NATURAL HISTORY. 



55 



not touch either the fish or the meat. This 

 was sufficient to satisfy me that muskrats 

 are not carnivorous. 



C. W. Morgareidge, 

 Supt. Fish Hatchery, 

 District No. 2, Wolf, Wyo. 



NATURAL HISTORY NOTES. 

 Mr. L. L. Bales, of Alaska, a frequent 

 correspondent of Recreation, and a man 

 apparently well acquainted with the North- 

 west, says in a back number of Recrea- 

 tion, "In the Alexandrian archipelago 

 deer, bear and grouse are plentiful." 

 (Vol. IX., 1898, No. 5, p. 362.) I should 

 be glad if Mr. Bales would tell .me what 

 kind of bear these are. I have been work- 

 ing lately on ursine distribution, and am 

 grateful for personal records, especially 

 from men of travel and observers of na- 

 ture. There are 3 species of bears that 

 might occur on these islands. Baranof Is- 

 lands is the type locality of the Sitka or 

 Yukutal bear, Ursus. dalli. The black bear, 

 U. americanus, and the grizzly, both wan- 

 der as far North as Alaska. If Mr. Bales 

 is not sure which it was he saw, a short 

 description from memory might be inter- 

 esting, if not valuable. I should like also 

 to hear from any other readers of Recrea- 

 tion who have shot or seen rare species of 

 bears. W. S. Wallace, 



New York City. 



March 21, 1901, my fellow townsman, 

 Mr. W. F. Knott, went to shoot ducks 

 over decoys at a slough South of town. 

 There was a stiff Southwest breeze and 

 snow was flying. Suddenly a large bird 

 flew down among the decoys and grasped 

 one of the canvas decoys; then hovered in 

 the air, looking wonderingly at the 

 strange, light duck, when Mr. Knott shot 

 the thief, which was a large female Ameri- 

 can eagle. The fight of the wounded bird 

 before Mr. Knott succeeded in drowning 

 her was an experience not to be forgot- 

 ten. The eagle measured 6 feet between 

 the tips of the wings, and 34 inches from 

 the tip of the bill to the tip of the tail. 



We had a long winter and the many 

 blizzards in the North and Northwest 

 drove the eagle where she hoped to se- 

 cure food. The specimen is highly prized 

 by the local Agassiz Chapter, and will 

 have a permanent place in their museum. 

 Clarence E. Hemingway, M. D. 



Oak Park, 111. 



Answering J. M. Baltimore, of Spokane, 

 Washington, I don't know much about 

 rattle snakes as we have none in this sec- 

 tion of New York State; but 4 years ago 

 last August 2 friends and I were out for 

 a stroll through woodland and field 



when we came upon a large greenish 

 brown snake. As we made an attack on 

 the reptile we discovered 4 or 5 young 

 ones about 4 inches in length. They were 

 wriggling about the mother and soon dis- 

 appeared. I was sure they had in the 

 meantime been swallowed by the parent 

 snake. After dispatching the snake we 

 immediately dissected it and to our great 

 surprise found in the stomach 13 little 

 snakes, measuring 3^ to 4% inches in 

 length. Clifford R. Crofoot, 



South Butler, N. Y. 



How do you spend your summer? Do 

 you camp out, take a canoeing trip, a 

 yachting cruise, live on a houseboat, have 

 a cottage by the sea or a cabin in the 

 mountains? If any of these joys is yours, 

 complete it by adding to your outfit a 

 Primus oil stove. You can get one free 

 of cost by sending me 4 yearly subscrip- 

 tions to Recreation at $1 each. The 

 Primus stove is a perfect cooker and 

 heater. With one of these in your out- 

 fit you can defy many discomforts that 

 prevail in outdoor life without one. Send 

 me the club and let me give you a chance 

 to 'try a Primus. 



If you would like a $10 Wizard camera, 

 send me 5 yearly subscriptions and I will 

 have the camera shipped you direct from 

 factory. This is one of the most remark- 

 able premium offers I have ever made. 

 Naturally Jt will only be open a short time. 

 If you wish to avail yourself of it, please 

 get up your club at once. I have never 

 before given one of these cameras for less 

 than 9 subscriptions. 



Every family uses salad on the table at 

 least once a day. No piece of table ware, 

 therefore, could be more useful than a 

 salad bowl. Every housekeeper who likes 

 to have her table look beautiful should 

 send me 10 subscriptions and earn for her- 

 self one of the exquisite cut glass salad 

 bowls I offer for such a club. 



For a short time only I can give a $l2f 

 Wizard camera as premium for 8 subscrip- 

 tions. This is a remarkable offer, as I 

 have never before asked less than 12 sub- 

 scriptions for this camera, and everyone 

 knows the Wizard is worth full value. 



A Laughlin Fountain Pen, listed at $3, 

 for 3 yearly subscriptions to Recreation. 

 Everyone knows the advantage of having 

 a good fountain pen in his pocket, and this 

 is one of that kind. 



