Sandwich, Cape Cod, 
Mass., August 19th, and states that another was killed at 
Pettock’s Island, Boston Harbor, the hext day. Another 
was killed near Falmouth, Mass., August 19th. Mr. Geo. 
A. Boardman states, that late in August seven of these 
birds were killed off Grand Menan and Campobello 
Islands, and that they were seen at St. Andrew's, at the 
head of Passamaquoddy Bay. This remarkable flight of 
birds into a region in which, so far as known, they have 
never before been observed, is certainly interesting and 
curious. We print below our correspondent’s account of 
his capture of a skimmer, merely suggesting that in all 
probability it was one of the flight spoken of above. We 
call attention, too, to his description of the flight of the 
birds and their m a nn er of feeding. Ho says :— 
In your paper of the 2d inst. I see mention made of the 
fact that at Point Pleasant, New Jersey, Mr. Davis, of 
Philadelphia, shot a black “ scissor bill"” This item of 
news particularly interested me, as I had shot last Aug¬ 
ust, on the south shore of Martha's Vineyard, Mass,, what 
1 presume is one of the same birds, i. e. a “ shear-water.” 
It has the same characteristics of bill, etc., mentioned by 
your correspondent; is quite black on the upper portions 
of the body and wings, hut white on the belly and under 
parts of wings. Has a spread of about three feet from tip 
to tip of wings. Upper oill about three inches long ; un¬ 
der bill about 3J inches ; red at tips, black at base, and in 
shape much like the blades of a penknife of unequal 
lengths. I found the Islanders quite ignorant of the ex¬ 
istence of such a gull; nothing of the sort having ever 
been seen by the most omnipresent of shore bird shooters 
to whom I showed the specimen I secured. 1 only saw 
one flock of these birds—about fifty — and they made only 
a flying visit of about forty-eight hours just after a storm 
of unprecedented fury. They were quite tame, and at one 
time I found them almost too sociable, for I feared they 
premeditated an attack, which, considering the scissor- 
like character of their open beaks, would not have been 
acceptable. The chief characteristics of their flight was 
its wonderful ease and steadiness, as with bills open — the 
lower mandible submerged about two inches—they would 
skim over the water, following every little indentation 
and projection of the shore with an evenness suggestive 
of their beaks being on runners. I had never known of 
these birds being so far north as Massachusetts, hence my 
interest in your note following C. E. P.’s communication. 
I am still in doubt as regards to my bird being what is, 
known as a black “ scissor bill,” owing to the fact of its 
having white on some portions of its body— this is not 
mentioned in the description of your correspondent. 
Will you Mndly inform me on the subject ? 
R. H. R. M. 
Our correspondent’s bird was a black skimmer, We 
have but one species in North America. 
Black Oyster Catcher.— I send the skin of a bird 
for identification, which I take to be a species of oyster 
catcher, was Mlled near thisplace, which Res in Lat. 49.13. 
47 N.,Long. 122.56.19 W. I have heen familiar with it 
(although it is by no means very plentif nl) for a long time, 
but having never seen it described in any work on ornith¬ 
ology, I thought perhaps it was unknown, and therefore 
take this means of ascertaining. Of course in this out of 
the way part of the world our 1 ibraries are not very exten¬ 
sive, and our means of estabRshing identification are 
limited, hence my reason for troubling you. 
I reserve any remarks concerning its habits, character¬ 
istics, etc., pending your reply, when, if it is unknown, I 
shall be glad to supply you with what information I have 
or may be able to collect concerning it. Should you desire 
to keep the skin and have it mounted, I shah be pleased 
at your doing so ; if, however, you do not care for it, be 
Mnd enough to donate it to any institution you may think 
it would be of interest or value to. Mo witch. 
New Westminster, B. C., Aug. 28th, 1879. 
Our correspondent further says, that the bird is non- 
migratory, that its winter dress does not differ from that 
of the specimen which was kflled in July. He speaks of 
it as essentially a shore bird, inhabiting and breeding on 
rocky oliffs and islands, and Bays that it lays two very 
large eggs being nearly the size of ahen’s eggs. 
