8k FT. 14, 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



127 



A SWALLOWS' ROOST. 



I^oK -nciii) years j>-i-i swallows fn countless numbers 

 have c> m«f i-fsiiitwl iu the (ate summer and early antumu 



upon (he far 

 of tlie town of Wouterh 

 describe*) ilicm as seen \ 

 ''About .",iiii fee) fr .in 

 covering :i swampy, as 

 acres in extent. Half 

 at this grove i- the loca 

 time of liis arrival the 1 

 Mining here and there, 

 large to attract attentio 

 As minutes grew, howe 

 creased and was soon s\ 

 At ; o'clock their nnml 

 of nothing but a snow 



- H:i lx-.x'K . in the northerly part 

 R. I. The Providence /W-- thus 



a imti.i rifrtj 



Be farmhouse lies u maple grqvu, 

 ilnt m-r tra.rt of laud of about five 

 1 acre of the southwesterly corner 

 in of the 'Swallows' Boat.' Ai Hie 

 iorter bad noticed several swallows 

 it their number was not suffloicntly 



linlesS specialty remarked upoii. 

 •r. the unmber was perceptibly in- 

 kaerit to be considered unusual, 

 f seemed legion. One could think 

 lakes. It was a 



irpi 



ircle. 

 light 



sight never to be forgotten. Still the 

 sta-eamiug in. from aU directions, ftnd al ?:]■"> the multitude 

 hud become dense. About this time there was a. sudden 

 oe9satfon of thi various flights, aud a general circular ino- 

 li.ii, of the whole company was apparent. Round and round 

 they ilew for several ininulesj drawing closer and closer to- 

 gether, when all at onceihe center began to sink toward the 

 free tops. Then, with ulmost the rapidity- of thought, in 

 funnei-snape, the- whole host Vanished, oirclittg, iu the tree 

 tops, with a whirring of wings distinctly heard, and soon 

 tlie air was -almost still; broken only by the gn 

 of the I. n.e comer- who were straggling in iii 

 and singly. These last arrivals did not pause t/ 

 in the air, but dew iu toward the grove as J 

 arrow, and vanisbedamong tlieit settled broCherswith 

 hing rapidity, 



"Drawing now still nearer Hie grave, the rustlfuj 

 chirping of the birds among the leaves and branch 9 a 

 settled theinselves in comfort for the night, could b 

 tinctly hoai'il. Occasionally a louder, .-harper, and 

 spiteful chirp than usual betokened a little dispute ai 

 rooming place, but generally the little creatures, as 

 among- the branches as before in their tortuous fligj 

 paved toward one another with the utmost good u 

 Ouce in a while a group of hundreds, startled bv 

 sound or not content with the spot in which tin- 

 alighted, would rise, circle about the grdVe for a momi 

 two. and then drop rapidly into the branches again, 

 of these groups, acting on this night in a somewhat 111 

 manner, a- Mr. Babcock said, rose to a .great helghl 

 the grove and there circled about for' more than ufieea 

 nt.s. until their great height and the approaching dm 

 made them almost invisible, but finally thej too de»a 

 with startling suddenness into the n-.-'- tops and the! 

 the late-comers having also arrived, Scarcely a bird 001 

 -m:i And a- the darkm— increased and daylight " 



ally fad 

 grove gn 

 peaceful 

 ■■ Ilm 

 porter, as 

 ilr- groi 



1 the rusilii 



-lit I 



en. wrapped in 



S Hung been going uir.'' said the re- 



lai iiiiTaeeompanied him nwav Iroin 



it the latter, 'forty year- ago there 

 hereabout — that is. no more'n any- 

 tin o' riiehts has onh been going on 

 ii--. And ii - only in the last eight or 

 ■i-n so awful thick iu tin 



■Well/ - 

 wau'T a bird to be seen 



whi.-leel-e. This flyil 



for lift ecu or I went v yi 



ten years thai they've 1 



to be such an imcommon sight. Of cour 



auy such number at first, but theykept h 



year, with the young ones hatched out an 



picked up, till oow.ror several years, they ha 



fierc in this big crowd yon have boob to-nig 



tier..-'- more this \ear 'llian last There's n 



Thc\ 're the common, white-breasted baru s\\ 

 Still, about a tbird of Hiem are martin .-w..l 



several Ii 



mdred blue 



" -Hov 



• early iii il 



that depi 



nd- -0111, ■ 01 



know, a 



id they .Iii 



I; sua 11 v. 



though, the 



of July. 



