304 



RECREATION. 



the cavity with the mixture. Then hang 

 the bird up 2 days by the legs, in order 

 that the salt may more effectually pene- 

 trate round the muscles and ligaments 

 which connect the vertebrae of the neck. 

 Then place the bird in a frame to dry in 

 the same attitude we usually see it when 

 alive. In this frame it must be held by 

 2 threads ; one passing from the vent to the 

 lower part of the back and the other 

 through the eye. The ends of these 

 threads are to brace up the bird to its 

 natural attitude, and fasten to the beam 

 of the frame above. Lastly the feet are to 

 be fixed down with pins or small nails. 

 In this situation it is to remain for a 

 month or more, until the bird is perfectly 

 dry) which may be readily known by 

 its stiffness) , when it may be taken out of 

 the frame. The eyes must be replaced 

 with glass beads fixed in with strong gum 



water. 



THE MEANEST MAN ON EARTH. 



The meanest man on earth lives here. 

 Among his abundant possessions is a 

 fine cherry tree. The red-headed wood- 

 peckers love the cherries and the old man 

 is too stingy to either divide with them or 

 use good ammunition on them. He has, 

 therefore, devised a plan by which he can 

 kill them without expense. He secured 

 a long pole and planted it firmly in the 

 ground near the trunk of the tree, letting 

 the top extend about 3 feet above the 

 topmost branches. Then he took an ax 

 and a chair, sat down by the pole and 

 waited. All the woodpeckers that came 

 to the tree would light first on the pole. 

 Whenever one did so, the old cuss would 

 spit on his hands and swat the pole with his 

 ax. The poor bird would fall, its life 

 knocked out by the shock. In that way 

 this economical beast killed every red : 

 head in the neighborhood. If there is a 

 meaner man alive he ought to be lynched. 

 Ed. C. Hill, Horse Cave, Ky. 



My attention was called by Dr. A. N. 

 Sheffner to the query, " Do grouse drink? " 

 I told the Doctor I would investigate, as 

 I had frequently flushed grouse from my 

 water tank. I find that grouse do drink. 

 Their method of drinking is similar to that 

 of the common barnyard fowl, namely, 

 dipping down the head and filling the 

 mouth, then raising the head and swal- 

 lowing the water. 



T. P. Aspinall, Hay Springs, Neb. 



At Chamberlain, So. Dak., during a 

 snowstorm the night of December 4th 

 last, there fell a shower of birds. They 

 were the little cow birds common on the 

 prairie and looking much like English 

 sparrows. The fall began about 10 p. m. 

 The next morning there were thousands 



of dead birds all over the town and ad- 

 jacent prairie. Fifty were counted on the 

 roof of one building. Here and there a 

 living bird was found, able to hop about 

 but incapable of flying though apparently 

 uninjured. How do you account for the 

 fall of the birds and their death? 



Reader, Volin, South Dakota. 



ANSWER. 



The birds were probably caught by the 

 cold storm while in a famished condition, 

 and were consequently unable to with- 

 stand the exposure. — Editor. 



Kindly state through Recreation how 

 to distinguish blacktail deer from mule 

 deer. A. Morris, Florence, Mont. 



There are no blacktail deer in Montana. 

 The blacktail is found only on the Western 

 slope of the Cascade mountains, and in the 

 coast range in Oregon, Washington and 

 British Columbia. It is almost identical 

 with the whitetail deer except that its 

 tail is black on the outside. The mule 

 deer is the mountain deer of Montana, 

 so called because its ears are large and 

 shaped somewhat like those of a mule; 

 its tail is slightly black on the outside, 

 but nothing like that of the true black- 

 tail. The mule deer is called a blacktail 

 by 9-10 of the people who speak of it. — 

 Editor. 



Mr. Wixson is right in saying that eels 

 migrate. Six years ago the boys hauled 

 $3,000 worth of eels from the bottom of 

 South bay. These were found in beds 

 in 20, 30 and even 40 feet of water, and 

 were caught with eel spears lashed to long 

 poles. All winter, as long as the ice would 

 hold them, 60 to 100 men worked at eeling. 

 Spears and poles were at a premium in 

 those days. Since then but few eels have 

 been taken in the bay. 



A. D. Milford, Ont. 



During December, 1901, 7 Arctic owls 

 were killed in this vicinity. They are all 

 being mounted by our local taxidermist. 

 They present an attractive appearance. 

 Is not such a flight of these birds an 

 unusual occurrence? Yet consider the 

 wanton destruction. 



F. S. W., Elk Rapids, Mich. 



In January Recreation, on page 

 20, the statement is made that the young 

 woodcock flies when no larger than a 

 bumble bee. If this be true, then, surely, 

 "he runs with the shell on his head," if 

 not all around him. 



Robt. J. Sim, Jefferson, O 



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