44 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[August 17 i883. 



of any expert with the split bamboo, aud is fully as accurate. 

 The bird is greatly aided by tlio distinctness with which 

 fish cm in: seen from an elevation. Prom oaf yacht's cross- 

 trees' I could plandysBc a shoalof tish not one ->f which 

 could be; discovered from the deck. I am inclined to think 

 from toy own Observations that the hawk strikes the Iish 



from behind, as they s b when held in its talons t" be 



headed the same Way-* as the bird, 1 have noticed that the 

 hawk always gives a vigorous shake' when fairly up from the 

 "Water whether it caught u Iish Of not. 1 have never seen one 

 strike a iish which it could not lift from the warn-, but have 

 heard of such instances 



The white headed eagle often robs the fish hawk. I have 

 seen him do it s number of limes, and rarely doss he miss 

 his object. I never saw one miss but once, a d then the 

 hawk w.i- so near the Ircctops that tin- catrlc did not have 



time to secure the fish bsfgro ii fell among the trees. The 

 pursuit and robbery afford an interesting sight to the be- 

 holder. One instance of this occurred while our yacht lay 

 in the Wicomico River. AVe were anchored in the lieud oir 

 the mouth of Ball's Creek, a. fish hawk had beei scon for 

 som • time dying about over the river, ami soon we saw him 

 poised over soma unsuspecting iish. and in an instant his 

 wings closed and he darted diagonally down with asplash 

 into the mirror-like surface. Then he rose, drippins, with a 

 iish in his talons. : ,i.,i aftei giving Ens ciis Dry shake 



started olf up the river. A minute afterward an eagle, 

 •which I had not before seen, sailed out from among some 

 pine6 which stood on the opposite side of the river." It at. 

 Once started in full chase after i'c lyinglawk) which was 

 now a fleeing hawk as well. On they went, up and up, in 

 wide cirri,--. The hawk screamed as he flow ; the eagle fol- 

 low silent, hut determined. His gaze was on that herring, 

 and he seemed tq see nothing else. Soon the hawk began to 

 pitch and dodge from sidetoside; They were at such a 

 height thai they looked hill a few feet apart. The hawk 

 iv,;- evidently wearied with his exertions, and in another 

 instant he dropped the tish. The eagle, with half-folded 

 wine-, seemtd to rather fall alter it ihaii anything else. Ho 

 caught ii in a few yards descent and Mew oil' in triumph. 



1 visited several 'hawks' Hosts and secured several Speci- 

 mens of theii cgtrs for invcollCetiOB. 1 recoiled that one 

 nest wc climbed up io was so broad on top that, lying at 

 full length, my whole person rested on the nest. I wish no 

 One o. misunderstand the lying— for that nesj was fully six 

 feel across the top, and I measure bat live feel eight inches. 



I had been told by persons residing in that vicinity that it 

 was daugflrous to climb to the nest unarmed, and I was once 

 driven oui of a tree by the angry birds. I once found a nasi 

 in the top of a cbestmil stub; and I am told thai on the 

 Island of Nantuekcl theybuill on lop of a wind mill; gen- 

 erally they build in pines, often dead ones; and year idler 

 year in die same one, if undisturbed. About the shores of 

 one pond I counted fifteen of their nesls. and in July the 

 young wore screaming in.rssanlly. 



At the same point Where hawks were so abundant several 

 pair of wood duck.- had settled for the season. They nested 

 in the hollow trees, so many of which arc to he found in 

 Virginia woods. 



Once we were walking along a narrow sirip of beach be- 

 tween this pond and the Chesapeake: ii was a beautiful day 

 in June, a soft breeze from the south fanned our faces as we 

 looked off on the blue waters. The shores ot) the south side 

 of the Potomac are low. and at this point were bordered by 

 a growth of small pines which extended hick to the pond. 

 While maldne our Way through these trees— which were 



quite thick and tangled— We heard the call of a wood duck, 



not loud, hut a very, dislincil quest, qucet, quit. We instant- 

 ly suspected that there was a brood of young wiih her, and 

 at once decided to capture some <>f them, if possible Creep- 

 ing cautiously through the uudl rbrush, wo -aw them across 

 tie- pond, making their way up a branch on the other side. 

