NATURAL HISTORY. 



461 



vpigeon a few days since, near here. It was 

 one of a pair that came to some tame pig- 

 eons. Fortunately he preserved some of the 

 tail feathers and I was thus able to identify 

 the bird. This is the first one killed in this 

 district, so far as I can learn, for 16 years. 

 Some of the older half-breeds tell me that 

 while plentiful 25 years ago, in Manitoba, 

 very few ever come to this part (Assini- 

 boia). I have since been informed by one 

 •of these old timers that he saw a good sized 

 flock this summer in the Touchwood hills, 

 50 miles North, which are fairly well tim- 

 bered with poplar and have lots of berry 

 bushes. Of course there is no mast there, as 

 in the Eastern woods. If the pigeons come 

 here during the breeding season they would 

 be comparatively undisturbed. I fear their 

 .presence here is accidental. The mourning 

 dove is fairly plentiful and seems to be in- 

 creasing. 



The English sparrow is here at last._ The 

 first pair came to this village in the spring of 

 "gy. They were tolerably numerous in the 

 fall, and a few wintered here; but I noticed 

 they were not conspicuous when it was 40 

 below zero. Last spring they were heavily 

 reinforced and now (July) they are in hun- 

 dreds. From this I should judge they are 

 partly migratory. 



I have found great pleasure in Mr. 

 "Thompson's articles and illustrations, and in 

 Mr. Allan Brook's very life-like drawings, 

 which have appeared in Recreation. Will 

 Mr. Brooks kindly inform us if the wood 

 ■duck and the black duck are found in British 

 Columbia? Geo. F. Guernsey. 



PEDAGOGIC VANDALISM. 



A fool school teacher, who shouldknow 

 better, has started every school boy in this 

 "town studying natural history, as he calls 

 it, and has them ail collecting birds' eggs. 

 Unless something is done to stop it we 

 won't have a song bird or a game bird in 

 the vicinity. Some of these boys don't even 

 leave the nests. I should like some infor- 

 mation, in order that a friend and I may 

 take such steps as may be necessary to 

 •stop this destruction. 



A. Sidney Doane, Glen Cove, L. I. 



Section 80, Game Laws of New York, as 

 .amended in 1897, reads: 



" The nests of wild birds shall not be 

 robbed, or wilfully or needlessly destroyed 

 unless when necessary to protect buildings, 

 or prevent their defacement." 



Under this law the egg-hunting com- 

 plained of can easily be stopped; merely by 

 informing the teacher and pupils of the law, 

 and advising them that it- must be obeyed, 

 or arrests and prosecutions will follow. 

 Most people in this State are ignorant of 

 the existence of this admirable law. There 

 are plenty of .objects for the pupils to study 

 •without a wholesale robbing of birds' nests. 



AN ALBINO DEER. 



Dixon, 111. 



Editor Recreation: While taking views 

 for the C. & N. W. railway, in Northern 

 Wisconsin, I found a freak of nature in the 

 shape of a white deer. I had never heard 

 of such a thing before, so I send you a photo 

 of it. Is it something that happens often, 

 or is it very rare? 



An Indian of the Chippewa tribe shot it, 

 and has since thrown away his gun and re- 

 fuses to hunt any more, as the Indians seem 

 to regard the white deer as something 

 sacred. 



Recreation is doing a great deal of good, 

 as most of the fishermen here stop fishing, 

 now, when they make a reasonable catch; 

 very few of them go to extremes. 



You certainly deserve a great deal of 

 credit for the good work you are doing in 

 the preservation of game and fish. 



Henry A. Brown. 



ANSWER. 



White deer, while somewhat rare, are oc- 

 casionally found in almost every section of 

 the country where deer range. There are 

 probably several hundred mounted speci- 

 mens' of these in the United States, and 

 many illustrations of them have been pub- 

 lished. I published one in Recreation 

 about a year ago. Albinos occasionally oc- 

 cur in nearly all species of quadrupeds and 

 birds. — Editor. 



NATURAL HISTORY NOTES. 



I want someone to give me a good reason 

 for protecting blue jays. I think they ought 

 to be shot wherever found. I have seen 

 them eat the eggs and young of robins, 

 time and again. The young of the English 

 sparrow they never touch. The blue jay may 

 be a songster, but I never heard any war- 

 blings that emanated from his throat. I 

 have shot blue jays repeatedly and shall con- 

 tinue to^ do so until convinced I am wrong. 

 Then I will quit. I have crawled on my 

 stomach half a mile for a shot at game, only 

 to have a blue jay scream like a tiger cat 

 and ruin my chances. It may be all right 

 but it is aggravating, to say the least. 



Thos. J. Buchanan, Huntington, Ind. 



Replying to your inquiry about the Ameri- 

 can passenger pigeon I can neither confirm 

 nor deny the statement of the gentleman in 

 regard to the birds in question. If I knew 

 what part of Mexico he has been traveling 

 through, I should be in a position to help 

 you. Passenger pigeons are not in these 

 parts, as far as I know. If any can be found 

 in this vicinity, it will surprise and delight 

 me greatly. 



A. E. Crosby, San Luis Potosi, Mexico. 



In making up your list of Christmas 

 presents put down a yearly subscription to 

 Recreation, for each of your best friends. 



