NATURAL HISTORY. 



$7 



them to her young crows. I have seen a 

 crow find a young bird on the ground, that 

 was unable to fly, kill it, carry it off 

 somew+iere and eat it. I have also found 

 old rabbits that had been killed by crows. 

 I once tracked a rabbit out in a stubble field 

 and found where it had made a place in a 

 bunch of grass to sit in through the day. 

 Later the same rabbit was caught and killed 

 by crows, and all that was left were the 

 bones to tell the story of Mister Rabbit. I 

 have found many such cases in hunting 

 rabbits. ' 



H. C. Beahler, Rosland, 111. 



having been published in several standard 

 works on natural history. 



T. Barbour, New York City. 



BREEDING FUR-BEARERS. 

 Can beaver, otter, marten, fisher and 

 mink be bred in captivity? Would I be 

 successful if I should corral about 500 

 acres, with creek running through the 

 tract from a neighboring lake, put each 

 species in a separate enclosure, so each 

 would # have a share of the creek, and give 

 them their liberty? Would you advise me 

 to©keep the males from all the above or 

 from any one of them? If I kill off 2-3 of 

 the males each year would it be safe to let 

 the remainder run at large among the fe- 

 males? 



H. F. Shipley, Storlie, N. D. 



ANSWER. 



The animals named can be bred in cap- 

 tivity; but no man has yet found a way to 

 breed them at a profit. Not being a 

 prophet, I can not say whether you would 

 be successful or not in attempting to breed 

 fur-bearing animals on a tract of 500 acres. 

 The only way to find out is to try it. Dur- 

 ing the season of bearing and rearing young 

 the females should be kept separate from 

 the males. At other times there would be 

 no danger in allowing the 2 sexes to run 

 together. — Editor. 



FLIGHTS OF SNOWY OWLS. 

 I saw in April Recreation a query from 

 F. S. W., Elk Rapids, Mich., about the oc- 

 currence of the flights of Arctic, or snowy, 

 owls. These flights are probably due to 

 storms of especial severity in the Northern 

 regions. About 5 years ago a number of 

 these owls were taken along the Hudson 

 river and in the Northern part of this 

 State and New Jersey. Some of these 

 owls were said to fish in the Hudson river, 

 diving for their prey like the osprey. This 

 year the birds appear remarkably numer- 

 ous. The New York Zoological Society 

 has received specimens from Minnesota 

 and Long Island to the number of 10. 

 Probably the most remarkable flight on rec- 

 ord was about 1850, when some 60 of these 

 birds were said to have rested in the rig- 

 ging of a ship in the North Atlantic ocean. 

 This story I have on good authority, it 



RODENTS EAT SHED HORNS. 



The inquiry in March Recreation by E. 

 E. Mtinn regarding deer horns called to 

 my mind several things I have noticed. 

 In the spring of 1880 I passed through 

 a grove of juniper and mahogany 

 trees covering about 20 acres, that 

 had been the winter quarters of a 

 bunch of mule deer. At that time I saw 

 at least 30 pairs of horns. A few years 

 later I passed over the same ground, and 

 was surprised to find only 2 or 3 horns, 

 and they were almost entirely eaten by 

 rodents. Since then I have noticed that a 

 pair of horns left in the woods will be 

 eaten in a short time. As deer are less 

 numerous in this locality than they were 

 a few years ago, it is hard to find any horns 

 in the woods that have lain there longer 

 than a year. I saw one deer killed in No- 

 vember with horns still in the velvet, and 

 have seen a few deer carrying their old 

 horns in April. 



S. R. O., Klamath Agency, Oregon. 



NATURAL HISTORY NOTES. 



One day about noon I saw a peculiar 

 object floating in the air a short distance 

 away. It proved a large spider web, much 

 resembling a parachute. About 3 feet be- 

 low it was a spider, suspended by threads 

 from the main body, which was about 2 

 feet across. I followed it on a run for 

 over half a mile, but it kept above my 

 reach, sometimes only a few feet, and at 

 others fully 50. Finally at the top of a 

 hill overlooking the Chemung river at 

 least 150 feet, I lost sight of the little ad- 

 venturer and his balloon, as he floated out 

 over the valley. If others of your readers 

 have seen spider balloonists I should be 

 glad to hear of it. 



J. B. Bray, Waverly, N. Y. 



Chicago. — The Illinois Audubon society is go- 

 ing to strike a blow at the root of the fashion 

 of wearing sea gulls and terns for hat decorations. 

 The society has decided that moral suasion with 

 the women is not effective, and that the people 

 to get after are the dealers. Every millinery 

 house in Chicago, wholesale and retail, is to be 

 served with a notice that the selling of skins of 

 gulls, terns and song birds is illegal under the law 

 of Illinois. The name of each bird which it is 

 forbidden to buy or sell will be given, in order 

 that ignorance can not be pleaded as an excuse 

 for law violation. A committee chosen by the 

 directors of the society will visit the retail milli- 

 ners, and after an inspection of the stocks will 

 point out to responsible persons the birds which 

 it is unlawful for them to sell. The committee 

 will then request that the prohibited bird skins 

 be returned to the supply house from which they 

 were bought. If the merchants agree to do this 

 they will avert prosecution. — Exchange. 



