[Oct. 10, 1882. 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



225 



THE MASS ASA UGA'S BITE. 



Editor I'hrfKt and Stream; 



In your issue oi' Oct. 5 I roadwitb int. nscinleiv-l an able 

 flvticle by "Kessmuk," entitled "Tin' Mawasauga'« Kit.-." 

 May I, who ;im of the laity, be allowed a few lines to give 

 tny theory, uot necessarily as opposed to ■Ne.-sinuk," but 

 what lhave observed in quite lengthy travels in ditTereiit 

 countries. It is this: The bite of a venomous serpenl is 

 fatal only when the larger veins are struck w here the i ir il- 

 lation is'large and rapid— in all Other eases, one as a rule re- 

 covers. 



It will be noticed in "NessniukV' article that two of the. 

 three whodied wnv bitten, the oue in ;ui artt [J in ihe neck, 

 the other in the wrist, where all the vein- aiv gathered into 

 a small focus; of the third who died la- does not state where 

 the bite was. hut only thai tlie victim was bitten twice. Ail 

 Other* recovered. In support of my theory, 1 would state 

 that it is a well-established fact that the hogs in our Western 

 States destroy and devour Tattlesnakos; it has also beenob- 

 served that The hog presents thai pari of his neck that is 

 near the shoulder to the attack and lunge of tho reptile, il 

 being commonly supposed thai the t .i-i- 1 K-- on that part of 

 the Ubg's bodj prevent the snake I'roni being alrie to bite 

 int.. Hi.- skin." and while thus entangled the hog Seizes its 

 enemy below the head and crushes him. 



This generally accepted belief of the attack and defense 

 is substantially true; but it is also true that the hog is quite 

 often bitten oil lie v.-iy pari that he presents to the snake, 

 and which nature has covered with a large accumulation of 

 fat, and which has for that reason a languid circulation. 



The boa\ struel this part of the body, seems to feel little 



effect from the bite, the Sebaceous follicles seeming to- neu- 

 tr.di/.- ili- poison; whereas, ii he be struck in a vein. In- 

 dies, as human beings die under like circumstances. 



Tberemedies noted by "Nessmuk" seem admirable, and 

 the practical common-sense advice given is invaluable to 

 travelers and sportsmen. The tact, nevertheless, remains 

 that if a person is .struck in a vein by a poisonous snake, be 

 will, iu inv opinion, die. It is simply a question of where 

 the bile ib* that decides the question 'of lite and death, it be- 

 ing always -supposed thai proper remedies are applied and 

 that the- bite is indicted by a virile, venomous snake. 



I'V-it .. 



Boston, Mass , Get. 10, 1882. 



An Atjdaoiois Goshawk (Aitwr atrioapiilm).~Ob the 

 morning of Oct. 3, 1838, 1 saw a ri-.l poll warbler in an un- 

 usually dark plumage, end. wishing to procure ii. for a speci- 

 men, went to inv office and loaded a small .22 eal rifle 'with 

 alight charge of dual shot. On leaving the building 1 heard 

 a hen cry out in distress from behind ;. pile of stones in the 

 bushes neat by. Guided bv the sound I soon reached the 

 spot, auil found a goshawk' perched upon an old hen. not 

 more than ten feet distant. Aiming at hi- breast, 1 tired. 

 but with uo other effect, apparently, than of arousing his 

 indignation and wrath, for he iminediatclv arose and 'dove 

 at my head with great furs. 1 struck him'on the Wing with 

 Ihe barrel of the rille. and loosened one of his tail feathers, 

 but did not succeed in knocking him down as 1 anticipated. 

 Meanwhile the hen was making off. Perceiving her. and 

 determined not to lose his dinner, the bold hawk left me 

 and gave ehas. to her. She rushed into tin- bushes, which 

 were so thick that the hawk could not fly between them. 

 Not to be baffled by this mover, he closed hiswingeand 



followed her upon ihe ground, in a succession of long 

 and rapid hops, and quickly overlook her and pounced upon 

 her back. The hen waft a large and strong one-, and ran. 

 carrying the hau k. for nearly a hundred feet before tum- 

 bling over. 1 soon reached the scene and struck at the 

 hawk with the empty mm. lie dodged the blow bv drop- 

 ping on his back, and then dew up into a tree overhead. 

 but was gone before 1 could get a cartridge. The poof hen 

 was so frightened thai she hid under a catnip plant near the 

 door of my office, and remained there till driven awav. five 

 hours later.— C. Hart Mbrriam, M. I). (Locust Grove, 

 New York). 