They don' 



greek aft 



r the first n 



ii.cv com 



1 ri" lit akin 



Bepteuibi 



,- People 



poinls i, 



all direct 



kl.i 



bit 



1 do tin 



■ about tin 



t, tl 



t all come 



light Hit ranks are prett, 

 s every niglu until abc 

 Bvhigat Norwich, Ward, 



iOUS within (wcul\ mile- 

 erlain hour- every afternoon in 

 ip> or straggling along could be 

 And. by comparing timu-piei 



1 In 



-111 V Well. 



van late, von 



loth or aoth 

 1-1. bul in 8 

 full. Then 

 Idle, of 

 Hill, and at 

 ere, have 



i!i, 



•en headed 

 , they have 

 that there can be no doubt ol their com- 

 ing here from long distances.' 



"Here Jhe reporter bade Mr. Babcock good night and went 

 down 10 lie.- hole!, to return to watch the birds out in the 

 morning. He had been told to lie buck surely by 5 A, M. 

 Ii was -t :•].') when he arrived, and all was quiet, about the 

 grove. Drawing nearer, however, nisi ling and chiming 

 among ihe birds was perceptible. Soon two or three groups, 

 of perhaps a hundred or two each, rose from the grove in 

 succession, and flew away toward the southwest, ~ Just as 

 the distant iowu clock and mi'l gong together rang out the 

 !hour of 5 o'clock a whirring souud.'as of a distant waterfall, 

 was heard among the grove frees, and eight, or ten seconds 

 u ^fter a perfect cloud of swallow-, rose insight, and in a line. 

 [perhaps 200 foet abreast, -truck out directly toward the 

 sum ir.v-.--i. When the head of the Line had gone perhaps 



1.000 feci from lh 

 from the lives the I 

 inio till- air. This 

 circling gJ'OUp; 0,9 |U: 

 might. No more birds 

 it )i|ipeared to the repo 

 tin- whole number eoul 

 tinned in its risi g. cir 

 iu all direct inn.-. Tin- 

 1I11 birds bad vanished 



and while birds were still en 



lets. suddenly took 



•A mil 



mi iiriivo.-ifli 



r there ca 



me from I 



Chirring 



sound, niuch It 



uiler lha 



1 tin first. 



of birds a 



rose, fully lwi< 



.„■ i,::.- 



as the til- 



same bin- 



of flight, for a 



tout the 



same die 



Stead ol 1 



ircling -about, 



hey - .-a. 



ill esse ti 



ler. Il u 



as soon n.ii;'.- 



that ile 



V were d 



spiral course up 



■111- the birds into a 

 l.-eeiit the previous 

 the woods, though 

 i- than on,-ihiv.! of 



jopu began to spread 

 ued until nearly all 



Another cloud 



I. and rook the 

 ami-. But, in- 



again. and finally, with scarce 

 turned with a rush to the gmvi . 

 in the trees, evidently di- aiisi'e - 



flight. This, as Mr. B rack al 



is u common occurrence; the bit 

 or four time.-, before they take a 



iu stormy or foggy season.- do il 

 nearly i : o'clock. Finally, ho 

 emerged with another whirr, II. 

 rose in the air a- at first, soalleri 



speedily gone. Only a few si Higglers now remained, and 

 Ihev Ilew in and out anions: the branches for quite a while. 

 Win n the reporter left the grove the number of birds \ i-ih|e 

 was not enough to CaUSG remark." 



Ti<ansci..\viin<:<Ji-.\ii.. — Rockland. Mc — My iir-i attempt 

 at transplanting quail was made a long time agOwhena DOy 

 <>n returning from a visil from Southern Massachusetts 1 took 

 10 Lowell. Mass. 



: I Ik 



, 1 hi 



w i: 



Way to re-lock Ihevicinilv with tufi 



I have tried to introduce both theft 



quail. In the spring of 1879 we liberated one hundred 



migratory quad, and in the spring of 1880 on" hundred 



mpro, and alter careful inquiry I cannot feel satisfied that 



one of them, has ever returned. The question arises, what 



has become of them-.' I have also liberated a few native 



quail; but they succeeded in getting Ehraugh the winter, 

 until the last winter. I have been toldbv Mr K. P. Walker. 

 who lives on an island about ten Wiles from here, thai the 

 lew pairs which I sent last spring bred, and noiwiihstand 



sto 



fiOck of sixteen, which 

 think the parent birds 



three from the same Iff 



winter, and knowing tl 

 not risk in an ouihon-e. 

