428 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[DbOBMBBB 80, 1881. 



THE SEVEN PONDS AGAIN. 



' Mi! !; Bekis, Me., Dec. 12. 

 "RACK to the old Ecngelevu once more after a month's cruise, 

 -»-» aud not in the woods as usual at this time of year, bnt on a 

 twenty-two ton steam yacht, all tlM wuv from Augusta, Mo., to 



iffef ,i ,. v l.oro from what I left a 



weekag | » twenty ,,r deigning from Phillip 



toEahg ■ .,. ,■ ,.,,«■ T.i-mon-o iv I start for Par- 



maoheene Lake to join my friend Danforth oa onr annual still- 

 htmt The condition or the enow and weather is strongly against 

 success, lam going just the ' and an John has 



about aped; of mail thai tias been coming along for the last two 

 [ shall lake to him, Uo no doubt will be glad to see 

 me. 



In looking over my PoBEST AND StbSAMS that haye collected 

 during mv absence. I lind mv letter about Seven Ponds, also 

 " J. W. T.V: " i ;Jv to it, Burelv, it is not the meat affeetionste 



■ - ed from a iottar; and, lest Mr, T. should 

 think he had finish I o Hub timo. I v, ill •• Hotter" again, though 



ut i 



bn 



1 his fuzi 





ion with a little lighter 

 ,ps it would be for his 

 in the Seven 

 i that the Seven Pond 

 lemeguntio 



, 



hold c 



Myron 

 my camp's ito CainpsBer 



one ought to say a word or 

 two in favor of the Bangaley route, to lei Bportsmon know that 

 there at least used to be a Way to get to Seven Ponds from there. 

 As Mr. T. prefers the rail ear 'to the stage coach, suppose we start 

 from tvliere the m loaves us, He . allowed me 



en Ponds to Bangeley, and the twenty 

 miles to the iron borae at Phillips make the whole distance fifty, 

 one miles. By the other routo ho has given ns eighteen miles 

 Mr. Smith's house." Now, adding the fifty 

 nth' si i the rail car at Farmington, we have 



iUM in Favor of the. Raugeley route of 

 t my -case," only remarking that the 

 miles from Tim Pond to Seven Ponds will probably 

 rdiug to the time it took Mr. T. to walk it last sum- 

 mer. If I remember right he was until well into the afternoon 

 doing it. He probably is not a great walker, 

 Mineo we have been so confidentially reminded that our Ran- 



foley fishing " needs rest," I will sav that the fish have been 

 aving a rest for the last four years. DurinE this time the Union 

 Water Power Co., of Lewistoii, who control these lakes, have 

 kept them a little higher than nature intended them to be ; and 

 the treat have been making a change in their location since then ; 

 ye" has not found just the place, siuce the 

 change, whore he is sure of one everv time he "chucks a bug." 

 onnmissioner Bays that the fiah lire increasing. Guides 

 generally Bay they arc increasing, and from what I have seen by 

 taking notice of the differed. - - nd the spawning 



seasons for the last nine years I should surely sav thev were in- 

 takes are wide "and" deep, and the 

 that trout live on tre plentiful enough to warraut 

 ' , Lakes for year's to come, in spite of 

 the increase of travel. There are many "ponds woven in with our 

 lake, and in some of them I have seen as good fishing as I ever 

 yaw bi Sere 



o kindly inviting me to his cabin. 



" i : ty call, and I should bo glad 



om md to his friends ; and 



:o see the entire circle at Camps 



■ ■miublo spirit," aud thev 



p Horded, r would tell them ail 



think of, and, as business is bnai- 



woold be two dollars per day apiece. I am an 



beBtof friends. Cai-t. F, C. Barkek. 



i aft. T. for 

 : a mv way I 

 to he introdnaed to 

 I would also be E el 

 Semis, i would again "ma 

 should have the best the ca 

 the interesting stories 1 



THE FOTSON IVY. 



TREKE is one danger to which people who spend much of 

 their Wmo in the fields and woods are exposed, which 

 is not generally appreciated. There are a few native plants 

 that are si poisonous that contact with them is to many 

 people productive of severe and long continued suffering. 