Cacti RE OS A Siiauk. — Franiiiigharn, Mass., Oct. 15.— 

 On the l2Lh inst.. being at Clark's Island, Plymouth. Mass., 

 1 witnessed the capture of a large shark,. of the species 

 called by the fishermen mackerel shark (Lmima i'>n„ti>/,> 

 Mitchell). The fish was lirsi seen at some distance from 

 shore, as the observer was about entering the island harbor 

 in a small boat, and as the tide was nearlvoui. he concluded 

 to make an attempt to drive hi in on shore. Strange to say, 

 the shark seemed ■•agreeable,'' and allowed himself to be 

 guided in the required direction b\ occasional taps with an 

 eel spear, and would sometimes seem to desire to take refuge 

 under the bout, nearly capsizing il, but never making Enoch 

 effort to gain deep water. Attracted by the fracas several 

 more boats came to assist, and tinallv' penned him up in 

 water so shoal he could not go under, The shark then began 

 to icalize his position, and dashed continually back and 

 forth, making the water flv furiously, Half an hoarofthis, 

 headed off in -overy direction, exhausted him sufficiently to 

 allow of a rope being passed over his tail, and h 

 dragged on shore and despatched. His length 

 seven aud a half feet, and bis WeigUI (estimated) little shovl 



of 40b pounds. (The body of this'speeie- is immensely thick 

 compared with its length.) The fishermen proposed to cut 

 him up for lobster bait. Nothing whatever was found in the 

 stomach, and from his sltig-jishne.s<. when first overhauled, 

 it seems likely he was "underthe weather" in sum.- Way. 

 She specimen of f his vHrietj from which Stores (Report 

 Mass. Pishes. 1839) drew uphis description, was taken no: fai 



from this same place-. None of the fishermen 1 talked wilh 

 had ever seen a shark of this size in the neighborhood before. 

 —P. C. Bkowke. 



The Ameuica.n T-asodwrmistr -At a meeting of the s..- 

 cietv of American Taxidermists; recently held in Washing- 

 ton, it was determined thai tie- third annual exhibition 

 should be held at Armory Mall, in Genii's] Park, New York, 

 and that it should open Dec. -! and close Dec. Hi. A hoard 

 of exhibition commissioners was elected consisting of the 



following gentlemen: Jacob 1 1 Snider. IVcsid.-m : Prof. <;. 



Brown Qoprle, Vice-President; I>'' Joseph !■;. Holder. Secre- 

 tary; Andrew Carnegfc}, Treasurer; 1'it.f. A. s. Bickmore 

 Robert Colgate, .lames ( ■. Beard, Dr. Wendell Prime and 

 Prof, Heuiy A. Ward. The e\hibitinn will presumably be 

 one of great interest. 



|;.,:i, HoTEB^-Xhe few .summer birds 

 that- remain here now me the brown thrush (Bas-porlwndiut 

 nifus) catbird {Mimw oit/roLfnemis), tovihee bunt 

 tr>/t/ir<>/j/<t/,ah,cit/,), purple gracklt (yuiHailvt pwrpurtuty 



nistv graeklc ySroHcepltagtts forrugineus), bluebird (,sy,,,v,, 



•pirn fymol,'). chi'i, a), and nu- 



merous -warblers. 'I he biros n..-.t • main here all winter are 



red tailed hawk (23 real horned owl (/;«/"> rir- 



'liiiiini'is,, crow (Qitvus umimcanitx), bluejay (CyaHura ere's- 

 /-»'-'. golden-winged woodpeokei [Oolapto* awatiu), robin 

 (Twrdiu mtgrntonits), black-capped chiokadoe (Pants afri 

 ■'"».«). hairy woodpecker (Pfoiin titto&wQ, goldfinch (Astra- 

 ■ ) ruffed grouse (Bdwua HMeUw). attd quail 

 (Ortyz iir :! hiiiii,iis). -JqhnC. Oahoon, 



Tin. WesTERM S:i ki iii: in N'i.u Knoi.and. -Tauntou, 

 Muss October 9; 1882--^ While out with mv gun September 

 13 1 had tin- good fortune to shool a white-lumped logger- 

 head shrike (Lanw xv&itomideii). It was sit- 

 ting on a Of -lapn wire, an. I as I approached il flew i.owu 

 and ali .hied on a small apple-tree, when ] shot it. Its crop 

 contained small bonis and bugs. 'Phis is, so far. til- Sea - mi- 1 

 ..n.- that has ever been taken in Esfew England. J. Ca- 



llooN. 



