476 



RECREATION. 



banks and as far from the current as pos- 

 sible. Where wild rice starts, it will crowd 

 out all other vegetation. I have never 

 planted rice in the spring, but think good 

 seed would grow if sowed early. I do not 

 know whether or not rice will grow in 

 water impregnated with alkali. 



Have dealt in wild rice for 24 years; buy- 

 ing it from Indians. I clean the seed, and 

 dry in a drying house. It requires 3 weeks 

 to dry, and is turned 6 times a day. 



Charles Gilchrist, Port Hope, Ont. 



FLOATING ISLANDS OF HENRY'S LAKE. 



For years I have read of the " floating 

 islands " in Henry's lake, Idaho, and lately 

 saw them mentioned in the Edison Encyclo- 

 pedia, under the head of " Wonders of the 

 World." The largest island, of the 4 in 

 the lake, is described as being covered with 

 trees, and as having a house on it. 



I lived 12 years at Henry's lake, and have 

 seen all the so-called islands in motion. It 

 is true the largest island had a house on it. 

 It was built by a Mr. Muskrat, and, for a 

 while, occupied by him. The timber on the 

 island consists of a bunch erf willows. 

 There are, perhaps, a dozen stems in the 

 bunch, not one of them large enough for 

 a cane. The island is about 20 feet across, 

 and will not sustain the weight of a man. 

 The 3 smaller islands are mere floating 

 bogs, 2 to 4 feet wide. 



Henry's lake is 4 miles wide and 6 miles 

 long. Its greatest depth is less than 6 feet; 

 its average depth not over 2 feet. During 

 the spring the water raises about 3 feet, but 

 subsides to the usual level in a week or so. 

 M. P. Dunham, Ovando, Mont. 



NATURAL HISTORY NOTES. 



I wish to contribute this note toward the 

 extermination of wolves. They are now, 

 and have been for years, very troublesome 

 in the South Platte valley, in Northeastern 

 Colorado, where I practiced medicine for 

 some years. 



Many hunters used to buy strychnine, in- 

 stead of the much more soluble sulphate of 

 strychnine, for poisoning wolves. The for- 

 mer is soluble only in 6,700 parts of cold 

 water; while the latter dissolves in 50 parts. 

 The inference is obvious; since the object 

 in poisoning is to have the drug absorbed 

 as quickly as possible. This is, of course, 

 especially desirable when one wishes to save 

 the skins of the animals poisoned, since 

 they cannot then travel so far 



I have known many hunters who used 

 the whole crystals of the drug in the bait, 

 instead of pulverizing them. Naturally the 

 powder is dissolved and absorbed much 

 more quickly than the coarse crystals. 



J. N. Hall, M.D., Denver, Col. 



There has been considerable said as to 

 whether coyotes are a benefit or a nuisance. 

 Many say coyotes will eat prairie dogs and 

 gophers, and thus prove useful; but here 

 on Muddy Creek they are troublesome and 

 do considerable damage to young stock, 

 while prairie dogs and gophers do not di- 

 minish perceptibly. In the last 2 or 3 weeks 

 they have killed 6 or 7 lambs within 500 

 yards of the house. None of the lambs 

 were eaten much. The coyotes seemingly 

 kill them for fun. We put strychnine in the 

 carcases and in 3 nights succeeded in get- 

 ting 4 coyotes. Possibly more died in the 

 brush where we could not find them, yet we 

 still hear the familiar howl every night. I 

 think they are on the increase, or at least 

 are not diminishing. Wolves have not done 

 much damage here so far, but as soon as 

 the hard weather sets in I expect they will 

 be as bad as ever. I have seen tracks of 

 some very large ones in the snow, in the 

 foot-hills. 



A. Y. Adcock, Casper, Wyo. 



While in the woods recently I came to 

 an old saw mill dam. I heard a rustling in 

 the leaves, and keeping quite still I saw a 

 red fox come up to the water with a piece 

 of pine bark in his mouth. He waded into 

 the water so I could see only his nose, or 

 the piece of bark, sticking out. He stayed 

 that way for about 5 minutes, then dropped 

 the bark in the water, scampered out and 

 ran back into the woods. I examined the 

 bark and found it covered with fleas. 



Peter Kachline, Stockertown, Pa. 



A friend of mine, taxidermist and natural- 

 ist, has a green heron, shot here last sum- 

 mer, with but one leg. Where the other 

 should be there are not even the traces of 

 a rudimentary leg. Otherwise, the bird is 

 perfect. Several prairie horned larks were 

 shot on the meadows here last season. So 

 far as can be ascertained they are the first 

 ever seen in Massachusetts. 



T. W. Burgess, Springfield, Mass. 



Mr. B. B. Brooks of Casper, Wyo., seems 

 to have been unfortunate in his use of 

 strychnia in poisoning wolves. Let me sug- 

 gest that he procure crystallized strychnia, 

 of best quality, which is put up in ^ oz. 

 vials. Distribute }A ounce through the car- 

 cass of a steer, by splitting the carcass and 

 slashing the meat; and note the result. 



L. S. Kelly, New York. 



David McDougal got 3 sheep heads last 

 season, 14^ inches, 13 and 15^. He re- 

 ports sheep plentiful. He also got a moun- 

 tain lion which measured 11 feet 6 inches. 

 The boys would not be without Recrea- 

 tion for twice its cost. 



Harry Chapman, Vernon, B. C. 



