tAtTGTJST 34, 1882. 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



68 



tui[Hl ?§i$torg. 



A Baby Sk.v Lion.— S 

 columns the birth of :i y< 

 Logics Gardens, aid 



;oks since we noticed in these 



p lion t& the Cincinnati Zoo- 

 thc care Of our valued 



correspondent, Mr. I''rnnk J. Thompson. In Hie Ci 



i- u brief account of the preparation. of tin- young 

 animal fdr his flrsl bath, which our readers will And inter- 

 esting. Thus, who desire fuller information on this Bubjo t, 

 as well as on the habits and broedjng of the sea lion (Zff.ltipkus 

 gOUapU) hi captivity, are referrud to articles by Mi. Thotnp- 

 s"u in Forest \n:i Btrbaji, July 14, 1878, and Fob. "" 



1870. The . 

 low.s: in i in- sen lion's 

 limy be srpb n seal pap, 

 weeks of the lighl of tlie 

 little Eeflow, bui pel an « 

 hair is rather rough anil 

 lated ui shed water; Al 

 appeared our morning w 

 looking into tnc cave, ev 

 floor, Tr 

 come wlx 

 should lear 



bv our contemporary is as fol- 

 nclosure in llir Zoological Garden 



i? 9Cd Mm. 

 lot of great 

 i-repefiant, 



experienced ■ 



•d i 



Mic mother thought 

 to swim, lie I] id 

 platform from the edge of the tv 

 the water, ami fixed partition? 

 pup to that part ot the pond arran 



lit. Wli-n all leal hen, done a 



pup ventured to the edge of the ro 



the water. The anxious mother 

 deeper edge of the wood 



e (S 



rathe,- ugly 



terest 



His co it of 



id not 



at ill] calcu- 



the fc 



li r.h week he 





use. and upon 





seen upon the 



knew 



the lime had 



uterus 



big banding 



■led I 



ad a 



3d, the i 



chooses. Now Hi is is just 

 He hasa body properly 

 f his flippers is 



Cks and rolled 

 Stationed herself at the 



n to prevent her offspring 

 sOidiufi, into water too deepfor it. The pup would drown 

 as readily as a human baby if it should get into deep water 

 before ii had learned to contiol its respiratory apparatus. 



The seal pup flopped around in the water, occasionally fret- 

 ting its nose under the surface. Then there would" be a 

 great spluttering aud coughing until the water was expelled 

 and the nostrils recovered from the spasm. Those who 

 have watoaarl th- seal playing in the water must have 

 noticed thai when it comes up from below it opens wide its 

 nostrils: then before it dives again closes them tightly, the 

 outer edge being drawn hard against the septum, very 

 much as the uppereyelid is drawn down, the line of clo- 

 sure being perpendicular, of course. The same observer 

 must have seen the seal come up occasionally with his mouth 

 open, or a fish in ii, and wondered thai the animal did not 

 swallow \\ :itt-r Nature has provided it witha set of muscles 

 for closing the nostrils, and another powerful set around mi 

 throat for closing the "swallow." Tims the seal, taking in a 

 supply of air, closes tho nostrils and the tin-out, and is at 

 liberty to open his mouth if hi 

 what the young sea) needs to ] 

 shaped for floating and diving, and the 

 soon learned. But the infant" muse], s i 

 practice to close the air passages a; the proper time, and the 

 mother seal, who, in » state in nature, always calves on a 

 sloping beach, inures its young gradually to deeper water. 

 Thus the mother may be seen carefully watching her young 

 to 3ee that il does not slip into deep water and drown, and a 

 . -liigent mother she is." 