$m9p j?## ayd 



Ol'i.N Sl-.VSONS. Sfefi I'l''/' itf Opm *:il*jlixf<>r Intnl.- ,!,)■/ Hxlt 



m iisve ofjtrty 20. 



DO QUAIL HAVE A SECOND BROOD? 



^ , (IT long since a writer in the Forest \no Stuk vm book 

 * the position thai quail (we call them pail rid -.-,) do nol 

 have, at any time, a second brood. If I understand him. 

 lie meant his language to impart that (hey nest but once 

 during the year. Of course il is difficult for am one to 

 prove 1o the coiitrar., and it would be equally difficult to 

 prove ihat all the female birds lay at all. Inasmuch as these 

 birds are not domesticated, no one has authority to make 

 any assertion a- to ihe .p., -si ion. and all are obliged to draw 

 Conclusions from such facts as are known. 



UoW we all know that in this latitude the nesting season 

 is the month of .May and early June, for during this season 

 the nests are often found when the small grain is reaped. 



It often occur-;, loo, that in some eases the in sis have noegii.s 

 in thorn, and "in others that they have evidently been de- 

 stroyed by ■'varmints'' before hatching. It may be safely 

 assumed, 1 think, that all the females, following a law of 

 nature, deposit their eggs during the time Indicated in Ibis 

 paragraph, and unless disturbed, incubate and batch oU! 

 a brood. All do noi hatch on the same day. or during the 

 same week or mouth even, for if they did all the you tig 

 would be fully grown at the same li'me. We know that 

 such is not the case. All sportsmen who have gone into the 

 Held On the 15th of October, have seen that marly one-half 

 of the coveys started are not fully grow n. and occasionally 

 oil-.- is to'.m.) which cannot even ll\ . 



(in the ;>'.' i day of October, 1880, TeceeJ and I went to 

 "the Gulf" in Chatham, on a bird hunt, expecting to meet 

 some friends from Washington City, who had promised to 

 join us. but wore prevented from doing so by a railroad ac- 

 cident and the state of the weather. We hunted some low 

 lands on Deep River on the morning after our arrival, and 

 all tin 1 birds we found were fully grown. In Ihe afternoon 

 WO chosea different locality, and shortly after leaving the 

 house our dog, Mark, gave signs of a •'taint in the air." and 

 soon came to a dead hah. We approached, walked on. hut 

 no birds flew. He kept his position, and upon order sprang 

 forward, and nothing rising, he looked (he vcrv personifica- 

 tion of meanness, as bo saw running in Ihe grass near his 

 nose several little birds not larger than wrens. These must 

 have hatched during the mouth. It is certain that the eggs 

 were not laid in May or June, and ii i< equally certain that 

 they must have la-en early in September, when some of 

 the young birds wen- s„ tar advanced as to need no maternal 

 guidance or aid. The hen may have raised one brood and 

 then started' amah. r. or she may have lost the first one. 

 It is hardly probable she did not gel "in season" until late in 

 August. I'r..ni lie- toctg given, and others within in; 



knowledge, I think I am warranted in concluding that if 

 birds do not raise a second brood (I think they sometimes 

 do) they will lay the second lime, if the flint nest is de- 

 stroyed. Chickens raise more than one brood, aud the 

 eases are rare when all grown hens do not commence lav ins 

 in early spring. If not allowed to '-set," and plenty of bud 

 is given or obtained, hens will commence laying again after 

 the lapse of a few weeks. Why may it not be so with quail? 



It is but reasonable to suppose il should be so. 