 The best known, as they are the most injurious of these 

 , : ' of the- genus Rhus, and very many in- 

 tbtir baneful influences. 

 "We have known men •who believed themselves unable to 

 approach : .._■'_ ol either the poison ivy or 



the poison sumach, without being very painfully affected, 

 [ is quite common (:> find, among farmers and farm 

 handr-, i 10 have been severely poisoned from 



Btahding m the stoofea of the burning brush. As a natural 

 consequence of the different depeea of susceptibility to the 

 i in different individuals, it follows that, while to some 

 Hants brings intense and long continued 

 Buffering, to othc ultfl only a trifling and temporary 



Borai people are not at all affected by it. 

 Spr>. i pacinll; i ©seel tc dangei from this 



source, for ic traveling through the brush they are extremely 

 liable to come iu contact with these plants, and that at a 

 thej are not so readily 

 recognized a3 when in lull felt 



In a recent ■, ■ Ptntnff P-Mpfo,. Mr. A. "W. 



Ho be ii interesting information on the 



ich \. "j quote below: 

 "Poi li oak and mercury vine are the coin- 



raon n •■ ■ ■ the same vine, found climbing up the 



trunks of trees, on rnil, board and stone fences, over rocks 

 e lands mid meadows; in fact, every- 

 where and anywhere it can secure a foot of ground, no mat- 

 idsedtothe Bcorching rays of 

 tie suu, this wretched vine prospers, luippy and contented 

 ©nous arms hidden' beneath its glossy 

 and gra< 



iLclron. 



This pknt. which is the more abundant of the two poison- 



■ great profusion on the 



e ivy has a chance to climb up 



a tree or bush, up it goes, throwing out its aerial rootlets in 



all dire ay J ejn any support, 



in the sand which is being constantly displaced by the strong 



■ \l .: ■ gro = stout, erect and bush like. 



Under these peculiar circumstances of growth it has received 



s supposed by niany botanists 



: i jo stem of the 

 poison i i -sues from the wound. 



arate ; ' m the ine, bum black 

 ■ 



IS nearly smooth in texture: the 



rootlets, which start from all pans of the stem, are of 



massestif berries 



i : ■ ■ ■ 1 1 1 gr ten c doi ; when ripe, of an 



(LSbea gray. Below the mssa of this year's berries are gener- 



ally to be found those of last year. The leaf has a smooth 

 and somewhat shiny texture, aud curves downward from tbo 

 midrib. To many people the slightest contact with the 

 leaves of the ivy will produce poisoning. I have known of 

 instances where persons in passing masses of ivy vine, par- 

 ticularly when the wind was blowing from the viae toward 

 the passer-by, became severely poisoned. One of our most 

 beautiful native vines, the so-called Virginia creeper, which 

 frequently grows side by side with the ivy, is often mistaken 

 for it and blamed for the evil doings of its neighbor, and yet 

 is an innocent, and beautiful vine. The Virginia creeper has 

 a leaf consisting of five lobes, which are distinctly notched, 

 and which curve upward from the midrib. Instead of aerial 

 rootlets like the ivy, it has stout tendrils more or less twisted 

 and curled, often assuming the form of a spiral spring. 

 These tendrils are provided with a disk, by means of which 

 an attachment is made to any object within reach. The 

 stem has the appearance of being jointed. The berries are 

 large, and grapelike in the form of the cluster, and when 

 ripe are of a deep blue color, with heavy bloom. In the fall 

 of the year the leaves turn to a deep red and brownish red 

 color. 



" The poison-sumac, swamp sumac, or dogwood, is ten 

 times more Bevere in its poisoning qualities than the poison 

 ivy. It grows from six to ten feet in height in low, marshy 

 grounds. The berries are smooth, white or dun-colored, and 

 in form and size closely resemble those of the ivy. 



" This sumac is terrible in its effects, often causing tem- 

 porary blindness." 



The poison oak, or poison dogwood, as the Rhus venenata 

 is indifferently called, sometimes grows to a height of not 

 less than twenty feet, and becomes as thick as the calf of u 

 man's leg. It does not always grow in swampy ground, 

 being often found on knolls and moderately elevated ridges. 

