56 



RECREATION. 



the bird would remember us kindly if we 

 were to meet again. The bird was docile 

 until we came to natural timber, when he 

 became interested at once and plainly indi- 

 cated a desire to be released. While driv- 

 ing through open country or past artificial 

 groves he remained perfectly quiet, but 

 each patch or grove of native wood inter- 

 ested him keenly. The incident seems pe- 

 culiar from the fact that ruffed grouse have 

 never been numerous here, and are now 

 practically extinct. Mr. Briggs is a sports- 

 man, and an active member of the L. A. S., 

 as the many applications you have received 

 bearing his name as witness will testify; 

 so the grouse fell in good hands. 



Henrv A. Morgan, Albert Lea, Minn. 



PURE CHINESE. 



In August Recreation I notice a re- 

 view by Mr. Darlington of my article on 

 Chinese pheasants. I hope his request 

 that we hear from others will be granted, 

 but should like to add a few facts to my 

 first article in direct reply to him. Mr. 

 Geo. Home, of England, who has im- 

 ported and raised many pheasants, says : 

 "The original home of the pure English 

 pheasant is the Thasis river, Trans-Cau- 

 casia. In the pure bird the whole coloring 

 is inclined to a dark, rich red, the sides 

 being extremely dark. English pheasants 

 in England to-day are totally different 

 from what they were when first introduced 

 and hardly any 2 are alike. The Chinese 

 pheasant, by inbreeding, is rapidly losing 

 all traces of the original bird we had 

 from the Thasis river." 



Hon. O. N. Denny, of Portland, Oregon, 

 lived in China and Corea 14 years. He 

 raised Chinese pheasants there and intro- 

 duced them into this country. He objects 

 to their being called Mongolian, as it is 

 not the correct name. 



In a letter, Mrs. Denny says : "These 

 birds are the pure ring-necked China 

 pheasant, absolutely pure, no matter what 

 anyone may say to the contrary." They 

 are common all over China, Corea and 

 Mongolia. She adds that she never heard 

 of one being called Mongolian in the East. 

 Mr. Davenport, of New Jersey, who has 

 the largest collection of pheasants in the 

 world, says there is a Mongolian pheasant, 

 but it has never been seen in this country. 

 It is twice as large as the Chinese. 



I have been raising the Chinese birds 6 

 years, and they breed true to type and 

 markings. If Mr. Darlington breeds birds 

 of various sizes and markings, some with 

 collar perfect, others with but little white 

 on neck, from the same matings, it proves 

 beyond any doubt that there is English 

 blood in the stock. That mixture is al- 

 ways easier to raise than the pure blood. 

 H. R. Foster, Ashby, Mass. 



COONS DO CALL. 



I note what Mr. Wakeman says about 

 coons making a noise. Until 3 or 4 years 

 ago I always doubted that coons could 

 call to one another. My wife and I were 

 camped on one of the tributaries of the 

 Saginaw river. I heard during the night 

 this so-called coon or screech owl call di- 

 rectly across the stream from our tent. 

 I got up to investigate and found a young 

 coon in a trap across the river. 



The animal made a noise much like the 

 screech owl's call. The coon would rise on 

 tip toes, hump up his back and make this 

 sound, repeating it every 2 or 3 minutes. 

 The call that coon gave at least 50 

 times while I watched him was a hoo-hoo- 

 hoo in rapid succession and on a key near 

 to the moaning dove's note. A man might 

 hear this call all his life and not know it 

 was a coon's, but I happened to be fortu- 

 nate in seeing what I have related. 



R. P. Alden, Saginaw, Mich. 



We had 5 half-grown coons in our 

 show window. As soon as the lights were 

 turned out at night and everything was 

 quiet, they would make a noise similar to 

 that made by a screech owl or a tree frog. 

 I can not say whether the sound was made 

 by the male or the females. It was of suf- 

 ficient volume to be heard 300 or 400 yards 

 under favorable conditions. I have had 

 Observing hunters tell me that during 

 mating season coons will call and answer 

 from one wood to another at sundown, and 

 later. I don't think anyone will question 

 the ability of a coon to make a noise when 

 he is nailed by a dog. These coons were 

 captured in a rather peculiar manner. A 

 turtle net, which had been baited with fish, 

 was pulled out of the river and left over 

 night on the bank. The next morning it 

 had a mother coon and five youngsters in 

 it. Claude Rapp, Troy, O. 



WOLF AND FOX TRAPPING. 



No one can tell Mr. Carey the best way 

 for him to trap wolves and foxes, because 

 a method successful in one man's hands 

 may prove an utter failure in another's. 

 Mr. Carey must experiment for himself, al- 

 ways remembering that when intelligence 

 is pitted against brute cunning the odds 

 are with the latter. 



For wolf trapping use a No. 4 trap with 

 8 inch spread of jaws, a 6 or 8 foot chain 

 with a 3 pronged drag hook, and a clog of 

 about 40 pounds weight. For foxes use a 

 No. 2 trap with 4^ inch spread, a light 

 chain and grab, and no drag. Many trap- 

 pers use the common single spring rat trap 

 for foxes. 



Dip your traps in fresh blood of any 

 kind ; dip. also, a clean pair of gloves. Let 

 all dry, and thereafter do not touch traps 

 or bait save with the gloves. Choose your 



