THE REFERENDUM 



373 



neither of these things is as ridiculous as a 

 coming generation will some day (some very 

 early clay, I think,) consider us who have 

 long ago conquered the Lion, but who sur- 

 render still in abject helplessness to the rag- 

 ing Tiger Joel Benton. 



LAND BIRDS ON THE SEASHORE. 



Editor Recreation : 



While' walking on the beach at Southamp- 

 ton, L. I., in the early part of July, my atten- 

 tion was attracted by what I at first thought 

 a most peculiar looking snipe. The bird was 

 busily engaged following close after each re- 

 ceding wave, picking the sand-fleas from the 

 wet sand in exactly the manner of the sand- 

 piper or teeter. As I came closer I saw that 

 the bird was a robin, but his motions as he 

 skirted the foaming margins of the waves 

 were so close an imitation of the snipe, that 

 I scarcely felt sure of him until I got close 

 to him, and he rose on the wing and flew back 

 over the sand-dunes to the lawns and hedges 

 of the upland. On several following days I 

 saw a robin similarly engaged, but it was 

 evidently the same bird. I never saw but one 

 on the beach at a time, although on the lawns 

 they were very plentiful. I saw about the 

 same times several English sparrows also en- 

 gaged in following the waves and picking up 

 the sand-fleas. It seems to me an interesting 

 instance of birds modifying their habits to 

 conform to their environments. 



Joseph Fitch, New York. 



ON THE EAST COAST. 



Editor Recreation : 



i am going to tell you of a little trip I made 

 up one of Florida's famous streams. A friend 

 who was doing some dredging for the Florida 

 East Coast Railway away up the north fork 

 of the St. Louis, had repeatedly asked me to 

 make him a visit, saying he had a comforta- 

 ble houseboat, a good cook and a man hard 

 to lose in Florida's primeval forest. These 

 things presented too many temptations for me 

 to longer pass up. So I made a date and in 

 due time arrived at headquarters. 



A prettier spot I never saw. The north fork 

 at this point is only about thirty yards wide, 

 its waters are dark and rather sluggish, but 

 full of bass. On either side of the stream 

 stand huge live oaks, probably hundreds of 

 years old ; hanging from the limbs are yards 

 of Spanish moss closely resembling the 

 beards of the patriarchs ; cabbage palms also 

 form no inconsiderable part of the forest, 

 making together an ideal resting-place, a place 

 for speculation and dreams. What was left 

 of the first day was given up to listening to 

 my friend's recital of the prospects for game 

 ?md fishing, getting out the tackle, etc. Un- 

 fortunately the next morning my friend was 

 taken with a severe bilious attack, but he 

 insisted upon my taking his man, who is an 



Ethiopian Knight, the launch, and a skiff, for 

 a trip up the river. So early the next morning 

 we started. As we were preparing to let go a 

 water moccasin was seen slowly crawling 

 upon the bank. A 22 fixed him for all time. 

 We could only use the launch a short dis- 

 tance on account of snags, so we took to the 

 skiff, which the coon slowly poled up the 

 stream, while I went after the bass. A bass 

 fly was not to be had at Palm Beach, so I 

 had to rely upon a No. 8 trout fly which I 

 haopened to have a stock of left over from 

 my last year's trout fishing in Colorado. A 

 trout rod and a No. 8 fly isn't exactly a 13- 

 inch gun with which to go after 2 to 5-pound 

 bass, but if yon don't want a boatload of fish 

 that you can't dispose of, I assure you there 

 is a heap of fun to be had with so light a 

 tackle. The first one I hooked with a grey 

 hackle ; weighed about three pounds. I was 

 having all kinds of trouble with him, with a 

 good deal of satisfaction to myself and a cor- 

 responding amount of trouble to the yellow 

 boy. He could rot understand my play. 

 Finally he could endure the uncertainty no 

 longer, so he called out to me : "For de good 

 Lor', doctah, bring de line up ; hea' so I can 

 get him in de bottom of de boat. I'se tale you 

 all 'long you couldn't lif one of dose trout 

 wit' dat jim-crock of a stick!" Well, we had 

 this repeated until I tired of it. I returned 

 many of the beauties to the water with a 

 promise to come for them another winter. 

 Every now and then I saw places which 

 would be ideal spots for a hunting lodge or a 

 camp ; in fact, the woods are full of those 

 places. 



Game ! There is a squirrel up every tree. T 

 chased turkeys just to see them run; heard 

 the Bob White on every side of me ; sat on 

 the banks and watched the bass scooting up 

 stream ; ate grape fruit and oranges until I 

 dropped over flat on my back for sheer con- 

 tentment ; smoked the old corncob pipe until 

 my tongue was sore ; ate and ate and ate. 

 Sighed when the time came to go until I was 

 ashamed, and then promised myself to do it 

 all over again next year, and you bet, brother, 

 I will. J. E. Miller. 



BAD CROW; GOOD HAWK. 



Editor Recreation : 



I have read with interest the correspond- 

 ence in the September Recreation with re- 

 gard to the crows and hawks. I heartily agree 

 with Mr. Wheeler in what he says in regard 

 to the crow. I have known him long for an 

 extensive nest robber and crop despoiler. In a 

 locality where the gulls, terns and ducks 

 breed this pest destroys thousands of their 

 eggs annually. Although in this locality these 

 species are not found to any extent, I have 

 frequently known of crows robbing nests of 

 our birds, such as the grouse, herons and 

 smaller birds. 