 It is a plant which once known will always be recognized, 

 as its foliage and its mode of growth are very characteristic. 



The leaves are 7 to 10 pinnate, and bear, in shape, a general 

 resemblance to those of the hickory, but are smaller. The 

 bark is smooth. Some persons are so easily affected by this 

 plant that a leaf drawn across the hand will leave a red 

 streak, resembling a scratch, on which blisters will almost at 

 once appear. 



This variety is not a vine but a shrub or small tree, and 

 early in the fall the leaves of this plant assume very 

 beautiful tints of red and yellow, and from their attractive 

 colors they are often plucked to adorn country houses. Wo 

 have known of a number of terrible cases of poisoning 

 which resulted from this carelessness. In one instance, 

 which came under our immediate observation, three ladies, 

 who in September had gathered branches of these brightly 

 colored leaves, held them, during their walk back to the 

 house, close by then faces, as a protection from the after- 

 noon sun. As a result of this, all three were so severely 

 poisoned as to be confined to their beds for six weeks. The 

 berries, too, arc sometimf s gathered for the purpose of home 

 adornment, and give rise to similar poisoning. Instances 

 are on record where people have been poisoned by sleeping 

 in a room in which a cluster of these berries hung. We 

 give a figure of the berries of ihis species. 



Many remedies have been suggested for this poisoning, but 

 most of them are either ineffectual or so slow in their action 

 as to be practically worthless. A solution of (10 grains of 

 sulphate of zinc in 8 ounces of water was recommended some 

 years ago in the Forest axd Stekam as very effective, but 

 we have had nopersonal experience with it. Another remedy 

 is said to be to eat the leaves aud berries, but this is an experi- 

 ment that we fancy most people would hesitate to try. An 

 infusion of the bark of the tamarach (Lnrix) is another popu- 



lar medicine. The most effective and speedy treatment that 

 we have ever seen tried is the following: As soon as the 

 ''blisters" appear, paint them and the surrounding parts with 

 tincture of iodine as strong as can be borne ; then puncture 

 i lie 'vesicles, dry up the moisture with a clot h, and dust freely 

 with rice powder, sometimes called shaving or baby powder. 

 Of course, different remedies may be used with varying 

 effects, according to the susceptibility of the system of the 

 patient to the poison, but we have found this very efficacious. 

 The poisonous sumachs are not without a certain econo- 

 mic value. From the leaves of Rhus toxicodendron a strong 

 indelible ink is made, and from the juice of a poisonous 

 sumach which grows in Japan a beautiful lacquer varnish is 

 manuiactured. The fumes of this juice are said to be so 

 potent that Europeans psissiDg the factory are poisoned bvit. 

 and it is even stated that those who handle the varnished 

 good are likely to suffer. 



.».-. . 



A QUEER FOX. 



„,* t, Clinton, Ct., Dec. 15, 1881. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Very recently Mr. George Buell, a gentleman living in 

 our neighborhood, killed a peculiar looking animal that has 

 bothered us to classify. At the first glance no one would 

 hesitate to say it was a fox; and, doubtless, that is just 

 what it is ; but a closer examination would incline one al- 

 most to believe, if such were possible, that it is no very dis- 

 tant relation to a woodchuck. Let me give a careful de- 

 scription of the animal, as I saw it, after Dr. A. IT. Btevens 

 who is a skillful taxidermist, had set it up. The comparison 

 is made with a specimen of the common red fox s 



The general shape was that of a fox ; the body was round 

 and fat, and the size about two thirds of that of a full-grown 

 fox; legs rather short ; eare more rounded than those of a 

 fox, and the tips blunter. The whole back, sides, shouldcs 

 and thighs are rich mottled gray, caused by the hairs being 

 each black and white above the fur, beginning white and 

 ending blsck— the hairs of the red fox beginning white 

 above the fur and ending yellow. Down the tail, the upper 

 side was' a jet black, running to the very end, and instead 

 of being round and bushy, like a fox's tail, was like that of 

 a setter dog ; in fact the tail looked more like that of a setter 

 dog than it did that of a fox. Back of the ears the color 

 was a continuous red down to the shoulders on either side. 

