'NATURAL HISTORY. 



387 



J. M. Baltimore asks, in February Rec- 

 reation, if young rattlesnakes ever take 

 refuge in the belly of the mother. Rattlers 

 were formerly numerous in Northern Illi- 

 nois. When breaking prairie there my 

 oxen were often frightened by snakes. 

 Merely to catch the scent of the reptiles 

 would fill them with terror. I remember 

 one occasion when they bolted from the 

 furrow and at the same time I heard a 

 snake rattle. The sound came from a hole 

 in the ground. Later I found the snake 

 lying beside it, with her body .greatly dis- 

 tended. Getting a stake I struck her with 

 such force that she was torn open. From 

 the wound issued 16 small snakes, 5 or 

 perhaps 6 inches long and exceedingly 

 lively. As all snakes I am familiar with 

 lay eggs, this experience may answer Mr. 

 Baltimore's question. 



S. W. Norton, Wilbamiria, Ore. 



I read in August Recreation Dr. Sper- 

 ry's query, "Do does lead?" I have done a 

 good deal of hunting and have found that 

 when watching a clover patch or a deer 

 lick the doe would always come to feed 15 

 to 30 minutes ahead of the buck. The doe 

 is more daring while the buck is more 

 cautious and wary. I have hunted deer 

 with hounds and have generally found 

 when several deer were running in front 

 of the dogs the doe was in the lead. When 

 pursued by hounds the buck will always* 

 try to get out of the way. He will circle 

 around sometimes on a point, 2 or 3 times, 

 while the doe will go straightaway. I 

 never saw a buck fight the dogs. I don't 

 think a buck cares a snap for the doe as 

 long as he can get out of danger himself. 



Sierra Nevada, 

 Grass Valley, Cal. 



I've noticed occasionally an article on 

 the muskrat. I see C. W. Morgareidge 

 has been trying a few of the animals on 

 flesh and fish. They evidently change their 

 habits in confinement. I have a distinct 

 recollection of having a large and ambitious 

 muskrat steal ducks I had killed, pulling 

 them under water within 20 feet of the 

 blind. I tore up one house and found 

 feathers and a partially eaten duck. On 

 one pond near Twin lakes, la., where rats 

 were particularly plentiful, it was necessary 

 to gather a duck at once to keep the rats 

 from getting it. I once saw two rats de- 

 vouring a duck I had shot the night before 

 and had been unable to find. Muskrats are 

 certainly carnivorous in Iowa, whatever 

 they may be in Wyoming. 



S. C. Quimby, Des Moines, la. 



the elk's attention and led it off, so the man was 

 enabled to escape.— -Exchange. 



It is possible the first statement in the 

 above report may be true. If so, I com- 

 mend the lumber camp custodian to the 

 tender mercies of St. Peter when the 

 woodsman approaches the golden gates. 

 The rest of the story is absurd. The elk 

 is as harmless and almost as wild an ani- 

 mal as a deer, and he is not around seek- 

 ing whom he may tree. Why doesn't the 

 editor of this paper state whether the dog 

 led the elk away by the nose, the ear, or 

 the tail? — Editor. 



Please tell me, if possible, from my de- 

 scription, the name of a bird about the 

 size of a robin, with mottled brown back 

 and wings. Near the tip of each wing on 

 the larger of 2 birds, probably f he male, is 

 a tiny red dot, about % inch wide. Above 

 this is a cream colored streak 1J4 to 2 

 inches long. The bird's breast is gray and 

 white, and on its head is a crest of feath- 

 ers projecting backward. There are more 

 wild birds here this year than I ever saw 

 before. 



W. H. Ireland, Earlville, N. Y, 



ANSWER. 



The bird may be the Bohemian waxwing, 

 Ampelis garrulus, in immature plumage, 

 but it is impossible to identify the species 

 with certainty from your description. — 

 Editor. 



Which species of pheasant is the most 

 hirdy and the easiest to raise? Where can 

 T find books on pheasant raising? 



G. J. Bicknell, Humboldt, la. 



ANSWER. 



Among game pheasants the Chinese is 

 :he most hardy and the only one that 

 thrives at large in this country. It is, 

 however, the hardest to raise in confine- 

 ment. Most of the aviary or fancy pheas- 

 ants are hardy under proper conditions. 

 The best small work on the subject, of 

 which I know, is "Pheasant Keeping for 

 Amateurs," by George Home, published 

 by L. U. Gill, 170 Strand, W. C., Lon- 

 don, Eng. It treats principally of the 

 English pheasant; and is reliable .and 

 helpful. — Editor. 



Animals of the following species are 

 wanted for the Zoological Park. Caribou, 

 Moose, Mule Deer, Prong-horned Ante- 

 lope, Grizzly Bear, Puma, Gibbons, Le- 

 murs, Howlers, Hoary Marmot, Wolver- 

 ine, Black Squirrel, Southern Fox Squir- 

 rel, Sewellel, and Beaver. 



A lumber camp tender near Pendleton saw an 

 elk, but would not shoot it on account of the 

 close season. The elk treed him, gun and all, 

 and kept him there for the night. In the morn- 

 ing the man's dog came looking for him, attracted 



The Bear Dens of the New York Zoo 

 Park now contain a series of American 

 black bears which make an interesting ex- 

 hibit of the variations of that species. The 

 differences both in color and form are very 