 AVe quickly laid quietly retraced our steps along shore, and 

 stole down on a point which projected into the pond. Peer- 

 ins: through the brush, we saw them feeding along up into 

 a peep arm of the pond, which lav between the point' we 

 were upoa and a similar one opposite: It was arranged that 

 my brother should go around to the other point while I Was 

 to stand guard at tic- mouth and keep them from coming 

 out. of the cove. Alto- I had waited some lime I -aw him 

 creeping through the brush on the other side. 



\Y- were separated by ounul one hundred ami fifty feet of 

 water. The pond was shoal and the DdttOm very muddy, 

 and ih- w.,i. a- ■••.-,,- t!,i. k win, living and decaying vegota 

 lion, rushes, reedsahd m» flourished amid a 'perfect maze 

 of lily roots aud pads. Tin- shores were covered with pros- 

 trate logs iii all stages ol decay, from one blown down l,v a 

 ■ reo6p( gale to those of Sdme cyclone in the Indian age. the 

 water was full of living organism-: approach the margin, 

 and from every log and slump oil' would go in the greatest 

 haste, numbers of •\skilipots," -'red harrvs." Snappers and 

 frogs and lizards of all sizes. Besides the iish— its regular 

 denizens— there was an abundance of sels and aquatic in- 

 Bects. But worse than airy p-i He- above, the pond was tin- pa- 

 rent, cradle, nursery and homo of one of mankind's mosi 

 in-idious foes— the ague and l'evcr. Although every clear 

 space of water sparkled and danced in the sunlight, the 

 miasma hung over its bosom like a nightmare, 



Without heeding the dangers J have just enumerated, we 

 decided that the only way io catch a youne: duck was to 

 swim or wade- up the branch and drive them ashore, if pos- 

 sible. 



Wo both undressed and retaining only our bats, plunged 

 into the mire. What a sensation we experienced, the sur- 

 face was very warm, the middle zone was comfortable, while 

 oui Peel were imbedded in a mud as cold as a northern Spring 



hole. To walk erect was impossible, swimming was out 

 of the question ; the only way we could make any progress 

 was by drawing ourselves by thegrass and lilv pads, The 

 ducks were greatly frightened at our sudden appearance 

 and seeing at once that their retreat to the main pond was 



cm oil', they all Started up the branch ami near the end they 

 hid under a thick growth of bushes, which al this point 

 Overhung the Watef. When we got quite near, they all at 



on, , took to ih,- woods, which wire here composed of large 

 trees with bul little under brush. The old duck flow atfd 

 fluttered about over the ground, much in the same man- 

 ner as a raffed grouse would under similar circumstances 

 We paid no attention io her. but tried to catch some of 

 tie- bill,- one.-, which were running about in all directions. 

 As we were unincumbered with clothing our motions suf- 

 fered do hindrance on thai score. 



Never have I soon a thing so hard to catch us these little 

 ducks were. I saw one squatted under some dry chestnut 

 leaves-, getting between him and the pond, I tried to grab 

 bun with both hands— didn't though; then 1 tried to keep 



in his way as he put Tor the water; 'twas no use; he, dodged 

 so fast that I was kept vibrating like a pendulum, from one 

 Side to the other, and he finally got by and inlo the water. 

 While 1 Stopped to gain inv breath, 1 saw mv brother going 

 through a similar acrobatic performance, thev every one 

 .■sc.-ip-d to the pond, an I we followed them inl'o it again. 

 Mere we were more successful: the rank growth of grass 

 and Other aquatic plants impeded their progress more than 

 ours, anil we forced them to dive; then w Inn imp's head ap- 

 peared through the grassy surface, we would steal up slowly 

 behind it. with arm- outstretched, and then .suddenly seize 

 grass and all. In this manner we secured six, and putting 

 them inlo one of our coals, we dressed and started lor the 

 yacht, which was anchored in a creek about a mil,- away. 

 "We left six or eight ducks in tin- pool, and afterward-. saw 

 them with their mother. As we bad no room on shipboard. 

 we left them with friend Haynic, on the shore. Wo built a 

 pin and put them into it, 'and turned them over to Mrs. 

 Ilavnie's care. Five escaped within an hour and we never 

 saw them again; as the branch was near, and as thev from 

 the tirsl get their own living, we had no fears for them. The 

 sixth one— with two others which we afterward caught— we 

 carefully Looked after, and they soon began to grow us fast 

 as any ducks. They were never tame, but would eat corn 

 in, al dough when uot watched. Thev were voiy fond of 

 soft crabs, and would, em them in preference to any other 

 food Two lived until they were full grown, and were finally 

 sill, , I by a couple of pups which belonged I,, Ih, laiuilv. 

 t. Mass., July, 1SR2. M i: in ;'i s. 