NoTic on tub Ki-.D-lli- adi;i) Woooi'EOKEi:.— Paw tucket, 

 R. 1., Aug. 15, 1883.— For the past two or three years apeci 

 mens of the redheaded woodpecker (Mrliiiwrfu'* en/l/iruri- 

 pJialus) have been laken in Rhode Island, but I have 'seen no 

 account of their nesting liere. July 88, while on a day's 

 pleasure trip to Oakland Beach (a summer resort a few miles 

 •ragiinscli Biiv). my attention was 

 r which seemed to be feeding at 

 alien- 1 was standing ,- the species 

 li soon left the spot and flew 

 p..-! me, and as [t went by 1 bbw ft was «hs red-headed 

 woodpecker. It lit upon a tree a short distance from me, and 

 this being the lirsl specimen 1 bad ever seen alive, I was anx- 

 ious to see more of it. and so followed it up. Arriving al 

 the tree, which was a small oak. I lound no bird, but soon 

 discovered a hole anouf ten feci from Hie ground, I rapped 

 lightly upon the tree and on; cable the bird, looked at me 

 about a minute and then flew away. 1 could hear the younj 



below Provldei 



ce, on Na 



attracted by a \ 



voodpeck 



some little disu 



ncc from 



I could not th-- 



i mate oi 



in the nest quite p 

 boor retnnie i. rappea o 

 close by. The bird can 

 faction of watching Sei 

 while Mil in ii canoe on 



plumagcd (white head a 

 hawks Which were saili 

 i as one saw th- 



I weui away, and in about oiie half 

 l the tree again and Ihen took a scat 

 e out as lief ore, and I had the a&tis- 

 some live minutes. On August 13, 

 the l'awtuckct Kivcr. I saw a full 

 d tail) bald ea-lewatcbin- smnc fi.-.h- 

 Lffover the water in search of fish, 

 id they 



all left, together with the eagle. The last eagle seen before 

 this was October S9, 1880. They arc very ran- with us.— 

 S.wn i-;i. 1\ I H-:\Ti;n.__ 



Stony.— The Portsmouth (.V. U.) CfvrwMi 



tells a pretl 



' strong storv about the intelligence of a load 



which runs 



a? follows: Mr. Charles White, of Newcastle 



has a brood 



of chickens which have a run of a portion of 



the yard, th 



lOld hen being kepi shut up. The chickens are 



fed with in- 



listened meal m suicers. and when the doUgli 



getsa little 



sour it attracts a large number, of flics. An 



observant tl 



ad lias evidently noticed this, and every day 



along i.veni 



lg be make.:- bis appearance in the vard, hops to 



a saucer, eli 



nibs in and rolls over and over until he U covered 



with meal. 



having don,- which he awaii.s developments, 



The flies, 



•nliued bv the smell, soon swarm around thi- 







hicbes or s' 



ol bis nose hi- tongue darts ant, and the fly 



disappears; 



and this plan worked so well that the toad lias 



taken it up 



as a regular business, The chickens do not 



manifest th 



• least alarm at their clumsy and bia-moulhcd 



playmate, i 



;,i seemed to consider it quite a lark to gather 



around him 



and peck olf his stolen coal of meal, even when 



they haw p 



enty more of the same sort in the saucers. 



|)i;i'iii.i>.\iioNs ot- the SQriSIiEL. — Fern Lodge, Nova 



Scotia.- 1 i 



iin fully corroborate your remarks in answer to a 



correspond' 



in in a late number of FoitEST and Si ui w, 



regarding t 



a- carnivorous prbpensiti >f the squirrel tribe. 