In some parts of this state the prospect for good sport 

 with "Bob White" k excellent. Those of us who arc given 

 to an indulgence in ii. are looking forward somewhat pleas- 

 antly to the time when we can visii our friends wh.. live on 

 the Pee D.-e near Slanbaek's and Dumass 1-',- ,\ . and make 

 tin- ii. Ids re-.ouant with the sharp reports of our light breech- 

 loaders, -while Martin, Bickett and Teeeel are striving for 

 We ie.pe I., h.iv.- plenty of dogs which have 

 broathand speedand ,t. muchness, albeit they occasionally 

 break shoi and engage in d lively but bootless race io oaten 

 an old cock as he whirr- oil' for a place of sai'el,}-. If We 

 had s,,,,„- of tin- blue- bloods, trained to absolute obedience, 



we could, doubtless, bag more birds; bul we manage always 

 to gel a fai; share of them, and the hard walking gives us 

 such appetites that we eajpj the game, whether fried or 

 in. el (I. and pui on no wry faces, even if Hi.- cofifecia rather 

 weak, oris wanting in the fragrance of Mocha or that hi- 

 des, ribable article (-ailed in trade 'Old Government. lava." 



f hope to be hole to let you hear from me occasionally. 

 After the election-is over and my voice ceases to sound in 

 behalf of what I regard the interests .if the country— for I 

 sometimes take the. •stump" -I may sharpen my pen and 

 scribble a little. f oi' the amusement Oi thai portion of my 



fellow Citizens who, in the li.-ld and around the camp Are, 

 layasidc .!1 "cares of State." and acknowledge the brother- 

 hood of all men who are fond of the "rod and gun, theforest 

 and stream." There all Btrife in regard to taxation, consti- 

 tutional limit at ions, cm ii-ncy . commerce, "a free ballot and a 

 fair count" (whatever that means) is hushed, and the "shot- 

 gun policy" prevails. If any quarrd does spring up. it 

 originates in a failure upon the pan of some too eager Bporta 

 man to acknowledge a "fair count" of -.one which he has 

 Bagged, aud the numbei of misses scored auainat him. The 

 Only "commerce" regarded is that, which pertains to shot 



GOSSIP ABOUT QUAIL. 



WW 



JUNIATA" has no particular text to discourse upon. 

 and no peculiar subject to investigate, but, Fokest 

 and Sxire.vvt is so much like the other good book, that texts 

 Sure too numerous to stick to one, and each one is so suggest- 

 ive of others, that it is impossible to withstand the tempta- 

 tion to gossip, and since you have, like Oliver, boldly "asked 

 for more," I prefer to overlook the implied 'treacle and 

 sulphur" iu the compliment, aud so scud some notes pre- 

 pared in June. 

 Xow. as Mr •■('lies. A. Peak.?" says in answer to "J. E. S.," 



"I profess to know a quail when I seofit." I am not one 

 oi the later broods myself, as I was a lover of the quail in 

 fly youth, have grown fonder of them as age comes on 

 apace, and so have for many years made some careful watch- 

 ing over them and their habits. I have never been convinced 

 that two broods an- lais.-d in one season-, but that very late 

 batched one-, are found unlit to shoot November 1, has been 

 in\ experience ever) season The hatching of earlv and 

 late hh-ds is discussed in June not. before mentioned. But 

 before getting so far. 1 would like to auswer the correspond- 

 ent who asked why pair- of prairie chickens were abundant 

 before and during balcliiug lime, then seemed to disappear 

 for a time, reappearing with their young well feathered. 

 Speaking to your "Sa-.cho Panza," who is the worthy des- 

 cendant of noble sires, who loved the horses well but" their 

 hounds belter, and is something of a scientist, he explained 

 the philosophy of my statement of tact, that the old hen and 



hicUens gave out no scent and it was a mere accident if 



Tim. 



old i.i 



glands of the led' give 

 developed in voungom 

 the milk secretion libso 

 arc protected from others* 

 helpless 1 have been siii] 

 unable to locate the quite y. 

 were occasionally found- s 

 I have not noticed any 



the 



Idle nestinar ;uid brooding the 

 lid give out little scent. The 

 Ic- great.-r scent, and are not 

 le arly mature. In mammals 

 scent," and so does and fawn 

 - inevitable destruction while 

 scd io see d. gs with fine noses 

 ng scattered quail, when broods 

 t is, I presume, wilh chickens, 

 irks upon the occasional south- 

 ern migration of our own quail. In 1858 or '0',), uhilere 

 siding in the coal region for some weeks, I drove frequently 

 through an unoccupied valley, well wooded, and upon every 

 trip would see droves of 20 to 200 quail, evidently moving 

 southward, and while at my desk observed small "and large 

 crowds By iroiu a hilltop across the same vallev to the foot 

 of the mountain opposite. The hilltop and sides had been 

 denuded of timber by mine operators, and of brush by the 

 goats of operative.-, otherwise the birds would foot it, as 

 they do further up among the timber. The migratory at- 

 tempts to fly across the Susquehanna below Ilanishurg re- 

 sult in frc.|tiei i failures to reach the south shore. During 

 the winter Of lsijij-t;; our quail were entirely destroyed, and 

 none except some wandering "bachelors," in springtime, 1 

 siippo--.- in search of males, were seen or beard until 1874. 