The bird isthe black oyster catcher, ( Haematopus niger) 
a Pacific Coast species, and we should be very glad to 
receive from Mowitch a biography of it. 
The Florida Gallinule in New England.— Refer¬ 
ring to the capture of one of these birds in Connecticut, 
recently announced in the columns of Forest and Stream, 
Mr. Ruthven Deane, so well known to most of our read¬ 
ers as an ornithologist of high standing, writes us as fol¬ 
lows : 
We have been inclined of late years to think that this 
species was to be found regularly, in limited, numbers as 
far north as Boston and vicinity, and have every reason 
to think that it breeds here. In 1868 (Sept. 6th,) I took a 
young bird in Fresh Pond Marshes and saw others ; the 
same year Mr. Brewster took a young faff bird, and in 
June saw old birds. Since then specimens have been 
taken in the Concord and Sudbury Marshes and in other 
localities near here. 
The Skunk Perfume.— Fishkill Landing, N. Y, Oct. 
6th. —I noticed a paragraph in Forest and Stream of Sept. 
18th by Wm. N, Byers in regard to the disappearance of 
skunk odor within a short time after its being given out 
by the animal. This strange occurrence happened but 
once, and never but once, under my own observation. It 
was in Connecticut and not in the region of sulphur 
springs. I was returning from a day’s shooting with a 
friend, and as we turned into a lane that led to the house 
we saw a skunk come out from under a pile of old fence- 
rails a short distance in advance of us. My friend, who 
was a little way ahead of me, took a few steps towards 
the skunk and fired ; but his guu contained No. 10 shot, 
and much to our regret the beast began to kick and eject 
his odoriforous fluid in a manner that threatened to drive 
us out of the State. But now came a worse trouble. I 
had a dog, a setter, that I had only recently purchased, 
and be had a fondness for catching oats, aud before I 
could stop him lie had the skunk by the neck and gave it 
two or three shakes before he found out that he had bold 
of a different species of cat from any he had ever tackled 
before. But to shorten my story, to my surprise the 
smeRwas nearly all gone the next morning, and it could 
not be detected even in the long hair of the dog the next 
day. I have known the. smell to remain on a dog for 
weeks, and why this should have disappeared in so short 
a time is more than I can explain, Can the editor? 
On a long-haired dog it is certainly noticeable for sev¬ 
eral days, but it is a weU-known fact that it disappears 
more quickly in dry weather than in wet, and, further, 
that after the smell lias ceased to become annoying it 
may be brought out again with all its original strength 
by the heat of a fire. We have on one or two occasions 
seen cases where a dog, apparently free from the smeU, 
has laid down by the stove or fire and become so un¬ 
pleasantly strong-smelling tliat he bad to be driven from 
the room. 
^ The Gulf Thread Fish. —We have the following 
letter from our correspondent “Bexar,” dated Corpus 
Christi, Texas, Oct. 12th 
Mr. Editor : — I enclose a rough pencil sketch of a fish 
caught here which has latterly come into these waters. 
When taken he was found to be full of a silvery looMng 
substance, which , put under a magnifying glass, proved 
to be young shrimp from one-eighth to one-quarter of an 
inch in length. This drawing is life size, and yet this little 
fish mnst have contained many thousand shrimps. The 
back was dark green, lightening to a bright silver gloss 
on the befly. For propelling apparatus he is better pro¬ 
vided than anything in these waters. The scales are 
soft, smaR, and very thin and colorless. Is this a species 
of any valuable fish ? The eight long antenna; are fairly 
represented, and are found in no other fish here. 