Thee,,,,,,,,, 



n squirrel of England is wall known as a 11, ,|, 



i ah-r: and i 



inw I must include our common "chipmunk" or 



ground sqi 



irrcl i. Tini;in- siriatus), in the list of enemies of 



He: leal hen 



1 tribe, for a young one we bad in a cagi lately 



pounced up 



on a bird put into his cage by mistake, and lore 



Off a bunch 



of feathers, andhad it not. have been for the 



cries of the 



poor bird whiob immediately brought assistance, 



the squlrre 



would soon hive made mincemeat of him.— 



The English Spauhowb' Depbedations.— It looks as if, 

 in certain sections of this country, we might be about to cn- 

 jov (?) the same experience tliMt HIE Australian farmers baVe 



had with this small pest. The Central Falls correspondent 

 of the Providence Jonnwl tells a pitiful tale Of a farmer's 

 experience with these bird- which we print below. He 

 says: "One ol our citizens who has a uood reputation as a 

 sarducr. think- if some one will invent something that Eng- 

 lish sparrows will eat that will kill them sure, be" can make 

 lie tells a mournful yet comical story of hi-, expe- 



rience with these pasts, WUlCjl wei 



country For their imaginary good i 

 so well* cared for and protected in 

 stance, he has planted peas five inn 

 those live plantings he has M -ci,i 

 about half a peck each. He belii 

 cheaper to buy peas il thev didn't 

 lars a puck. Among the peas 



the Agricultu 



• brought over tO tins 



ualitios, and which are 



ionic localities. For in- 

 S this season, and from 

 J two small messes of 

 ■cs it would have been 

 osl more than two dol 

 ere some received from 

 Bureau, Washington, for trial, and which 

 he was very anxious to try. But he didn't have au oppor- 

 tunity, although he hopes bv care and good luck to have 

 two or three pods ripen^Just enough to try again with next 



veai. lie eouldii 

 Until the third pla 

 tracks around then 

 and bis suspicion 



McMivs thev wi 1 : 

 to -r.,'w. and later 



Ulii.lel-sla 



iting. whe 

 . He beg 



Hack the 

 will teard 



young corn and de 

 saved enough of a 



■amy it. 



and win- ii 



In 



oliccd 



pe :r 



id. 



orn spindle 



didi 



iherles. bird 



1c kept watch 



It was the sparrow. 



soon .- 



the 

 1'wo years ago the only way lie 

 (1 of sweet com for seed was by 

 tying up -die husk's at the point of the ear, so that birds 

 couldn't get at the car. Be chartered a boy who wanted 

 some fun, provided him with tt' double-barreled shotgun 

 and ammunition, and put him in the garden to shoot the 

 sparrows. He shot thirty or forty, but' by that time the 

 birds got so wild they wouldn't come anywhere near the 

 garden while the hoy was there. The fun 'was gone and the 

 boy went away. The boy was gone aud the sparrows came 

 back. The experiment wasn't as much of a success as was 

 desirable. He. has tried to poisou tbnm by throwing down 

 poisoned grain to them — such as they feed bu in the winter 

 but thev evidently prefer green stuff in the season and laughed 

 at him. Noticing that when an eur of green corn is husked 

 and kept where they can gel at it, they clear the car pretty 

 quick, he thinks when the time comes he will poison some 

 cars ami leave it for them; but the prospect uow is that he 

 will have to go away from home to get the corn." 



The Gopiik 

 many differer 

 pouched rttt 

 ter of Georgia 

 sperniophile o: 



J, Matthew Joneb. 



-This name is given in different regions to 



inimals. To certain mammalia, as the 



lanada, Gaomy&ltwwiw, Katin. the hams- 

 ■'. ptJietiia Katin. and the ground squirrel or 

 lie Western prunes, and in the pirn- woods 

 coast, a land tortoise. Tfytudo polyp'/)#m>ilS, 

 !uv., K&fdbata avrotow As. is known bv this name. The 

 Smfi is said to be derived from the French word ffaufre, a 

 onew-oinb, and is applied to burrow ingainnials which bon- 

 ycombthe soil. The mammalian gophers ate. Useless to man. 

 ud many of them very destructive to vegetation, but the 

 : in Georgia and Florid 



ich an 

 sen turtle 



i length, 



lateral 



land tortoise, known by this n. 

 inoffensive aud valuable for its flesh ami 

 fully equal in delicacy and flavor to those of 

 To my taste, Having often ealen them side 

 perior. This gopher is from ten to eighb -n 

 the upper and lower shells united fogethei 

 edges; the legs short and thick, with well developed nails on 

 the feet; color, daik brown. It feeds on grass and wild 

 fruits, digs burrows in the sand from five to ten feet in 

 depth, of a winding form. It is entirely inoffensive, not 

 withstanding its great strength, which will allow a large 

 gopher to sustain a weight of 200 pounds. I never was more 

 tonished than when 1 saw a gopher only a foot long, walk 



olf with a boy of twelve years old on its ba 



torto 



LOO Ve 



Island: 

 pound 



ire of slow growth, and a 



The lar 



spe 



laid to 

 s that ol 



Milled th. 



The la 



:• to the age 



the 



selboni 

 I had 

 ild cat 



Cali 

 eight of 200 



said to be now nearly extinct, 

 in tin- Btmth of Europe {Tttskifa 

 ,cribcdbv Gilbert WkitoinhisNnfr- 



While living :,l Halifax lnl,-,. |-:.-,m 

 large bound, which, besides being 

 coons at'. I 'possums, would trail 

 ods, and when lie overtook it would turn 

 its back, and BO detain il until his master 

 The dog could not kill the gopher, which 

 retires into its shell, neither could he pick it up. 9b in- 

 adopted the. best and only method of-tjapturing It. That was 

 not instinct, but reasoning power, an adoption ol ends to 

 means. Kverv Sunday morning mv host would "clothe 

 woods with a sack, followed by Buck, and .seldom returned 

 without four or five gophers, two of -which of the average 

 size would feed a large family. — S. C. C. 