 1 can watch them and hi 

 learned to imitate their 1 

 and thev make a great n 

 make in the Bold Last year 1 tri 

 confinement, and tl 



ns we have mcl. that tin 



ihev fed through the winter, l 

 atne frpm North Carolina. I had 



which I kept in mv kitchen all 

 v cam,- from the South. 1 dared 

 ■side-. 1 enjoy na\dng them where 

 r their different notes, and I have 

 11 so true that ihe\ answer back, 

 ptOS that 1 never heard llici 

 for the second time to 



ch 1 failed. I succeeded 



ling four eggs undei 

 a under the hotl in the right-, and when I found them 

 lorning thev were so chilled that they showed no 

 life. 1. ui I look them into the house and. warmed 

 ck to lit'-, but they were very feeble and only lived 



the lack of sunshi 

 they only lived a \ 



Tin 



impi 



ui . but 1 



■ fond and in. knout 



hi 



-and 



in about leu egg- 



it, the best color. 

 er setting time 1 

 a very foul nest. 



ain. "II is, p., ei- 

 llnm I have do 



It was now Seplenib, 



to me why people u h 



not try to raise quail iu confinement. I have to get my 



quail from a long way off, have half of them dead ou their 



arrival, and nearly ail of the remainder die after reaching 



here, with w'aabtis rumbling b\ all day, will, cftti to -it 



nnd eye them through the s.laf-. with in. nice -iinnv place 

 free from cats and rals wb.-i-c ihcy can Scratch unmolested. 

 What a pleasant occupation and pastime For a woman who 



loves pits. If am of \. uir Icly readers -wi-h to try il 1 will 

 give the benefit of my experience, and I assure them there is 

 a great deal of" pleasure in it -thejiionl is 1. iconic.— Nukcicd. 



Tuii Jaov'. 



I'.S. A., has 



Americas Th&em.— Colonel Bracken, 

 y published a paper on the [a guar. K-'i-s 

 . he tells US, in Western Texas a- well 



An 



Btail, that member being two feel long 

 ;me length, ami s:,v- ii is little inferior 

 tiger. One of the besi accounts of the 

 found in a work published by the Har- 

 old Work on the Nepaul Frontier " in 



grow- tn be fifty per cent larger than the former animal 

 'I'ii cougar, puma, or panther, /•;//*• ,-..»,-../„,- crows to be 

 much longer than seven feet. A panthei skin from \eu 

 Hampsbire measured seven feet eight inch.--, one I'mni 

 Florida nine foeJ three inches: one from Colorado eleven 

 feet two inches: while a mountain lion, another name for 

 the cougar, which was lately killed in Colorado measured 

 eleven f.'.-i Ihrei inches, nr within two inch,-, ,,| tin- l.-iclh 

 Of the largest Bengal tiger. The SOUgar or panther f-.a 



les.-Tmuscular and ro'uist. Mam years agoJ bud in New 

 Grenada, mieof the United Stale.-' of Co.omhia. u In re the 

 jaguar was common, and was oftot! known in kiii ,,id earn 

 off a horse or .1 bullock. Tii • cougar Wag al-n known there 

 under the name of lion. Il seems true thai Col Brackets 

 has underestimated the size of the faguar. and the artist in 

 the illustration of it has given it a bushy tail which is incor- 

 rect 1 have been lold by a., experienced and truthful 

 hunter in Soul h Florida ih.u a very In _.- -polled animal of 

 Ihe eat kind had li.-.n seen there by him, wljlCh he took Iii be 

 a jaguar. A. two-year-old steer was carried off, and tracks 

 of great size were 'found, sliowiDg that the steer was takeu 

 clear of the ground, in great leaps. Not long a f: 

 i'onuant saw a great -polled beast crOSS-a r.;ad ii: the wood-, 



so near that he had a gnud view of it; In was familiar with 

 the common beasts m Him in Florida— panthers, wolves, 



thing different. He bad uo gun with him at the time so he 



lost the Chance of identifying the animal, bul said II, at it 

 looked SO large and formidable that ho would Hot have liked 

 to al tack il alone, — 8. 0, C. 