This very singular fish, of which we are enabled to pre¬ 
sent a sketch, has been once before referred to in these 
columns, as will be discovered by the perusal of the fol¬ 
lowing valuable letter from Prof. Goode, to whom we 
submitted “ Bexar’s” drawing and description :— 
United States Commission, FIsh and Fisheries, l 
Washington, D. C., Oct. 18 th. f 
Dear Mr. Hallock : — 
I return herewith the letter of Mr. Johnson with ac¬ 
companying drawing of unknown species of fish. The 
fish is so rare that it has no common name, unless you 
Choose to caU it the “ Gulf Thread Fish.” It was described 
by Girard, in the report of the United States and Mexi¬ 
can Boundary Survey, under the name of Polynemus 
oetonemus, You will find a note on the species by Dr. 
Bean in Forest and Stream, vol. X., p. 430. Girard’s 
specimens came from Brazos Santiago, Texas, and the 
species has since been found on the west coast of Florida. 
The family Polynem.icUe, to which this fish belongs, is 
distributed through the seas of India to the Pacific, and 
and also in the tropical portions of the Atlantic. In the 
Indian Ocean there are eight species, all of which are 
said to be excellent as food, and from some of them 
isinglass Is manufactured in large quantities. One of 
them, the Polynemus indicus, grows to the length of four 
feet, and a large individual will yield about two ounces 
of rough isinglass. Another species, Polynemus tetru- 
dactylns, is said to grow six feet long in the Ganges, and 
to attain the weight of three hundred pounds or more. 
The species of the family on the Atlantic coast of North 
America are three in number, and are all insignificant in 
size and of rare occurrence. Specimens and information 
regarding then-habits are much desired by the National 
Museum. In India these fishes enter the rivers to spawn 
in the cold months. It would be very interesting to know 
whether the “Guff Thread Fish” has a similar habit. 
Cannot some of your Southern correspondents make this 
a subject for observation ? Yours very truly, 
_ G. Brown Goode. * 
A White-winged Surf Duok.— Ausable Forks, Essex 
Co„ N, Y,, Oct. I shot a duck in the river, in this 
village to-day. that I would like to have you identify for 
me. Description as follows: All jet black, except the 
wing feathers, from the elbow to the shoulder, which are 
white, and a white patch under the eyes. Eyes, light 
colored ; bill, brightly parti-colored, with" a singular swell¬ 
ing at the base; tile tip of under mandible on under Bide 
resembles a man's thumb-nail; legs, inserted high, seem 
to be better fitted for swimming than for walking : feet, 
orange yellow, with dark webs; plumage, very heavy 
and dense ; very thick skin; weight, 3 lbs. 6 oz. Think it 
is a sea duok of some kind. Have several works on birds ; 
among them “Hallock's Gazetteer,” “Jones’ Birds of 
North America,” etc., but do not find anything in them 
that exactly corresponds to the above description. If 
you will kindly help me, you wiU confer a great favor on 
C. T. Richardson. 
Your bird is, as you suppose, a sea duck, Pcdemia fusca. 
You wiU find it described on page 339 of the “ Gazetteer." 
It is one of the ducks oalled coot along the New England 
seaboard. 
Cormorant in Wisconsin. — La Crosse, Wis., Oct. 16th. 
—Yesterday, while duck hunting on the Broken Gun, a 
famous slough for ducks, some miles above this city, I 
shot a bird which has puzzled everybody here. The 
characteristics arc as follows: General color, black; 
though on the back and outside of the wings, there are 
some feathers having dark centres, with black borders ; 
the breast and uuder sides of the wings are of a raven 
black; the head is long aud high; the color is black and 
dark gray, mixed; the bill, 31 inches in length : the up¬ 
per mandible hooked, the color being black; the lower 
mandible and throat of a bright yellow, and bare of 
feathers : the eyes set forward of the base of the lower 
mandible ; length, 331 niches ; from tip to tip of wings, 
49 inches; neck, 6 inches long; legs, set far back, of a 
black color, aud very powerful: feet, webbed—four toes ; 
tail, having twelve feathers, 0 inches long; weight, 
5 lbs. If you will teR me the name of this bird, you will 
greatly obRge me. Chas. P. Crosby. 