V r,;e.O. which is 



oral History ol 

 Florida, my he 

 gOOd for deer 

 a gopher in the 

 the creature nr 

 should come in 



A Stkanok Story.— Lockport. June 29, 1S82. — la v.,nr 

 issue of September 39,1881, you published my "puzzling 

 question," about the breeding together of black ami yellow- 

 billed cuckoo. I have something more to offer, that f should 

 have thought more improbable, bad 1 not seen il. On the 

 10th of June, while passing througl 

 1 saw a turtle dove Sitting oil one sitl 



was a robit 



position 



I ling on one side of 

 and wondered why 



pplc orchard 

 at I thought 



I to the 



ek billei 



oth. 



nil. about lei 



iirht ana nini 

 ouud it was i 

 ckoo. and twt 



Tin 



. ! took i 



I advanced to with 



1,-i't the nest, bm the turtle dov. 



silion, until 1 had repassed to I 



ll.-w away. Th.- neat was out 



feet from the trunk of the tree. 



feet from the ground. On gett 



robin's nest, and contained on. 



turtle dove eggSi Having nevci 



ina- up of eggs and birds in one 



add to I be collection of my son 



fresh, but the cuckoo and robin eggs were just tainted The 



nest had been rcl'mcd by the Cuckoo with fine dry roots and 



weeds, and 1 wondered that the robin laid in il after being dis- 



lurbed by the other birds, Tin- nest and eggs have been shown 



to two individuals who are well posted in orniih 



both agree With me, They consider it a very valuable lind. 

 —J. L. Davison, 



Loi Ki'i.itT, N.Y., July 81, \Wi— Kilitor For.nt ,u,i.l Str.,n„; 

 i have seen the eggs and nest mentioned above, and 1 have 

 no doubt about "the correctness of the observation, or the 

 honor and integrity' of the observer —A. Walton Tit von, 

 M.D. (Ex-President Jewell Scientific Society.) 



A Charming Cat.— The Newman Mia.) UmM relates 

 that "a cat charmed and caught, a lull grGWn crow a few 

 days ago. The cal was on the fence and the crow lit near it 

 w hen the cat fastened its eyes upon the bird, and so stroug 

 w-i- He- charm that the crow showed no resistance," We 

 wish that thu Jkrahl had been more explicit and given us 

 the details of the charminu. We are ill agony to know i! 



the cr 



often been, oi 

 stitiitcd the charm. 

 count states that II 

 and no mention 



■harmed by th.. 



of Oil 



s we have 



does nol stale wh.-llie: 

 biid" with glue, gum ara 

 the fact that they werofa 

 ncr. Thcslai.-nieiii th it 

 however, to infer thai ih 

 horseshoe nails II thee 

 crow," wc would not reqi 

 the strength of the charm 

 crow's intellect The en 

 would not yield without ' 

 cat, be it never so charmi 



' de kmatiso inq>ii 



- it often do:--, with | 



ciow was charmed i 

 ■de of its bl 



tat fa&tcncd i|s eye* 



shingle nails or shoe 



ij-caue-ht. 

 rward'. It 

 upon the 



egs, but 



ihe shortest 

 he .ham, was strong leadsus, 



[tor In.! been charmed with "old 

 re tnsce details, It is possible that 

 ion-ail inverse ratio to thai Of tllO 

 s wiih which we arc familiar. 

 esUtance" lo the fascinations of a 

 Bf, and the appointment of a con, 



-./- to lake evidence as to lire 

 ntal capacity of Newman crows might lead to interest- 

 ing scientific results. Hut aftftjr all, what We want, is a 

 method of charming, not .row,: i„n cats, 60 th.-v will make 

 no resistance 



A r.i.ci-.iAv's (Jam,.;.— Knoxville. Tenn.. Aug. IS. — In "J. 