l'.Ki-MHNo in- t»i\ii.. -F,.-.biiiii.ire. Sept. 2; l««2.— Editm 

 ,if Qscaloosa, [a . States: "In favorable seasons ihe averaiVc 



.alking.'omf jriw i:;y- 

 a Southern plantation 

 ■le qil-iil could be pur 



us per.loxen. I never 



II v .,-. 



11 ii. 



I dep inure, l-.-pecialu 

 delay, sometimes until 



diicciK southwest and 



II all directions; and were 



.- old North State last scasou,.andtomy 

 twenty-nine bird \ da II, 1 for 1 very-sdwotipg 



mean- n lirstcla- wiiu -I1..1 'l ni,)k a 



minted twenty-seven separate and aistinai 



(.-..vey- Now. J will COme to the point. I profess to know 

 a quail when 1 see it. from a young one with the shell slick- 

 ing on its head, reminding one of ttn animated pool-counter 

 as it darts about among tlie cotton stalks, to the full urown 

 ones Ibal lie to Don's inagniiicenl point in November. I 

 never knew of the third nor i-m-ii the second brood, urn do 1 

 believe in such nonSGBSe. Villi! "J, K. S." came to the front. 

 I never heard such an altogether improbable story as a quail 

 too young to lly more I ban a few yards in October." When 

 found, (.mi ii in a glass case with the "hoopsnake," — Cites A 



PBAKB, I (his A. I'.-ake- i. i„ error in a-iuuiiig I ha I be 

 cause he lias never observed a v-coinl brood ol qunil the birds 



may not breqd twice. Ii i- claimed by some tfiat in certain 



localities quail regiila.lv rai-e two UTOOdS ma BSason. Il 



tln-ir nest be broken no .1 is probable that a second butch 

 of egg- will I,- laid. Therh is no improbability about the 

 statement of "J B. 8." quoted. We have seen' quail later 

 than October which were not grown.] 



The •*Bi'ckFi,y."— Iliiutingdon. Tenn.. Aug. 27, 1882.— 

 Editor /■■:■■ it -„ ■ -',. . „.- I noli,-,- in the .New York ll.,„i,: 

 thai patties have been discovering under Ihe -kin- of rabbils 

 and squirrel- a SpCCic Of maggot or -Iripcd worn, which 



appears to them and 10 the //,,,.',/ 1„ be worthy of publica- 

 tion. This is probably an interesting matter for the investi- 

 gation of theorists and scientists, but practically the 

 existence Of such parasites has been known for an age, and 

 perhaps a dozen ages, bv all practical hunters and Sportsmen, 

 In the autumn months those worm- may be found in Tenn- 

 essee buried undertbe skins of nearly all wild rabbits; and 

 infesiiug many -qiiirrels. and are generally known here a- 

 wolf WorniS; and w In-n their exi-ieiice 'i- developed the 



.neat is 1101 considered proper food. Now. uhi n ibis 



parasite question. I would sa\ thai a species of ||y (known 

 in the South as -buck lly'') make- its appearance in Tennes- 

 see about November, winch is reputed to be blown out of 

 Hie nostrils of Ihe male deer .luring what is Styled ihe run- 

 ■-011. Canyon inform the readers of Forest wu 

 Stream Whether there is any truth in such an assertion? 



The fly is iu1 the size of a small butterfly, With dark 



wing- spoiled with red; and the lly as he travels has an up 

 and down motiou something similar to the leaping of the 

 btick as. he ranges lh rough the woods; and it is said thai it 

 never alights until death i- at band. Perhaps some old 

 hunter can in, p.-,, -1 ihe desired information lias any one 

 ever found-such jliesorthe maggots from which they are 

 developed in the nostrils of tho deer, and if so are they 

 found only in the nostrils of the buck?— H. 