Our correspodent's - duck ” is no doubt a cormorant: 
very likely Graeidus dilophns. 
Ducks Attracted by Light.—A t 3 a. m, on the morn¬ 
ing of Wednesday, Oct. 23d, one of the keepers of Minot’s 
Light, off Cohasset, on his watch heard some unusual 
noise about the lantern, and going up on fleck picked up 
ten ducks, known on the’ rivers flowing into the head of 
the Chesapeake as coots la. small brownish duck with a 
short neck, large head and rather broad bill and stiff tail 
very heavily and compactly feathered). Two were dead,’ 
two very badly hurt and six alive ; two escaped, and the 
four live ones were doing well last week in the hen house 
of Mr. Yinal, at Cohasset. I have shot many of them 
on Bush, Back and Gunpowder rivers, in Maryland 
J, P. H. 
The occurrence is very common. The ducks are at¬ 
tracted by the light, and the force of their flight kills or 
hurts them.—[E d. 
Will Wild Rice Grow in Southern Latitudes?— 
Editor Forest and Stream:— Last spring I ordered Mr 
Valentine, of Janesville, Wis., to send two bushels of 
wild rice to Pat. Kelly, living in Missouri on the 391- 
parallel of latitude. The seed was planted on the 26th of 
March according to directions, and in due tune the you im¬ 
plants came up and grew vigorously for a lew weeks, but 
with the accession of warm weather they withered and 
perished almost simultaneously. 
The conditions of the lake were regarded as beingfavor- 
ablefor the growtli of wild rice. H was supplied with 
water from springs that prevented it from fading below 
a certain point diu iug the entire year, and maintained a 
large flow at the outlet. A portion of the bottom of the 
lake was composed of solid clay, over which a person 
could walk with the utmost ease, while other portions 
consisted of decomposed vegetation, into which a boat 
paddle could be thrust several feet without difficulty. 
The seed was sound on both of these bottoms m six or 
eight inches of water, and appeared to flourish equafly 
well on each. My object in presenting the foregoing- 
facts is to elicit information upon the subject. Does wild 
rice grow in the South? If not, what are its limits? I 
trust that some Of your numerous readers will answer this 
question, as it may prevent Other persons from repeating 
my failures. Mr. KeUy thinks that if the seed was sown 
in the faU it would grow in his lake. 11, G. Carey, 
Indianapolis, Ind., Oct. 28th. 
Doubtless some of our correspondents can throw light 
on this. 
Note on Poezana Noviboracenois.— Buffalo, N. S', 
Oct. 12U/.—1 have shot the yellow rail at Tower HR], 
Southern Illinois, as late us the 23d of April. This was 
several yearn ago, and the bird was evidently in its mi¬ 
gration, as it occurred in a small patch of marsh near the 
Mississippi, which I hunted close every morning. Later 
I obtained another specimen of it near Clinton, Iowa, on 
the 10th of April, 1879. My dog came in this instance to 
a point on it, and retrieved it alive. The ground was 
partly frozen at the time, and the English snipe, which 
formed the main object of my visit to that IocaRty. had 
just commenced to arrive in'small flocks. They were 
then, as usual, very lean and wild onaecount of unsettled 
habits and feeding grounds. A third specimen of yellow 
rail was obtained near Buffalo during the latter end of 
April. These were the only specimens of this bird I have 
come across, but it appears that its distribution is wider 
than generally suspected. They lie even closer than the 
Virginia rail, and fly laboriously, to settle down again 
within thirty yards. It is possible that they escape de¬ 
tection by their skulking traits, oven where they are of 
common occurrence. Chas. Linden, 
— The special trains for Hartford, Springfield, and the 
North, in connection with the New Haven steamers, leav¬ 
ing Pier 25, East River, have heen withdrawn for the 
season, The New Haven steamers (which are heated 
throughout by steam,) will leave as usual at 3 p.m. and 
H P -M- Passengers can connect witii trains for North and 
East by taking horse cars from steamboat dock to rail¬ 
road depot. 