 Quay's" interesting letter iri your iugusl 10 number, he 

 says: "Ernest Ingersollj in writing for New York. Speaks 

 of birds that reside al! the vcar around in our fields, like the 

 bluejav," while lie, .1. Q., wrote ol having Seen them only 



J. Q. and 

 k. the uluejay is the 

 mischievous of the 



season in tin- trees 



misehievousness or 

 of a pair, flying 

 around my la 



tbelaraest forest,. IVrhaps if will 

 others to know that hen-, as in ,\eu Vm 

 most (lomcslic. as ihe bolde-t and mbsl n: 

 wild birds. Several pairs build every se 

 around my house. To illustrate their n 

 love of fun I give you ihe following: One 

 n number of times to a blgh picket fence 

 yard, attracted the attention of a pair of white kittens of 

 mine, and they, thinking to have a grand dinner, mounted 

 the fence and commenced a cautious approach from picket 

 to picket. The jay let the first get to within eighteen inches, 

 then hopped over and between the two. The second kitten 

 approached; the bird hopped over ii. Il turned and the jay 

 hopped back ami between. The- first kitten approached, 

 aud the jay hopped back over it, and so kept il up till one 

 kitten gol disgusted and lefl, and the. other followed soon 

 after. To finish Off, as the kitten Started for the hoicc the 

 jay made a swoop towards it and flew chattering lo its nest. 

 Once or twice after the jay tried to inveigle the kittens to 

 another frolic, but failed. - -II. 



Poisosocs 



me what p. 

 country? I 



ilcsnake. on, 

 be confused 



Gi-ioiuiiA. — Cs 



ill, 



every stream ill tlie South) and Ihe I 

 called copperhead at the North. Tin 

 called cotlon-mouth. which 1 have i 



snake called spike-tailed rattlesnake, ( 

 low country, which is. 1 believe, a mvlh. 

 about these.— W. T,— (Rock Mart, Ga. 

 water snake, nol poisonous," is probably 

 ibiimt'ix. which has a wide aeograpl ' 

 moeea-in" and the "cotlon-moufh.' : 

 snake, as we have found both nam 

 pfytfv6rK8, in the South. The "hia- 

 per -head, is Axtdilroimi eofitortrfa. 



■s. The brilliantly-colored "harlequin snake 

 '/v is likewise found in Georgia, 



mid to 

 Can v( 



) [Yo 

 a spe, 



range, 

 bint, ■ 



nform 



isl not 



niid in 



oensin. 



snake 

 and a 



in the 

 inn me 



ies of 

 The ■ 

 re the 



fsiroiion 

 rcOp- 



tcad of 

 Efaps 



Weight ojt QbosSDMS. — An inquirer wishes fo know the 

 limit of weight attained by the opossum. Will some of our 

 Southern readers supply the information.' 



^cw jjluhlitatioiri. 



lll'I'.BAUli'S GflJIDE TO MiRTHKUN M.yrXK. 

 ve received from the author, l.ueins L HubTJnj'fl, Esq., 

 >t:iss.. a copy of ''Hubbard's. Guide to Moosehead Lake and 



i .Maine." Tins is a iliini edition, revised an. a, ,. ,| (there 



,-i"lu> pages of new waiter) of the "Smatoer vsuatknusat 



ami foliage Df <i, 

 e. pine aii.l bOfflloolt, 



•stood thatthja partoi 



and all other, infonnatic 

 if, illy li-ee from n„. ,„i 

 •I Tliir.r i'adovoted in toll: 



lost helpful son. U comes nearer ic> i>m ideal of 

 k should in- iiiiui any other publication with which 



There a,.- numerous Albcmpe illustrations, prepared fro 

 tives made wuli the tilaii- tourograph, with woodcuts, aud t 

 ,'in.i tiuei.v engraved maps of Northern Maine, covering n. 

 took ami SI. John rivers. There 19 also a railroad mat) and a til 



The visitor to Maine should have 

 he ifl well armed and equipped, I 



\,. 



ir.ee 



mi a time-table. 



Ddkel WitL it 

 . ,-onture too far 

 into the forest primeiul, may liy its aid lind his way without diffl 

 euliy. (Boston: A. Williams . v. Co.; UlSpn.: cloth, &I.50J 



is bonk 

 I if ho 