SOMETHING ABOUT WASPS. 



r 1 Mi ii Newark Adtertt w Contains the following account: 



I "A big hluo-bottlc tlv came buzzing into the house of 

 a resident on Pennsylvania avenue yesterday afternoon, and. 

 aitgr a pretty thorough investigation of all the nooks and 

 corners of the apartment, directed its attention toward a 

 spider web in a comer of one of the windows. For a mo- 

 ment it reeonnoiteitd about the web, now soaring from one 

 side to the other, and again poising almost motionless in 

 midair, while it peered under the ingeniously woven struc- 

 ture. Finally, to the astonishment of the lad'v who had been 

 watehimrils mann-uvros, it made a sudden charge upon lie: 



undei part of the web. and breaking through the flimsy net- 

 ting, seized the occupant, a good-sized spider, and backing 



out of the entangling network, .-oared away with the strug- 

 gling spider in its grip, like a chicken ' in the talons of "a 

 hawk." 



The story is a very good one. but it would be no less so if 

 it wen- -..mew hat more accurate. Of course, the captor of 

 the spi.hr was not a tlv at all. and equally of course, it. was 

 oflfl of the wasps commonly known as mud wasps, and, in 

 the South, •■mud daubers." from the material of which their 

 m-sts are formed. It is, of course, impossible to say to just 

 what species, or even to what family, the pirate belonged, 

 bul it is no: ditlicult to conjecture what he. or rather- she, 

 v. ;-.-_■■ ins 'to do with the spider. The Military wasps pro- 

 vision the}] nests with insects of various descriptions, such 

 a.- spiders, caterpillars, aphids and grasshoppers, which they 

 paralyze by stinging, and on which the lai-vic, when hatched", 

 feed. This whole subject is so interesting, and at lie- same 



time so little is known about it, except among naturalise, 



that no apology is needed for reproducing -ome remarks 

 upon this group from our issue of December 13, 1818. 



The common blue, or mud wasp, as any one may learn by 

 an inspection of one of tlienestsso plentifully distributed 

 on the inside boarding of hay-lofts, -arrets andother similar 



places supplies its young with spiders: Other een.radraw 

 All the Wflsps and hornets are ferocious and predatory in 



on other Insects, Soniuch i- this tin- case that in some pari-' 



oi F.uiope hiilehcrs an- »|ad to have them about their shops 

 on aCCOUnt Of the gl-eal number of Hies which thev devour. 



and a certain spicies in Mauritius which feeds wholly on 



cockroaches is on that account held in hi-h eslcein by the 



natives. Some of the social wasps, however, lav up honey, 



like the bees. 



The wasps are divided inlo two groups, ihe social and the 

 solitary. Of the former, the common brown wasp, Ihe 

 "White tailed hornet" and "yejlov, iaek. i" are e„od examples. 



while the . mini wasp May Stand, as being so familiar to all, 



as a lype of ihe latter, ft i- will, lie- solitary Wasp that wc 

 hacetodii.it present. These insects are provided with, u 

 poisorj which slupclics or paralyzes tin- i,i-..',|- upon which 

 they prey and which of course llnv senile by slinging them. 

 The female blue wasp— for there are no worker- (neuler-i in 



this genus— liaving partially completed h,-r oest of mud. 



deposits an egg, and in Ihe same cell with it places a num- 

 ber of -mail spiders which ii has -.tung. and which, although 

 paralyzed and quite incapable of motion, still retain life. 

 The i ell i- then walled up and another one built adjoiuing it, 

 in which the same thing takes place: this is continued until 

 several eggs nave been deposited, when the last cell is finally 



W I up and the nest completed. A similar nest is con- 

 structed for each sol. of eggs which the female deposits. 

 When the grub appears, it feeds on the spiders prepared for 

 it. until ready to undergo its transformation, and finally, 

 w In n it becomes a perfect insect, gnaws its way out through 

 the wall of clay. 