 In November of that year, while hunting rabbits, I found 

 three bevies upon my farm, -when there were uoue during 

 summer and fall— eighteen, twenty and twenty-five to thirty 

 in the several lots. 1 may have had as joyful surprises in my 

 life, but none more So, as I had two old "Bizmark pups, aged 

 8J months, and then- was my opportunity. For knowing 

 lhe\ w; re migrating birds and would not remain, 1 soon bad 

 the puppies among them, and then 1 had another enjoyment 

 — to see them stitlVn out and back, and behave as Biz's pro 1 

 g.-ny should do, and do in any case where, they have seen a 

 show of training. But. without a pedigree and no money ' 

 lo be made out of the strain, keniiclmeii and professional 

 trainers v.-iy wisely never handled, bred and selected the 

 best, generation after genera I ion. Like many another good 

 strain, it will soon be among "The Dogs I Have Had.'' The 

 one Lavcrack 1 have, with the "blood of all Howards" in bis 

 veins, did not show, up wind, the least interest in a bevy of 

 full-Hedged quail which old Blanche was pointing down wind ; 

 yet he is a typical beauty — black and white and ticked, but. 

 a great disappointment'; an accident of an otherwise well- 

 regulated family. But dogs are not the subject. Alter 

 shooting the two first birds which rose, anrl comparing them 

 with two or three shot afterward, I was satisfied thatlhad 

 the parent birds. The idea struck me that, the leaders gone, 

 ihe migration would be Stopped. So I went in search of an- 

 other bevy, and got the old birds and two young 

 ones. I iiad lo go some distance for the third and 

 largesl lot, and found it at dusk, and then 

 missed with both barrels. Next day could not. aud 

 never did find it again, but the two first bevies remaiued, 



I were fed through the winter. I found other birds aud 



did the same. I have always tried to drop the first birds 

 w Inch rise in coveys, and general y find them to be the 



birds. Win 

 as I find that ven 

 Augusl and Seple 



the season, the late 

 exceptional one ft 



and September, am 

 winter of '80 and '8 



successful it localizes the young < 

 early hutch ngs, which I could find iu 

 her, disappear almost the opening of 

 aes never. The Spring of 1881 was an 



breeding: abundance iu July, August 

 iflarcitv in the shooting season. The 

 ry destructive to quail, but as 



soon as spring opened, by a compensation of nature, I pre- 

 sume, the survivors nested, and by the second week of June 



the young birds were mi rous and able to fly. We had no 



rain' after that time until late fall. In August the birds 

 were strong and appeared full grown. But brooks, ponds 

 aud rivulets were waterless, no weeds had growu, there was 

 fields, thickets of blackberry and brush bad 



lost the 



•d . 



i le 



there 



usual, 



1. and 

 butch 



I'l 



-belter or Wilier. The I. 



the quail left, and by October LS very t.-u Were foun 

 these were loo young to tie shot. 



lime SO lo "July 4 is the usual time tor quail to 

 out. but in ts.si 1 tailed lo learn of a single nest of eg_ 

 ing found in haying or grain harvest. Young birds" were 

 plenty. During other years the mowing machines have re- 

 vealed il,.- destroyed nests. The winter of '79 and '80 was 

 open. Breeding birds weiv plenty, anil no doubt fat, but 

 there were no young birds unt'il Julv. and several nests 

 were found in harvest .and some were descried. In 1880 the 

 m. .wcr uncovered -i\ nests in my fields -120 eggs. The 

 .iron to restore cover, and bring back the nesting birds, 



failed. Sin..- lli.i: I lia.e a -landing reward to the mowers 

 if th.-y raise ihe cutler bars, save the grass and shelter the 

 nest when they see a bird rise No halt dollar ha-. I., en 

 claimed, because no nests were found, or else they were de 

 stroyed. Juniata. 



TaraiEBONTON, Pa., Opt 9, 1W2. 



elli 



itnti. 



■id limitation 



" Cooley 