Ohoy. si:nm;.- (.oekpori. N. V.. S-pt. II. --I can vouch 

 for Ihe -tateineiil made by VY. W. ('.. i„ voiir i-ue of Sep 

 it mini- ,. We have a 1 Line emw that softens bis cookies in 

 the same way, and he has a queer way of drving him-el! 

 after taking a hath. At three different times.'wh'en 1 have 

 seen him trying to bathe in a dish that he drinks out f. I 

 have caught trim and put him in a tub of water from which 

 our Irish seller drink-, and each time as soon a.- I released 

 him In- would starl for the dog (lhal was King in the grass) 

 and would jump upon him \\w\ settle down and commence 

 to flutter to dry himself. The dog makes no objection to 

 the performance, but seems fo enjoy it as much as 'the crow 

 1 have never seen him dry himself in that wa\ 011 Iv when I 

 have (nit linn in ihai particular tub that he sc-s theddfi 

 drink from every day Another peculiarity ! have ii .tic. d. 

 that when the crow Scratches his head with iii.- foot, he always 

 puts the foot up over back of ihe wing. I have never seen 



it done by any other bird.—.). I,. I). 



Wi-ai.nr 

 I noticed ii 



„. Ol-ossmis.— Peter* 



vonr issue of Angus 

 know the limit of wi 





1.. Se 

 lined 



jtember 7. — 

 if your readi 

 by the opos- 



inyself, I'll 

 i;r came, un- 



twenty-one 



some "nossiiui." Ii 

 offal, so he would 



die-sin 



have w-; 



"igheil 



1. one-fifth is 



oel- TVfclo 



ed i 



cauti- 



ous t 



partfi 

 palim 



!ges(quai 



; a good ti 



; the food 



t merely nothing, being principally chick, u 

 and kitchen refuse. The i-miuiies coutigu- 

 irg arc- teeming with deer, wild turkey-, 

 , you call them), etc, Sportsmen are antici 

 ne this fall and winter.— O. T. J. 



S\\Au.ow-T.\n.i.;i> Hawk ix Fi.ohih.s.— Tampa, Fla., 

 Aug 28, 1883;— I notice Mr. E. A. Brawn speaks of swallow- 

 tailed hawk or kite being k- lied ou his place last June at ^orlh 

 Hloonilielii, O. For the past two summer- I have notified a 

 pair Of same kind of hawk- here on my place, and this 

 summer I saw four of them, anil judging from their actions 

 lake them for parents ami young,' as otic pair were feeding 

 the others. I am led to believe that they have bred in this 

 vieiuity. They have been quite a curiosity to mc, and 

 many a time I have felt like shooting and mounting them — 

 W. A, H. " 



(),-, 



> CniokKNs.— The Sacramento Bee says: • Ai 

 ,V. Feru. jusi below the city, is a hen of the or- 

 stic breed with a brood (n,,i a "litter," as our 

 rtes) of fifteen chiclv-ns. Lately a qunil. which 

 fioiii its brothers- and Sisters, made friends with 

 nid ln-r family, and is now the boss of the whole 

 ,ing entirely supplanted the hen in authority 



Rah, Siiooiino— Philadelphia. Sept. ,..— Thus far. 

 although we have had good tides for rail shooting very 

 few birds haw- been killed. The cause for this IS -.nd 

 to be the violation of the law before the Opening of 

 the M-a-on. September 1st. When riot a few rail were 

 boatetl. There 'i- a good crop of reed, and -otue birds 

 bnd here have all been shot, bv the law Violators. We are 

 now wailing for a llighi. and" good shooting need uot bo 

 looked for before the run of afleruoon tides. ' lieed birds are 

 more plentiful than la-l -ea-on. but not. yet in good order. 

 Your New York leaders who contemplate a trip thi- w.,\ 

 f..i i,il .-hooting -houid postpone il for at leastten days or 

 iwo weeks. Grass plover continue lo be plentiful around 

 Philadelphia, bul no one appears to staft for them. The 



new dinkey -kill- thai came into use la-l season are becom- 

 ing more aim more popular, aud many are being built, lien 

 Young, of Philadelphia, who ranks.' as. cjpjs of the best skiff 

 builders about here was , it first given ta.co.ndcinu them, but 

 now declares them to bo the besi boat for rail -hooting.— 



III. .Mo. 