Another lar.>e wasp, -omewhal similar iu general aspect 

 to the blue wasp, but larger, is common in our latitude; but 

 as it does not appear about the dwellings of man it is .set 

 (lorn observed, except by I liOSe who are ua the lookout for 



insects. It belongs to the genus $plie>! (S. icftmmnoit), and 



its bests! are placed iii holes iii the ground, which it o.xea 

 vates with much care and patience. ft feeds its offspring 

 on ericket.s, grasshoppers, etc., and an incident which once 

 came under our observation well illust rites the power and 

 nerseyerance of those little creatures. While w.-dkin- one 

 day in mid-summer along a well-beaten path we notice, l Ba v- 

 al small but deep holes, Which we r'i-hilv attributed to 



Ihe 



pa 



of the 



Hen 



ally 



to its 



path and i 



lor ihe fact thai die insect wa 

 were looking for it we should I 



scene. The'burdcn with which our .S/i/i, v was slrmr<rling 

 consisted of two of the large black and yellow-winged 

 "grasshoppers" whose sharp and loud crepitations are so 

 frequently heard during the scorching (lav- of July and An- 

 gust. The two orthoptors were firmly fastened to- 

 gether, one clasping the other by the back and each 

 of them was half as long again as their captor. Poor Svfam 

 was really iu irreat trouble. She would seize her bur- 

 den by the head, and by great exertion drag it along the 

 smooth path for about six inches, when her strength would 



employs 

 I Mauri- 



give out and she would fly off to a little distance and rest for 

 a minute or two, walking briskly about in the sun the while, 

 then she would return to the spot and renew her efforts. Had 

 the journey been through the grass, it seems as if it woidd 

 have been impossible for the wasp ,,, drag her load, bul the 

 path, wo,-,, smooth by constant travel, offered no impediment 



to her, progress. The di-lance from He- -pot v. h, re she was 

 working lo Ihe hole which -he desired t , reach was perhaps 

 twenty feet, and though her advance was -low it was steady. 

 At time., she would ttyoff to quit, a distance, fifty feel or 

 more, hut her absences were never long continued, and when 

 we were obliged lo leave her she had transported her burden 

 to within three ieet of the hole. We greatly regret that we 

 were unable to witness the close of the scene and watch the 

 .method by which the "grasshoppers" were introduced into 

 tl c hole, for they were certainly too hire,: to enter it without 

 being considerably reduced in size. Her,.- then was : . v ,- s 

 considerable provision for the expected larva, and we dor- 

 see that even in our own latitude then- are examples diowin" 

 that different genera of solitary wa-ps .,,,1 their vounsron 

 different insects, a European •■ ww, 1 

 the larva- ,,f moths for 'hi- purpose, while C'lilo, 

 tins, as ha- be, u said, teed- il- young on CQCkn 



It mieht l„- supposed that ihe' wa-p- Beeure Hum- prey bv 

 hawking about over the ground, trustingto chance to throw 

 the insCCtS they need ill their way. bul we have som:- evidence 

 thai these little creatures possess special senses which enable 

 t'.ieiii to follow the objects Of their search when not visible, 

 perhaps somewhat as ihe hound follows Ihe tox. In -i recenl 



number of JVatero we find a letter from Mr. C. L. W. Mer- 

 lin to Henry Cecil, Esq., narrating a curious occurrence to 

 whiclithc formerwas witness, and from which wemayquote, 

 iu closing, an extract or two. .Mr. Merlin's account is as. fol- 

 lows: 



"j Was sitting one summer's afternoon at an upon window 

 (my bed-room) looking into the garden, when I vtras surprised 

 to observe a large and" rare species of spider run across the 

 window-sill iu a crouching attitude. It struck m, the Spider 

 was evidently alarmed or it would not have so fearlessly ap- 

 proached mo" It hastened to conceal itself undei Eheproject- 

 ing edge Of the window-sill inside Ihfi room, and had hardly 

 done so when a very line large bunting Wasp buzzed inal the 



something. Finding nothing, the wasp returned to thcopen 

 window and settle,! im Hie window-sill, running backward 

 and forward as a dog does when lookimr or searching for a 

 lost scent. It soon alighted on the track of the poor spider 

 and in a mouieii! il discovered il- hidin- placi . \ 

 on il, aud no doiibl inflicted a wound with itsstin| The 



bed, trying to conceal tfeeU under the franc-work. ,„' planks 

 which supported the mattress. The same scene occurred 

 here; Ihe wasp never appeared !■■ fellow the -pider b7 sight, 

 but ran backward and forward in Ian:-- circle.-, like a "hound. 