 The fur was not so soft nor so line as that of a fox, and re- 

 minded one of the hair of a woodchuck. The gray color of 

 the body extended down to the feet. In short, as in the red 

 fox, the reddish yellow is the predominant tint, and shades 

 off into the other colors ; in this animal the woodchuck 

 gray predominates, and there is but little of reddish yellow 

 color, except the under side of the tail. 



We should like to know if you or any of your readers can 

 tell what kind of a fox the above-described animal is, as we 

 have never seen one like it before in this country ? 



Mr. George Buell, mentioned above, has quite a record as 

 a fox killer. Borne years ago a fox jumped on a fence in 

 front of him as he was about to water his horse. The fox 

 hesitated a moment on the fence, when Mr. Buell hurled a 

 brickbat at him, and struck him just back of the head, and 

 killed him. That, perhaps, was the first fox ever killed in 

 exactly that way ; and Mr. Buell's friends thought to equip 

 him with a sling and leather bag, but we believe that his 

 modesty made him decline the honor. C. W. R. 



[May the specimen not have been a gray fox CUroiuon 

 cinerco-anjentdius), but if bo, how about the tail ?] 



THE ENEMIES OF GAME BIRDS. 



New RussrA, Doc. 17th, 1881. 

 EdiioT Forest and Stream: 



Your Ferrisburg correspondent R, E. R. says.- "If 

 squirrels kill young grouse, why not chickens ?" One of my 

 neighbors who lives near a grove, informs me that hearing 

 one day an outcry in a coop of young chickens, he went out 

 aDd found a red squirrel attacking them. It had already 

 killed one or two. He drove it away three times that day, 

 but each time it succeeded in killing some of them. A 

 shooting friend also infoims me that he found a grouse's 

 nest of a dozen eggs, each egg bitten into by what he 

 thought was squirrel's teeth. 



Now, it is nonsense to think that they destroy 

 tree-nesting birds and would not do the same for those 

 that nest on the ground. 



When red squirrels are about as thick as we generally see 

 them, the harm they do to the grouse may be classed with 

 hawks and foxes ; but when they get to be as thick as house 

 flies, one to every square rod of woodland, as they do some- 

 times, and take it upon them to move through the country in 

 May and June in a half-starved condition, then look out for 

 your grouse crop. It will not take a very shrewd guesser to 

 foretell what the next autumn's shooting will be. 



I should think the ticli might destroy some grouse whore 

 the soil is hard, clay for instance, because they have no soft 

 dust to wallow in. Grouse wallow in the dust as persistently 

 as barn-yard fowls. They do it to free themselves from 

 vermin. I have never observed any ticks on the grouse in 

 this part of the country, but It I ; region may 



have something to do with it. Bainbmdgb Bisaoi\ 



The Decrease of Ruffed Grouse— Sherbrooke, Canada. 

 —The decrease of ruffed grouse is also a mutter of interest 

 to us. I don't know but we can kill as many in a day now 

 as we could five years ago, but we certainly have to go fur- 

 ther. Out of twenty- one grouse picked up last month, 

 only one was a female. Do you or any of your readers at- 

 tach any significance to that fact ? — Canada. 



Restaiieast Nattjbai. Histobt. — In front of a popular 

 retaurant in New York city there hung a young cariboo one 

 day last week. An explanatory placard contained the fol 

 lowing truthful legend, which we give verbatim, capitals and 

 all: " Cariboo. Native of Greenland. Captured in the 

 Neighborhood of the wreck of the Jeanetie. Procured for 

 this Hotel Direct. These Animals the cariboo are not -d for 

 their Peculiarity as Relative to Iheir Mode of living, having 

 nothing but Water Ice & Snow visible to the human Being 

 For their Sustenance." 



Tame Quail.— Chicago, 111., Dec, 20.— I have a tame 

 quail at home, which was caught last Juno just after being 

 hatched. He runs at liberty through the house and will re- 

 spond to a whistle readily. — Tun Bona. 



"English ano'Ameiuoan Song Bmos are the subj«c of an 

 rticle by John Burroughs in the January Ventwy. 



