490 



RECREATION. 



his life to the odor of the crocodile grease 

 with which he had rubbed his body. 



How much less perilous would the 

 animal trainer's occupation be to-day if he 

 thoroughly understood the effect certain 

 odors have on the ferocious beasts with 

 which he has to mingle. What would he 

 not give if he knew the ingredients of the 

 aromatics and perfumed oil which the 

 women threw on Thecles and which saved 

 him from the very jaws of death. 



N. H. Covert, Beaver Falls, Pa. 



SEEN IN ONE WALK. 



Near my home is a clump of wild cherry 

 bushes which have grown up around an 

 old stump. Catbirds, robins, and thrushes 

 can usually be found there during cherry 

 season. One Sunday afternoon I saun- 

 tered down to this clump. On my way a 

 gopher scampered across the walk in front 

 of me. I stood perfectly still, and, seeing 

 I did not move, he went'back to the grass. 

 He looked at me again and began dig- 

 ging. I moved softly nearer. He sniffed 

 at the ground and began to dig again. At 

 last he brought*up a fat, white grub, which 

 he ate. I was then only about 6 feet away. 

 After he had finished that grub he got 

 another, and had just finished that when 

 he was frightened by something and went 

 into his hole. 



When I arrived at the clump I tried to 

 steal in quietly, but one of the birds evi- 

 dently saw me and gave one note, at which 

 all the others seemed to look around. 

 Then the catbird, for such it evidently was, 

 flew away and the rest followed him. I sat 

 down, however, and began to read. In 

 about 5 minutes a catbird came hopping 

 along a fence nearby, peering at me first 

 with one eye and then with the other. 

 Having looked me over to Ins satisfaction, 

 he flew to the main part of the clump and 

 began jerking off the cherries. One after 

 another the birds returned, eying me sus- 

 piciously, and then, flying to the branches, 

 began eating, until about io catbirds, 3 

 robins, and a brown thrush had returned. 

 The clump seemed fairly alive, and I could 

 plainly see the catbirds, which had become 

 quite bold, jerking off cherries, using their 

 tails as a tight-rope walker uses his bal- 

 ancing pole, then uttering the plaintive cat- 

 call from which they get their name. 



The slate color of the catbird, the brown 

 back and spotted breasts of the thrushes, 

 the red of the robin, the red and black 

 cherries, and the beautiful green of the fo- 

 liage made a picture never to be forgotten. 

 The birds stayed about an hour, some 

 coming, some going, till at last all were 

 gone except 2 catbirds. 



I saw 6 robins in a low cherry tree, and, 

 intent on creeping up to them, ran into 



gome so on the ground. They only flew 



into the tree, however, and began cheep- 

 ing, once in a while singing a song. Soon 

 a pair of flickers came up, and seemed be- 

 wildered by the noise the robins were 

 making. The flickers were on a white oak, 

 and had it not been for their red crescents 

 it would have been almost impossible to 

 distinguish them from the bark. It was 

 then quite late, but the vesper sparrow was 

 still singing, while one meadow lark and 

 one robin kept up their respective whistle 

 and song. 



E. B. Dibble, St. Paul, Minn. 



OF DOUBTFUL VALUE. 



I have heard that the plant golandrina is 

 a specific in cases of rattlesnake bite. Go- 

 landrina, which in Spanish means sweet 

 home, is often used by the Mexicans for 

 healing old sores, and is abundant in many 

 places. Will you please investigate the 

 merits of this plant as a remedy for rattle- 

 snake bites and publish the result in Rec- 

 reation ? Everyone ought to know of this 

 remedy if it is reliable. 



Ethan Allen, Pueblo, Colo. 



ANSWER. 



Cures suggested for the bites of venom- 

 ous snakes have been many and varied, and 

 golandrina is yet another added to the list. 

 Twenty years ago numberless herbs and 

 drugs were considered infallible; yet how 

 they acquired their reputation is a mystery, 

 unless they were used in the case of a bite 

 from a harmless snake, which would prove 

 nothing. 



In recent years the venom of serpents 

 has received scientific attention, which has 

 culminated in the decision that the effects 

 of a deadly apparatus provided by Nature 

 to kill must be treated with an alternative 

 derived through immunization. Thus has 

 diphtheria been successfully conquered with 

 anti-toxin. Hence the antidote for snake 

 bite found most promising of success, in 

 fact, now considered by numerous medical 

 authorities as infallible, is the anti-venom- 

 ous serum secured through the immuniza- 

 tion of large animals by Dr. Albert Cal- 

 mette, of Lille, France. 



The first thing to do in the instance of a 

 bite from a poisonous snake is to lacerate 

 the punctures made by the fangs, causing 

 the blood to flow freely. This should be 

 followed by a ligature above the injured 

 part. The injection of anti- venomous se- 

 rum, or, in the case of the absence of the 

 same, strydhnine, should be the next and 

 final step. 



In a case of snake bite, whisky, a once 

 famous antidote, does nothing but stimu- 

 late the action of the heart, which the 

 venom tends to decrease. Its use in mod- 

 erate quantities is to be recommended, but 

 is not imperative, It has absolutely no 