 The moment the trail of the sftider was found the wasp fol- 

 lowed all the turns ii had made till il came on it again. The 

 poor spider was i-hased from bidinir-place to biding placi — 

 out of the bed-room, across a passage and into the middle of 

 another large room, where it finally sucoumbed to the re- 

 peated stings inflicted by the wasp ' Rolling it upintofl bull 

 the wasp then look possession 01 its pie, and. after iiscer- 

 taining it could make no resistance, tucked it up tinder its 

 very long hind legs, just a- hawks of eagles Cttrrv off dn-ir 

 quarry, and was just flying off to its nosl when I interposed 



and secured both for ray Collection. 



********** 

 ■d am certain the spi.ler left no web behind it. I cannol 

 be. -me. however, thai, as ii h ; ,,| evidently been attacked by 

 the wa.-p before elite-ring my room, a small quantity of liquid 

 mayjiot have exuded from its wounds, which "may have 

 helped the wasp in tracking it. I have no doubt myself ihai 

 insects have the sense of smell, and probahk much mOlfe de- 

 veloped than our own. No one * who has sugared 

 for moths, or seen the Iar_ r . ■■ -' '-.«-'■- havering over tin- 

 strongest .scented ilow.-r at night, or employed si caged fe- 

 male inoih as a lure to her male admirers . an. I think, doubt 

 tins, if so. lot them put a sfcucerful of honej In a corner of 



a room openingiutoa garden, throw open thrwindo>v and See 



how soon ihe bees, wasps, etc., willbe attracted to the honey. 



•There is a tradition in the East that one of the tests bv 



whiehthe Queen of She i tried to prove the wisdom od Sol 



one, n was placing on a table before him two bouquets, JUne 



oi'.-oiitieial and ih,- other of natural Bowers, and requiring 



that he should v,y whieh were liieieal and which the tirti- 

 Jieial. without moving mini hi- throne, Solomon ordered 

 the windows to be thrown open, and in rlew the bees, etc;, 



•'Whether the sens,-,,!' insects. 



the lower creatjon, a'-- similar lo 

 very dillicull to say. No doub! a 

 would say a man had not the i 

 prove- thai his nose was worse I 

 eagle or hawk would 



all 



j the 



id e 



vds, anil what 

 •s iii everv respect it is 

 >g, if he could speak. 

 se of smell, and would 

 ■ useless to him. An 

 n and moles, etc., have 



ive very'imporfcclly developed senses (who 

 can say thai there are not Iwculy senses?) is the only animal 

 ;h;,t i dogmatical, and denies all he cannot understand. 

 The oracle of Delphi said. Socrates was the wisest man in 

 Greooo, bcoa..se he was the only man who knew he knew 

 nothing.' " 



Sw.u.i.ow Taim-:i> Km; ix Oino. — North Bloomlicld, O.. 

 August ;!. 1882. Last .lime a hawk, different from any 1 

 had ever seen, Was killed on mv farm; it weighed 16 ounces, 

 and measured from tip to tip t'.i' inches. On examination 

 of •• Webster's Inabridgcd," I found a very foil likeness of 

 the bird, called the '•.swaliow-tailed hawk"— rightly so 

 named, t thought, for ii had a decidedly swallow lad. I 

 immediately sent il to the Kirtlaud febejety of Natural 

 Sciences at Cleveland, and it is now set up in their mu- 

 seum. The gentleman who acknowledged the receipt of the 

 bird, wrote for further particulars concerning the "capture 

 of this extremely rare bird in this locality." etc.. a, he 

 wished to make mention of it in the Forest \ni> StkrAM, 

 I could tell him but little abuut it. aud as I see no mention 

 made of it in the paper, I semi this, hoping to elicit such 

 knowledge of this mm avis as the contributors to your 

 Natural Historv department may lie- nolo to give. Mycoi 

 respondent say's. "Thi bird's labifcil ib Central AnTei-ica. 

 ranging south as far as Bolivia, aud north into Mexico. It 

 has rarely been obSCVved in Texas ami Aj'iZOna. 1 know of 

 but one other instance where it has beeu seen =MJ far north 



the specimen sent by you— it was by Audubon in Indiana, 

 in the year 1820. This hawk feed- alwosl entirely on snakes, 

 lizards and insects, which it devours while flying, similarly 

 to the swallow, which in many oilier icspects it -o much re 

 sembles."— E. A. Bitowx. 



